Betts Group is on a mission to open and update its stores with more sustainable elements as part of its new store concept, CEO Todd Wilner has revealed Ragtrader.
Recognising that the business was stuck in a discounting cycle rut, Betts Group revamped its strategy to focus on its four key brands – Betts, Zu, Airflex and Zeroe – at the start of this year.
To reflect this change in strategy, the business has rolled out a new-look concept store, which features sustainable elements and refreshed design.
This reimagined design also plays off the success of the brand's eco-friendly footwear label Zeroe, which launched in October 2020.
"We said, 'if we're going to be true to being sustainable then we need sustainable elements in our stores," Wilner said.
"We're utilising timbers and things that can be recycled.
"The floor furniture can be moved around, so it's a softer feel rather than stark white metal everywhere.
"To highlight our four brands we have the ability to show fashion shots and seasonal imagery with everything interchangeable," he said.
The newest location with the refreshed concept is at Melbourne Central, following two other Betts concept stores at Queensland's Pacific Fair and Western Australia's Eaton Fair Shopping Centres.
Betts Melbourne Central
Wilner said the retailer plans to open more new stores with the new concept and will determine which existing stores can be retrofitted with the new concept.
"We're working with a number of our landlords who are very excited about our new concept and want it in their centres.
"We're getting a lot of interest from them and they are extremely supportive of us bringing this concept into their into their centres.
"In the next six months we've got a couple [of new stores] in the works.
"Then as we move forward, we will be speaking to our landlord partners about the 'retrofitability' of the actual [existing store] layout itself.
"It's going to be on a site by site basis and we'll be working with the landlord on how we achieve the best result," Wilner said.
Betts Group operates approximately 70 stores Australia wide.