Speedo poised for global expansion

Global swimwear manufacturer and retailer Speedo has identified the Asia Pacific region as its strongest developing market amid unveiling plans to expand its wholesale and retail store network by up to 1500 sites globally in the next five years.
Tracy Hunt, head of retail at Speedo International, told Ragtrader that although the company was planning to expand its operations in all global markets by a minimum of 10 per cent over the coming years, the largest growth areas for the brand were India, China and Asia.
"The Speedo brand is evolving and as the product lines become broader this gives us the opportunity to open a wider variety or retail environments, particularly as the inclusion of apparel in the collection gives us growth opportunities in markets where swimwear is seasonal," said Hunt.
"We have over 1900 sites worldwide, 86 of which are standalone stores located all over the world including Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Italy...and Australia. This number will increase to over 3000 sites globally over the next four years."
Hunt said this would include standalone stores and concessions in Europe, China, Australia and the US.
The news comes shortly after the company announced plans to roll out a new retail design concept to its global store network.
The new design, which won the company the Best Small Shop category at the Retail Interior Awards in London last month, has been implemented in seven sites since its unveiling in April. Sites include China, France, Singapore and the UK.
There are five more sites currently in progress which are scheduled to open by the end of the year.
The refurbishment program for Australian stores will begin in the New Year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
"We are planning to refresh our Melbourne stores first to coincide with the Commonwealth Games and World Swim Championships and then move on to our other flagships sites in Sydney," said Hunt.
New stores features being rolled out worldwide include ripple illuminated walls to invoke recollections of sky and water and a replicated version of the company's research and development headquarters dubbed Speedo Aqualab.
Featuring touch-screen monitors, Hunt said the Aqualab area will be a fun way for consumers to learn more about Speedo's latest product innovations.