UK brands set Australia in their sights
Having already conquered the international market with their edgy street and urbanwear designs, the pair - Henleys and Bench - have appointed Sydney-based distributors Trend Imports to ramp up their Australasian presence.
Trend Imports national sales manager Jon Isdale said the ranges, which had a soft launch into the market some time ago, would now tailor their collections specifically to the Australian and New Zealand market.
Current stockists include Selfridges, Westworld, Cult, Nordstrom's and Bank.
Isdale said with UK trade bible Drapers ranking Henleys in the top five UK menswear brands and Bench named in the top 10, the decision to amplify the pair's distribution here was clearly the right one.
"[We] felt the time was right as having been in the retail and wholesale industry for a number of years there seemed to be a lack of top international brands being sold at realistic retail prices. We wanted to deliver into this market some great ranges widely represented throughout the world at competitive prices."
Boasting more than 600 worldwide stockists between them, both brands cater for slightly different markets with Henleys specialising in cutting edge designer streetwear and heritage brand Bench offering multi-functional day/night urbanwear.
Constructed primarily from cotton and elastene, the Henleys range is positioned alongside Industrie, Octane and Elwood and features T-shirts, knits and hoodies.
Its colour palette for winter 2007 features vibrant colours such as royal blue, yellow, worn red, black and white.
Bench, which sees Carhart as its only real competitor, is made from slub surface canvas, bedford cord and garment dyed linen and nylon with its pieces including skirts, shorts, dresses, sweats, polos and coats.
Its winter colours appear more muted with olives, taupe-silver mid-grey and dusty pink dominating the collection.
Both labels are manufactured in China with price points ranging from $49.99 for a T-shirt to $269.99 for a coat.