SYDNEY: Running Bare will unleash a childrenswear line and “cheeky” marketing campaign next year as part of efforts to revitalise its customer base.
In addition to a retail network, the activewear label supplies retail powerhouses Rebel Sport, Sports Power and Amart All Sports.
Running Bare design director Yolanda Powell revealed the label will re-enter the kidswear segment, 20 years after it wound up its children’s division.
The new line will be called 'Running Bare Cubs' and will be produced in kids' sizes one to seven. Garments will retail from $20 to $45 and will include skinny leggings, hoodies, t-shirts and “retro trackies”.
Powell said the plunge back into childrenswear was a result of both consumer demand and the free time that arose from not having to design a winter range for Running Bare's sister labels, Wahine and Rival.
“I think it was time and we had the time,” Powell said.
Also on the cards for 2011 is a brand new marketing campaign fronted by new brand ambassadors Kelly Landry and Rebecca Breeds. The local television personalities, from Channel Nine's Getaway and Channel Seven's Home & Away respectively, will replace outgoing ambassador Sophie Faulkner.
“Running Bare's approaching its 30th birthday in the next two years and we have our die-hard supporters who we love and adore... but we wanted to make a deliberate call out to the girls who are in high school, uni, just entering the workplace who may not be aware that Running Bare actually caters part of the range to them as well.”
The winter 2011 campaign will hit stores in February 2011 and will also appear on buses, in magazine inserts and through a social media push. Central to the campaign will be Running Bare's tag line 'It's a girl thing', which debuted six months ago.
“It's cheeky, it's sexy, we think it's pretty cute... it's a little bit different to what we've done before,” Powell said.
While Running Bare is primarily a manufacturer and wholesaler, Powell indicated a small retail expansion was planned for 2011. The company currently operates four stores in Sydney and a fifth online.
“We're hoping to do the sixth one in the next three to four months. We're still looking at Sydney probably for at least another two to three stores... then the next destination is Queensland and Melbourne simultaneously.”
Running Bare was founded in 1983 and produces womenswear in sizes 8 to 20. The company still produces all of its activewear onshore.
Erin O'Loughlin