MELBOURNE: Witchery Man is surging into 2010 with an aggressive retail roll out strategy to cement its presence in Australia and New Zealand.
The menswear division currently has a total of 18 stores across both countries and is set to boost this figure to 30 by mid-2010. Witchery Man general manager Michael Perri said the plan will include adding Witchery Man segments to existing womenswear stores, launching new unisex stores and rolling out stand-alone menswear sites. The label launched in March this year through seven stores.
“Witchery Man is growing so rapidly and we are entering new product categories all the time,” Perri said. “We are also opening new stores nearly every month.”
The brand plans to launch a large flagship site at the new Westfield development in Pitt Stret, Sydney, in early 2010. Other recent openings include a unisex flagship at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne and a men’s stand-alone store in Subiaco, Perth.
A men’s floor is being built into the women’s store at Melbourne Central this month and a unisex store is also opening in Marina Mirage, Gold Coast. Mixed stores in Bowral and Castle Towers shopping centre in NSW will also open shortly.
Perri said talks are underway for a department store presence, but the label has not committed to either Myer or David Jones at this stage. “We need to work out which one is best for us,” he said.
Witchery Man has also continued to expand into new product categories, with an inaugural suiting range recently launched in time for the spring racing season. Two slim cut styles were created with single and double button options. Trousers were priced at $199 while jackets retailed at $349.
Perri said the label had also introduced a retro print board short collection for summer. A sunglass collection and watches are also new to the brand, with the first two watch styles hitting stores later this month.
A complete collection of apparel is dropped into stores every month. Perri said jackets are a strong product for the brand, so at least six new jacket styles will be injected every month throughout winter 2010.
“We started from the ground up but now we have some feedback to work with for future collections – we know the areas that are now working better.”
Knitwear is the most popular category on the brand’s online store, which is generating sales equivelant to one stand-alone Witchery Man site.
To complement the retail and product drive, a new marketing campaign is planned for January to promote winter 2010. Perri said the aim will be to show Witchery Man as a strong label in its own right, but it would also ensure the connection to the womenswear arm is clear.
“We are definitely ready to push this harder now,” he said. “We initially had a soft launch, but we are starting to warrant more marketing now we have a bigger retail presence.”
Melinda Oliver