Esprit is preparing for an aggressive year in Australian retail with the roll out of new flagship stores and a revamped marketing strategy.
The international lifestyle brand is in the process of securing super-sized “icon” stores for each Australian capital city, with the first of these launched at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre in September.
Esprit has also signed a lease for a 1500-square-metre location in a new Wesfield development in Sydney’s CBD, which is scheduled to open in late 2010.
Esprit Australasia and New Zealand general manager Andrew Bousie said he intends to lock in additional sites over the next year and is in talks with key property managers across the country.
He said the “icon” stores are designed to offer consumers an experience in line with international Esprit outlets, many of which boast large store formats and stock womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear, homewares and accessories. A traditional store size for the brand is approximately 400 square metres.
This month the long-standing Esprit Privilege Card will also be replaced with a new customer loyalty program, Esprit Club. Bousie said Esprit Club is a two-tier, points and reward-based system rather than a pure discount incentive.
A red or platinum card will be issued depending on customer spend with each level offering different benefits such as sale invitations, birthday specials, magazine subscriptions and newsletters.
“With Esprit Club we want people to feel like they are part of the brand, rather than bringing people in just to buy things on discount,” Bousie said.
Also set to roll out across the country next year is the reinstatement of Esprit Collection, a premium line for the label. Bousie said this range was phased out of Australia four years ago while the company focused on casual attire. To date it has been stocked in Chadstone and Double Bay, Sydney.
Esprit’s refurbishment program, which includes all of its 160 stand-alone stores in Australia and New Zealand, is expected for completion by mid-2010.
The brand opened 11 new stores in the last 12 months and has 13 concessions in department store Myer and 65 domestic wholesale accounts. This includes a deal with David Jones, which exclusively stocks its women’s bodywear line.
Melinda Oliver