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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.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a kind of almost a reversal of history,\u201d he says, pointing back to Superdry\u2019s origins in Cult Clothing. \u201cWhat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He explains: \u201c[We\u2019re] giving the consumer a choice that just isn\u2019t there. As we\u2019ve 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\u2019m dealing with, but I\u2019m also in control of the production and the look and feel of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201c[Outlets] are a really important part of our strategy,\u201d he notes. \u201cThey\u2019re often incredibly brand enhancing. You look at the sort of people that you\u2019re around; they\u2019re very clear branded environments.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, Superdry & Co no longer runs sales in its full-price stores meaning outlet locations \u201care a very important part of our strategy moving forward\u201d.<\/p>\n It is a position he links directly to brand equity. \u201cIt\u2019s how I built Superdry brand in the first place, and it\u2019s what was destroyed when I left,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m now building it back in because I understand about brand equity and how to build it. You\u2019re either a brand builder or you\u2019re a brand exploiter. I\u2019m a brand builder.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does give a single view of the world, a clear view of the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThe fact that I\u2019m in control of the product means that each channel is not in conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n That control matters because it removes the price tension that can come with third-party distribution. \u201cIf 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,\u201d Dunkerton says. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t happen if I\u2019m in control of the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBench has a very clear identity and will retain that space.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds: \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Dunkerton reveals: \u201cThere is a potential with surfwear for me. There are other brands I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The goal is not simply to build scale but to create a more exciting customer proposition. \u201cThese are deals that I\u2019m building,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m really building equity for the brands, but also building a very solid, exciting consumer experience. Does the consumer benefit from this? Yes, absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n At a time when many multi-brand strategies are weighted heavily online, Dunkerton believes physical retail is one of Superdry & Co\u2019s main differentiators, particularly with younger shoppers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis age group loves physical retail, and I think that\u2019s really quite exciting for me,\u201d he says. \u201cOther 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\u2019re not in this space. Nobody is doing it in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBench is taking 12 per cent of sales from 7 per cent of the space,\u201d he says. \u201cBut what\u2019s really interesting is that we\u2019ve hit 70 per cent womenswear for the first time ever in that store. Not only are we double the sales we thought we\u2019d do, but we are double our womenswear participation in that store versus a year ago. That is an incredible achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lincoln result also points to a wider direction of travel for Superdry & Co.<\/p>\n \u201cLike Kappa, we\u2019re starting with women first and then doing men second,\u201d he says. \u201cBench, we started with women first and we\u2019re doing men second. There is a real clear path of where we\u2019re going and what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n For a brand that has historically was \u201cmale dominated\u201d, Dunkerton sees that as a meaningful change: \u201cIt\u2019s really refreshing that this new customer has largely been women. I\u2019m now working on menswear as well to get that into an exciting position, but we\u2019ve logically worked this through.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new stores are massively outperforming their budget, and I think that\u2019s key here.\u201d he says.<\/p>\n That momentum is why Dunkerton describes Superdry & Co as having \u201ca very physical moment\u201d. Store refits and openings are becoming the clearest expression of the wider repositioning.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really enjoying the change for the stores because it\u2019s the easiest way to communicate to a consumer that you have changed,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a real joy.\u201d<\/p>\n Superdry & Co\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that\u2019s exciting, innovative and is around product, the public respond to every time,\u201d he says. \u201cMost malls have become quite generic. What this is doing is giving a genuine point of difference, but very much targeted towards a younger consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.retailgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Kappa.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>A holistic view<\/h6>\n
Why stores matter now<\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.retailgazette.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Superdry-Co-AW26-200x300.jpg\")
Stores that create \u201ca real joy\u201d<\/h6>\n