Men's chain upsizes home and away

SYDNEY: Menswear operator yd. has embarked on an aggressive retail rollout strategy, with plans to expand its presence nationally and break into the New Zealand market by the close of fiscal 2009.

The Sydney-headquartered brand, which operates under the Retail Apparel Group (RAG), aims to have 62 stores throughout Australia by June 2009. This would follow the launch of 10 national retail sites over the 2008 financial year.
Newly appointed CEO Gary Novis said the rollout was part of a broader strategy to dominate the men's smart/casual wear market. RAG currently operates three menswear retailers in the middle market sector including yd., Tarocash and Connor.

"yd. continues to show fantastic like store growth and we are yet to see a slowdown in spending," Novis said of the planned expansion. He said the group would not target specific states or territories but focus on securing premium locations within key shopping centres.

"Premium sites within existing are always difficult to secure in any economic environment but I think good retailers are always looking for opportunities to grow and then to capitalise on having a larger store network when consumer confidence returns."

Novis confirmed the group had already secured a site for its first venture into the New Zealand market, with a Wellington store set to open in February 2009. A total of three stores would be in operation throughout the country by June 30.
"Tarocash has a very successful New Zealand business so we will use this experience and apply the same formula in rolling out yd.," Novis said. "As we grow we will also be looking into investing in an external custom built retail training program for store managers, area and state managers to continue to build on their selling, organisation, people and development skills."

In addition to its Australian and New Zealand retail rollout strategy, yd. planned to capture a new market through the introduction of a smaller sizing scheme for spring/summer 2008. While the aesthetics of yd. stores would not change, the scheme meant consumers could purchase bottoms in sizes 24 and tops in XXXS for the first time.

RAG was formed in early 2007 after the acquisition of yd. and the launch of mature market chain Connor. The group recorded a profit growth of 32 per cent and a top line sales growth of 28.5 per cent for fiscal 2008.

By Assia Benmedjdoub