Bardot plumps up its presence
Bardot - a national womenswear chain that bears no relation to the reality TV spinoffs - has just announced it will be expanding its retail presence over the next year.
After bolstering its operations throughout Sydney in 2006, the company said it would continue to grow along the east coast of Australia with a further six to eight openings across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
General Manager Basil Artemides said the Brisbane store, scheduled to open in February, would give the brand a stronger foothold into the Queensland market. While declining to comment on whether this expansion would affect any of the brands wholesaling accounts, Artemides did confirm the company would look into further retail plans for Adelaide and Perth.
"We want to build ourselves up as a strong national brand with locations in all the key areas of Australia. If we're not in an area and feel the brand would perform strongly there, then we'll expand."
Alongside this retail push, Artemides said Bardot would continue to promote a new in-store design concept introduced early last year. Aimed at steering the brand away from its "commercial" look to a more "boutique feel", the concept means most stores will be re-fitted with softer furnishings and more delicate colour themes. The first location to undergo this refit would be Chadstone followed by the new stores set to open later this year.
"Our concept has changed dramatically so it's a natural progression to want to showcase that in our stores," Artemides said. "We feel this new concept better reflects the direction we're taking."