Listed retail group Gazal has flown under the radar for the launch of the newest brand in its stable, DV.
Where traditionally the company has gone all out to market its new offerings, such as the $3 million “Cream your panties” promotion to launch Davenport women in 2007, the brand has joined others in the sector in adopting an “underground” approach to the launch of its latest product line.
Gazal group brand marketing manager Dianne Taylor said the release of the new label would initially be marketed with just point-of-sale promotion and product seeding.
Taylor confirmed the brand launch would not be supported by any above-the-line advertising, but a website had been launched to bolster the rollout, she said.
Described as “the next evolution of the Davenport range”, the DV line is targeted at an older audience than the traditional Davenport consumer.
Featuring six styles, it is constructed from premium fabric blends with retail price points of between $20 for briefs to $35 for boxer shorts. “The colours are quite muted and we’ve used really beautiful, edgy prints,” she said.
Taylor said while some companies had shied away from launching new product offerings in the midst of the global economic crisis, Gazal had worked closely with department store Myer to get its input on the development of the range.
To this end, the department store had the exclusive rights to the line from the end of this month, with the collection launching across boutiques around the country in time for spring/summer 2009/10.
Other brands in the Gazal stable include Lovable, Calvin Klein, Kookai, Trent Nathan and Bisley.
In its latest trading update, released at the end of April, Gazal directors forecast a 20 per cent drop in profits as a result of “difficult” trading conditions, citing the impact of a weak Australian dollar as a key factor.
Cracks first started appearing as early as December when the group shed staff at its head office and slashed spending on areas such as business travel, communications and advertising.
The company’s next full year results are expected to be released in September.