Finalist Jeans West
:With a 25-year heritage under its belt, Jeans West is a renowned denim-based youth chain boasting a strong presence in the majority of leading Australian and New Zealand malls and shopping centres.
The company stocks a broad range of apparel targeted at men and women aged between 18 and 29 as well as add-ons including belts, scarves, sunglasses, underwear and jewellery.
A core element of the Jeans West offer is its proprietary "fit system" which offers jeans ranging from size 08 to 22 for women and 28 to 42 for men. Jeans are available in regular and long lengths across five different styles and two choices of wash per style.
While Jeans West's pricing structure "sits just above the discount department stores", CEO David Botta says the quality of the product is the same as that of garments twice the price. Continual quality improvements are at the forefront of the company's activities.
"Basically we're a value retailer but we don't look like one," Botta says.
Store fit-out reflects this and is regularly updated with visual merchandising bulletins released monthly to each store.
The retailer also invests considerable resources in its staff. Recruits receive retail orientation training - "we take them out of the store and put them into the class room to emphasise the importance of understanding how the company operates and of customer service" - and the orientation is followed up with a customer service program. A management program is also offered.
The company measures the success of training through yearly staff reviews and employs mystery shoppers to visit Just Jeans stores around four times a year. The best stores receive rewards ranging from gift vouchers to holidays, while store and individual monthly bonuses are also awarded.
In terms of communicating with its customer base, Jeans West carries an "A-list" of around 100,000 VIP loyalty customers who receive a discount after spending $150 and whose views are regularly polled for the purposes of market research.
The company also has strong community links, particularly through youth oriented charities.
Recent initiatives involved depression charity Yblue - the youth arm of depression assistance charity Beyond Blue - as well as The Cancer Council's Pink Ribbon cancer awareness campaign, for which a number of prominent Australian designers produced wearable art.
While being close to Asia's manufacturing hub - Jeans West has been owned by a Hong Kong-based company for around three years - has been an advantage in the past, it is becoming less so as more manufacturers flock to the region, says Botta.
Supply chain and logistics are two areas in which the company retains its edge however.
Jeans West sources product in Asia, distributing it to outlets via three distribution centres in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia and is able to match the best industry time lines, striving for and usually achieving next day delivery within Australia.
Fresh styles are injected into the range every week and as stock drops have become increasingly regular, the company has become increasingly strategic and nimble. Efficient stock turn plays an important role in such a large chain and Jeans West utilises clearance stores to clear stock mid season.
Like many apparel retailers, while the previous two years posted strong sales, 2005 was flatter, largely due to rising fuel prices, Botta concedes.
"In fact I think I could pinpoint the day when fuel price went up to $1.40. It certainly impacted sales."
However challenges such as these merely up the stakes in an already highly competitive market place, one in which it is necessary to move fast in order to stay ahead of the game.
"We travel constantly to source product and use the services of graphic designers to come up with product that is edgy and different," says Botta.
As well as constant innovation in terms of product quality, advertising, staff and service, the company also looks ahead; conducting research on shifting demographics to ascertain where future sales will lie, he says.
"The business is constantly morphing. We don't stand still for 30 seconds."