Supergroup plans expansion in Asia

Fashion brand Superdry owner Supergroup is planning to expand its presence in Asia after a financial “return to form”. Apart from the UK and Europe, where Supergroup wants to open more stores, the company announced yesterday that it eyes

Asia and especially China, Malyasia and Singapore for further growth.

China,

Malaysia and Singapore are key markets in Asia

“We have a clear strategy to partner, outside Europe, with leading distributors in territories around the world to further internationalise and globalise the Superdry brand. This follows new partnerships with Demsa in Turkey and Reliance Brands in India. We are excited to expand further in the Southeast Asian markets with F J Benjamin, a company with an impeccable track record in building brands in Asia,” said Supergroup’s co-founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton.

He also spoke of “significant opportunities for growth” after a better financial year and confirmed that Supergroup was “setting its sights on China” where it wants to start with a country-specific website. Superdry already has a presence in Hong Kong.

Growth opportunities ahead

For the year that ended on 28th April, Supergroup had reported two weeks earlier a 22 percent increase in pre-tax profits to 52.2 million pounds for its brands Superdry, Cult and SurfCo California. In the previous year, the company had announced a decrease of profits by 14.7 percent after an accounting error. Since then, turnaround efforts have been made such as a revamp of the womenswear line and like-for-like sales increased by 5.7 percent.

For Malaysia and Singapore, Supergroup has signed a ten-year distribution agreement with Singaporean luxury retailer FJ Benjamin that also represents brands like Givenchy, Banana Republic, Gap, Guess and La Senza across Asia. The plan is to open three Superdry stores in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in the next few months; the first one in KL’s popular Pavilion shopping complex already in November of this year and the other two by early 2014.

FJ Benjamin will distribute Superdry in Southeast Asia

“Superdry is one of the most popular young fashion chains to appear in the UK in recent years and we believe it will take Southeast Asia by storm. We like their fashion edginess and their constant drive to stay relevant to the market. We look forward to partnering SuperGroup,” said Nash Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin.

Overall, Supergroup plans to spend 30 million pounds on its international expansion. Exactly a year ago in July 2012, the company had announced its 20-year franchise agreement with the Indian retail giant Reliance Brands. Currently, Supergroup has 17 franchises and 42 concessions in Asia (as of 28th June) and operates 401 stores in 35 countries worldwide either as own stores, franchises or concession stores.

Image: Superdry store in Hong Kong / Celia Hippie