SYDNEY: Esprit Australia is set to unleash new product lines into retail stores, rounding out efforts to replicate the brand’s international shopping experience on home soil.
Esprit Australia general manager Andrew Bousie revealed Esprit Collection for men will land in Australia in October.
The range will feature suiting in European fabrics plus business shirts and tailored separates, with price points 10 per cent higher than Esprit Casual apparel. It will be the first time Esprit Collection menswear has been offered locally and will complement the introduction of Esprit Collection womenswear to Australia in 2009. The menswear line will be unveiled at the opening of Esprit’s first local ‘icon’ store in Sydney Westfield.
Also on the cards is the introduction of Esprit de Corp for men. Bousie estimated the range will land in local doors in 12 to 18 months time, with the range focused on “more directional” casual separates for 25 to 30-year-olds. Esprit de Corp womenswear is already available locally.
Bousie said Esprit’s capacity to introduce new product categories had been fostered by its recent growth, evidenced by its roll-out of 28 additional free-standing stores since 2007. The company’s impending launch of ‘icon’ stores – that is, stores that measure between 1000 and 2000 square metres – in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will also create floor space to host the additional ranges.
The new product lines and store format are elements Esprit Australia has lifted from the brand’s international head office, and form part of efforts to reconnect with the brand’s international blueprint, Bousie said.
“When a customer walks into Esprit in Australia we want them to have exactly the same experience as they would anywhere else in the world,” he said.
Market research commissioned by the company revealed many consumers identify the brand as Australian, Bousie said. “Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however we do want to emphasise how established Esprit is worldwide.”
The infusion of Esprit’s international flavour into Australian stores will also assist in fending off competition from majors such as Gap and Banana Republic, Bousie said. Such retailers are rumoured to be opening on Australian soil as part of the Westfield Sydney development.
Other happenings within Esprit Australia include the re-signing last month of David Jones as the exclusive department store stockist of Esprit Bodywear for the next 12 months. Esprit also relocated its Australian distribution centre from Melbourne to Sydney in early July to better service its national retail network.
Erin O’Loughlin.