Josh McDonnell speaks with JD Sports Australia head Hilton Seskin about the driving factors behind the sportswear retailer's entry into the Australian market and what is has planned next.
Why did JD decide to enter the Australian market? Was there research that influenced this, any particularly interesting results?
The entry of JD into the Australian market was driven by two key factors. The first being the global expansion of the JD brand into new territories throughout the Asia Pacific region, and secondly the drive from our global partnerships with adidas and Nike. The way we present both brands within a multi-branded environment is unlike any other retailer, and they want this best-in-class execution in every market.
JD always do their due diligence prior to entering a new territory, Australia was no different. Knowledge of the branded market and our experience across the category gave us insight and learnings . Consumer demand in the overall branded fashion category, and growing interest in sports fashion within the Australian market helped drive the project forward. JD have been shipping into Australia for a number of years now via online with great success.
Was there growing interest from Australian consumers in the company? More online orders/searches coming from here?
To expand on the above, since opening our physical store and engaging local marketing, Australia is now trading as one of the best online sites within the JD webstore fleet. Interest was expanding exponentially month on month prior to launch, so it was only natural that we created a local business in market and began trading physical stores.
How many stores will you look to open over the next 12 months? Any key areas of interest and reasons behind them?
We are looking at a number of locations within Australia currently, with the focus being key cities along the eastern sea board. We’re using data from online searches and orders to help guide decisions, but ultimately it’s our in market teams that have experience in this industry, and opportunities within key centres that are forming decisions on our first few schemes.
What will be some of the key points of difference you offer compared to competitors?
Exclusivity and level of product are our key points of difference. The scale of the JD business globally allows us to build specific products and entire ranges exclusively for the JD consumer. Our range is segmented from other sports fashion retailers in the market, this is particularly evident in our footwear and in our men’s, women’s and junior apparel offering. Given the way we present product from a visual merchandising and digital perspective, along with our global partnerships with Nike and adidas means that we also have access to the best releases. JD is regarded as the 'King of Trainers' and will maintain that position in Australia. JD will be the first point of call for consumers wanting the latest and greatest product.
You've noted a gap in the Australian market, what is this gap, is it one regarding product, service experience? How will JD Sports look to fill that gap, what are some of the strategies/initiatives to do so?
The success of our first store in Australia has shown that we’re a completely different offering to the Australian consumer. There are competitors in the market from certain categories, but no one really doing what JD does across footwear and apparel for men, women and children.
Our focus on true omnichannel retailing is also a key strategy in market. You’ll notice a heavy digital presence within our store, from our window displays, to our in store kiosks, we present product in the best possible way. If we don’t have your size or style, we can easily order it from our in store devices.
What product and categories have worked well in internationally so far, is there a change in offering for the Australian market?
We are bringing JD to Australia in an authentic way, meaning that the DNA and global assortment will be something unique for the Australian consumer, and we don’t want to stray too far from what is working internationally within the business. We may introduce new brands to the market, and may also stock brands which are relevant to the Australian consumer which are not within the JD business globally.
How do the expansion plans impact areas such as supply chain and logistics?
It’s always a challenge expanding rapidly in a new territory, luckily we have the ability to lean on a massive wealth of knowledge from our U.K team who are very experienced in this. We are setting up a local distribution centre, that will service all Australian physical stores and online.
As eCommerce continues to be a growing aspect of the Australian retail market, how will you approach that side of the business?
Our online business is fairly established as we’ve been servicing the Australian consumer for a number of years now. What we’re focussed on now is providing Australian customers with a better experience through shopping in our local currency and providing content that is seasonally relevant.
Do you see it playing a big part of the expansion here or will bricks-and-mortar dominate the majority of sales/business?
It would be silly to focus on one over the other, we’re about giving the customer the best possible experience across all channels. Neither should work in isolation to the other, so we see our online store only helping our physical locations and vice versa through the elevated and highly engaging digital experience in store.
We have seen a huge lift in sessions and orders simply from opening our Melbourne Central location and we utilised our digital channels to communicate our opening message. Online can of course reach customers where physical locations can’t, and we’re seeing orders being delivered throughout the country, so this is a massive win for JD already.
What has initial response to the store been? Has there been any early take-aways from the Australian market?
It’s been very positive. The Australian consumer wants what is on the shelf in the major cities around the world and that’s what we’re offering them in a highly engaging retail experience. We have great success in our exclusive ranges across apparel and footwear, and our online trade continues to grow week on week as we open up our digital marketing channels and grow our Social following.