Designer streetwear brand Nique has taken an unconventional approach to the tough trading environment, transforming doom and gloom to grow the business.
The retailer, which sells both men's and women's fashion, will soon open its sixth store in Melbourne and Nique director Nick Ennis said the market slump has made it possible.
“We will be opening a store in St Kilda around early March which is part of a larger retail rollout. We've been watching the strip for a while and previously this spot was unattainable for us, out of our reach. However, the downturn in the market has made this option more affordable for us, and that's because people are moving out,” he said.
“So the downgrade in the economy has actually been an opportunity for us to get a good lease and expand. And it's still a very good strip, and a prime retail location in Melbourne.”
The store, which measures 85 square metres with a courtyard, will will stock the entire Nique range as well as an upcoming summer collection which Nique is preparing to launch as part of its new brand – Light Comma Shadow.
“We launched this brand because we saw a niche in the market for good quality, vintage-style boardshorts. Plus, the surf industry is slowly dismantling and we felt that we could offer a good option to the market ourselves, so we designed a range of boardshorts which we will add to with other summer pieces as we go along.”
“Traditionally Nique has also been seen as more of a winter label, so this St Kilda store close to the beach was an opportunity for us to take a summer destination and, combined with the introduction of Light Comma Shadow, this will also help us to round out our collection so we meet both seasons equally.”
The collection, which will drop into all Nique stores from September this year, will consist of 20 styles, with prices ranging from $69 to $79.
Ennis also said that, as other brands retreat and bin expansion plans, Nique will be taking advantage of the difficult trading period to build on its retail network.
“We are currently in the final stages of negotiation for two new interstate stores, in Sydney and Adelaide. These are the first steps for Nique going national, and we expect all three stores to open within the first quarter of 2012,” he said.
“We're going to push the hardest we have ever pushed this year, because the last time there was a down turn, around the time of the GFC first year, it actually turned out to be our most profitable year in 10 years,” Ennis said.
“We think this is because the higher end and the middle market are impacted more, whereas we are a bit of a niche player. Also, I think people from the higher end often come down in these times and want to pay less for a similar aesthetic. Plus, our main customer market has more expenditure because they aren't paying mortgages, etc. So I think we are somewhat immune in that sense, the downturn doesn't affect us as much.”
In order to support the growth of the brand, Nique will also launch a new website next week which will feature its entire collection and lookbooks, as well as a blog to help consumers connect with the label.