First Superdry China stores set to open

The first Superdry China stores are set to open in what a commentator describes as a core future market for parent SuperGroup.

Nivindya Sharma, a senior analyst at Verdict Retail, says the brand’s international expansion strategy will now focus on “two key, but notoriously difficult, markets – the US and China” in the current financial year.

“Superdry will open its first trial stores in China in 2016 and five in the US as it experiments with different store formats. Its relatively cautious approach to store rollout, and focus on eCommerce as a route to developing brand awareness and understanding local customer behaviour should serve it well,” said Sharma.

News of its summer debut in China came amid an impressive full-year result: SuperGroup sales rose 21.3 per cent to £590.1 million, aided by its collaboration with British Hollywood star Idris Elba. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 16.3 per cent to £73.5 million.

“Against a bleak background of stalling sales from major high street players such as Next and Primark, SuperGroup posted a stellar set of full-year results with strong growth across both its retail and wholesale divisions,” said Sharma.

“No doubt, the net 24 stores the retailer opened during the year were major contributors to its FY results, but robust like-for-like growth indicates consumer demand remains strong for Superdry’s distinctive product.”

Womenswear was the strongest growing category for the year, reflecting the push Superdry has made to broaden womenswear ranges and merchandise them more prominently in-store and online.

“The brand is focused on developing its presence in womenswear, especially as it experiments with new concept stores in the UK that give more space to women’s ranges, and focus on enhancing the shopping experience using knowledge from its customer insight program,” said Sharma.

“However, to truly make a mark in the UK’s highly competitive womenswear market, Superdry will have to consider how best it can soften and translate its male-centric brand image to appeal to female consumers.”