Australian swimwear label Seafolly has opened an expanded footprint and new retail concept in Western Australia, with plans to update its existing retail fleet of 30 stores over the next three years.
The news comes amid media reports that Seafolly is up for sale by its private equity owner L Catterton, with management firm FTI Consulting handling the sale.
News of the sale follows nearly three years of leadership by current CEO Brendan Santamaria, who joined the brand after it was saved from collapse in mid-2020.
Speaking exclusively with Ragtrader, Santamaria said the new concept in Claremont is an expanded presence from a smaller concept store that existed in the area.
“We've relocated ourselves to what they're calling the new Claremont quarter - the fashion end of the quarter,” Santamaria said.
“Our new retail concept draws on inspiration from the beauty of Australian beach and coastal environments. They're what we call our next generation stores.”
The new store concept includes digital screens and an expansive fitting room experience alongside Seafolly’s Fit Stylists and customisable lighting.
It will also feature a heritage gallery showcasing some of Seafolly’s past campaigns.
Seafolly has a total of 30 stores - 26 in Australia and four in Singapore. From this, Santamaria said the brand will roll out the new concept and expand it over the next three years, which includes the opening of more retail stores in key locations.
Santamaria predicted that omnichannel retailing is balancing following a swing to online over the COVID-19 pandemic, citing this as the reason for its focus on bricks and mortar.
“The demand for Seafolly continues to increase across both in-store and online,” Santamaria said. “We're focused on supporting that omni channel experience.
“However, we haven't declined online - we've grown a bit year-on-year in like-for-like sales.”
“We find that whilst 70% of our transactions commence online, the transactions end up being in the bricks and mortar.”
In owned eCommerce, Seafolly is represented through four websites across Australasia, Singapore, North America and the United Kingdom.
Santamaria said that, since migrating with eCommerce platform Shopify, Seafolly has increased its average order value by about 15%.
“However, the business in the last three years really enjoyed more than 50% increase in its average transactional value.
“And what's driving that? We think the replatform has enabled us to unlock the omni channel environment that really includes a range of services from click and collect to ship from store, reservation of product and delivering that seamless shopping experience.”
As well as balancing commerce channels in online and in-store, Santamaria said retailers should also consider social commerce as well.
“In understanding consumer preferences and shopping habits, retailers are able to tailor their offerings and provide that real personalised experience, and this leads to greater loyalty and increases the likelihood of a repeat purchase,” Santamaria said.
“Experimental retail concepts will still remain a big trend, creating spaces that are designed to offer unique shopping experiences.
“That's the big thing where retailers will really move their shift towards that omni channel retailing and giving consumers that real seamless experience.”
Speaking on the future of Seafolly, Santamaria said he is looking forward to the business experiencing a full year of normality post-COVID.
“We're very proud of what we've achieved, what our employees have achieved for their hard work,” he said. “Hopefully we'll embark on the next phase of growth for the business, and we're working with our shareholders to help raise more capital that will allow us to unlock the value both domestically and in the number of international markets.
“Over the last 18 months to two years, we've gone really hard in recruiting the leadership team we've got and it's been fantastic.
“We're very excited about that next chapter.”