As Superdry & Co doubles down on physical retail, outlets and a growing stable of heritage brands, founder Julian Dunkerton explains why the business has found a clear new place in fashion retail.
Superdry & Co is not simply a rebrand, according to Dunkerton. It is a return to the retail model that helped him build the business in the first place. A controlled, curated fashion environment where each brand has a distinct role and the customer is given something different from the increasingly homogenised high street.
“There is a kind of almost a reversal of history,” he says, pointing back to Superdry’s origins in Cult Clothing. “What I realise now is that there is very little opportunity for brands to exist in the ecosystem that is the clothing industry as it currently stands.”
That is the gap Dunkerton believes Superdry & Co can fill. With Bench already relaunched under the umbrella, Kappa being developed with a women-first approach, and Stan Ray set to bring American workwear into the portfolio, the strategy is to build a family of complementary brands around the Superdry core rather than simply adding third-party labels for scale.
He explains: “[We’re] giving the consumer a choice that just isn’t there. As we’ve seen the demise of wholesale over the years and multi-brand independents, this allows me to combine a couple of skills. I understand the brands that I’m dealing with, but I’m also in control of the production and the look and feel of the product.”
Outlets are a central part of that model. Superdry & Co has recently opened at Caledonia Park, while its outlet at the Designer Outlet Luxembourg centre in Belgium is also part of the wider estate strategy.
“[Outlets] are a really important part of our strategy,” he notes. “They’re often incredibly brand enhancing. You look at the sort of people that you’re around; they’re very clear branded environments.”
Additionally, Superdry & Co no longer runs sales in its full-price stores meaning outlet locations “are a very important part of our strategy moving forward”.
It is a position he links directly to brand equity. “It’s how I built Superdry brand in the first place, and it’s what was destroyed when I left,” he shares.
“I’m now building it back in because I understand about brand equity and how to build it. You’re either a brand builder or you’re a brand exploiter. I’m a brand builder.”
A holistic view
As the business becomes more sophisticated, Dunkerton says the old wholesale model is giving way to a more controlled approach. Some wholesalers are becoming concessions, while even some franchise partners are moving towards a model where Superdry & Co controls the stock.
“It does give a single view of the world, a clear view of the world,” he says. “The fact that I’m in control of the product means that each channel is not in conflict.”
That control matters because it removes the price tension that can come with third-party distribution. “If I was a wholesale buyer with third-party brands, there is always a conflict with somebody else who wants to undercut you by a pound online,” Dunkerton says. “That doesn’t happen if I’m in control of the brand.”
In practice, that means each brand has to earn its place. Dunkerton stresses that he will not bring in brands that compete with one another internally.
“Bench has a very clear identity and will retain that space.”
He adds: “I will only bring in brands that have their own space. With Stan Ray, with American workwear, that will be the only American workwear brand I work with.”
The portfolio is likely to grow further with on-going conversations with brands that could fill gaps not currently covered by the Superdry & Co stable.
Dunkerton reveals: “There is a potential with surfwear for me. There are other brands I’m talking to that will be filling in spaces that none of these brands currently deliver for me. I suspect we will probably end up with about eight brands to circle Superdry.”
The goal is not simply to build scale but to create a more exciting customer proposition. “These are deals that I’m building,” he says. “I’m really building equity for the brands, but also building a very solid, exciting consumer experience. Does the consumer benefit from this? Yes, absolutely.”
Why stores matter now
At a time when many multi-brand strategies are weighted heavily online, Dunkerton believes physical retail is one of Superdry & Co’s main differentiators, particularly with younger shoppers.
“This age group loves physical retail, and I think that’s really quite exciting for me,” he says. “Other people who have surrounded themselves by other brands tend to go for an older age group. Next do it, M&S are doing it, a lot of big retailers have done a similar strategy, albeit less in physical retail. But they’re not in this space. Nobody is doing it in this space.”
The early performance of new stores is reinforcing that belief. Lincoln is the perfect example. It opened only weeks ago and has already doubled its budget expectation, with partner brands really pulling their weight.
“Bench is taking 12 per cent of sales from 7 per cent of the space,” he says. “But what’s really interesting is that we’ve hit 70 per cent womenswear for the first time ever in that store. Not only are we double the sales we thought we’d do, but we are double our womenswear participation in that store versus a year ago. That is an incredible achievement.”
The Lincoln result also points to a wider direction of travel for Superdry & Co.
“Like Kappa, we’re starting with women first and then doing men second,” he says. “Bench, we started with women first and we’re doing men second. There is a real clear path of where we’re going and what we’re doing.”
For a brand that has historically was “male dominated”, Dunkerton sees that as a meaningful change: “It’s really refreshing that this new customer has largely been women. I’m now working on menswear as well to get that into an exciting position, but we’ve logically worked this through.”
Stores that create “a real joy”
Dunkerton is keen to stress that the store estate is not just being expanded, but refreshed. The aim is for the physical environment to make the new Superdry & Co proposition immediately visible to shoppers.
“The new stores are massively outperforming their budget, and I think that’s key here.” he says.
That momentum is why Dunkerton describes Superdry & Co as having “a very physical moment”. Store refits and openings are becoming the clearest expression of the wider repositioning.
“I’m really enjoying the change for the stores because it’s the easiest way to communicate to a consumer that you have changed,” he says. “It’s a real joy.”
Superdry & Co’s next phase is not about nostalgia alone, even if heritage brands such as Bench play a central role, it is about rebuilding the rules of the business around control; brand equity; and a store-led customer experience.
“Anything that’s exciting, innovative and is around product, the public respond to every time,” he says. “Most malls have become quite generic. What this is doing is giving a genuine point of difference, but very much targeted towards a younger consumer.”
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