Canterbury tales
Howard Goldberg is clearly a man of vision. And gumption.
Not only has the Canterbury Clothing of New Zealand Australasian CEO predicted the ailing Wallabies to win the Rugby World Cup in two years time, despite a record string of loses this season. He also has the audacity to utter such a thing out loud.
But whether you support the Australians or the more favoured New Zealand All Blacks, you'd probably do well to chuck a lazy fiver on the Wallabies for the 2007 cup because it seems just about everything else Goldberg has touched recently has come up trumps.
Since joining the 101-year-old company last October Goldberg, whose extensive CV includes a 14-year stint with Pacific Brands as well as three years as managing director with Best and Less, has wasted no time in making his mark on the brand synonymous with international rugby.
Having inherited a knitwear brand that had been accused of being tired and complacent, Goldberg's first move was to merge the company's Australian and New Zealand staff operations. While both markets had the same branding and ownership structures, each also boasted its own design, resourcing and marketing team.
The mild-mannered South African, sensing not only an unnecessary drain on precious company resources, but also an opportunity for a more aligned strategic direction, set about merging the business together to form just one design, one retail and one marketing team across the company's trans-Tasman operations.
"We saw that as being extremely important because the brand has to speak with one voice across both countries and, indeed, internationally," he says.
From there, Goldberg and his design team, led by Trish Marks, stoically led a resurgence of the brand, which has seen Canterbury successfully launch into the lucrative womenswear and leisurewear markets.
Marketed at price points of between $50 and $120, the new range includes three quarter pants, singlets and skirts as well as more "low maintenance" t-shirt, sweater and shorts offerings.
Mark, a keen supporter of the change, says she is particularly proud that the brand has managed to breathe new life into its collections, while still remaining true to its heritage.
"I think we've taken a whole new stance at Canterbury. We're investigating new fits, we're becoming more streamlined. From a fashion perspective, rugby and polos are the hottest thing since sliced bread and we own that territory. We've lifted our act and are enjoying being there and having fun with it."
From a design perspective, other changes include introducing different fibres, such as denim, into the collection while also playing with colour. With several high performance athletes among its staff, the brand is also working hard on its training collections, says Mark.
"Because we're on the backs of the highest-performing teams we need to have all the moisture management technology sorted as well. We're working very hard in that area to be at the leading edge of that. We're not pretending we're an Adidas or a Nike or anything like that, we're just aiming to put some fun, and energy and colour back into the brand."
Having held long-standing licensing and product agreements with such high profile teams as the Wallabies, the Queensland and NSW state of origin teams, and the Warratahs and Queensland Reds, Canterbury was historically targeted at males aged 30 to 40 years with an 80:20 male/female ratio.
However Goldberg, Mark and their respective teams have a clear vision to create a more even male/female skew of 60:40. They also hope to redefine its target consumer as aged 29-year-old males and females, using the brand's move from performance and training wear into leisurewear as their platform.
Never one to leave a job half done, Goldberg has also announced plans to lead the sportswear giant into an aggressive store design/expansion programme while also extending the brand's international distribution base.
"When we started on this journey, the first thing we did was look at our brand and our consumer. We asked ourselves 'what does the brand stand for', 'who is our target market' and then once we had done that, it made it easier to design the right product for our market. "The brand is moving towards lifestyle and lifestyle products. People are seeing new and fresh and revitalised products and a great brand - and we want to become a great brand again - has the ability to switch on to that quickly."
With much of the hard yards already completed, Goldberg and Marks are now turning their attention to developing a freshly energised retail offering which will complement the brand's repositioning - or as Goldberg likes to describe it the brand's "evolution".
Just last month he released plans to roll out three new high impact concept stores - in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland - by Christmas. The stores, all of which will be launched in high street locations - will be larger than usual to accommodate the brand's recent diversification. These will be followed by the gradual launching of another 12 to 15 new company-owned Canterbury stores across Australia and New Zealand in the next three years.
All of which Goldberg believes can help the brand post a lift in sales of more than 20 per cent per annum.
"Is that realistic? Yes, of course. We want to expand our retail presence and also expand our wholesale presence so that the brand can reach more of its target consumers across both countries."
Reluctant to put a dollar value on the strategy - except to say it is a "significant amount" - Goldberg says the brand will tread relatively softly this year before accelerating the change in the next 24 months.
The refit of the company's Australasian stores - dotted at various points between Asia and the Southern tip of New Zealand will see the stores lined with a grass green to reflect its "fresh" approach.
Goldberg says the use of wooden floors, and leather counters and chairs will reflect the heritage and "authenticity" associated with the brand while also subtly introducing it's new feel.
"In the end it just comes down to your ability to innovate, innovate, innovate. If you don't innovate, you're dead."