Shirt brand aims Skye high

Sydney-based apparel manufacturer The Skye Group has acquired prominent men's and women's shirt brand Touma. The acquisition includes Touma's high end brand Thomas Applebee as well as all machinery and existing stock.
The agreement, for an undisclosed sum, was signed last month with a takeover date of November 1.
The latest purchase boosts the number of brands in the Skye stable to ten, including swimwear brands Sunseeker and TYR, childrenswear brand Osh Kosh and menswear brand Pierre Cardin. The move constitutes a significant change in direction for Touma shirts, led by second generation owner Roger Touma, which has been responsible for both the make and design of many high-end brands including Declic, Baubridge and Herringbone.
Roger Touma was unavailable for comment at the time of press however Skye Group managing director David Zylstra confirmed production of the Applebee label will be shifted from Touma's St Peters' home to Skye's Kingsgrove premises.
Zylstra said Roger Touma would still be involved in the business and would be responsible for all shirt range and selection across the group, alongside Skye's existing divisional managers.
Reluctant to confirm the number of staff affected by the move, Zylstra also ducked for cover when asked to comment on the issue of potential redundancies. Stating only: "We will integrate the entire shirt operation into our neckwear facility taking the most skilled staff that Roger has and cross pollinating our local production who will now make ties and shirts."
Zylstra said Skye had already formulated a long-term strategy for the brand, which would include maintaining current clients, launching Applebee into department stores and building Touma's made-to-measure and made-to-order business in Australia.
He said Skye had commissioned design group Eskimo to complete a three-month market review looking at the correct price, product position and value equation for a shirt brand with the Australasian market. The group proposed to use the findings, together with Roger Touma's styling ideas to launch a new formal menswear line.
"We aim to position this brand under the 'Duel' name at the middle market but we believe there is a gap in more contemporary formal silhouette at top of the mass market. We aim to use our China supply chain to achieve fast fashion in a market that does not change often enough, " Zylstra said. The new line, featuring "fashion two" trouser suits, business shirts, ties, socks, underwear and belts will be fully imported from China.
Meanwhile the made-to-measure side of the business would be run out of Skye's corporate division, which currently handles "this type of client". A web facility would also be set up to help retails log their orders online, he said.
"Roger has a proven look and style in both men's and women's that the fashion market has been lapping up for years. The only problem was the fact that he never got much kudos for doing the hard yards while everyone else did. We aim to change this, and allow him to realise his potential by allocating the capital required to do so."