Superdry & Co

Superdry & Co founder Julian Dunkerton says the company is not simply a rebrand, but a return to the retail model that helped him build the business in the first place. According to Dunkerton, this model is 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.

Strategy Overview

Dunkerton believes Superdry & Co can fill a gap in the clothing industry by building a family of complementary brands around the Superdry core, rather than simply adding third-party labels for scale. The company has already relaunched Bench under the umbrella, is developing Kappa with a women-first approach, and plans to bring American workwear brand Stan Ray into the portfolio.

The strategy includes outlets as a central part, with recent openings at Caledonia Park and the Designer Outlet Luxembourg centre in Belgium. Dunkerton notes that outlets are often incredibly brand-enhancing and are a very important part of the company's strategy moving forward.

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. This control matters because it removes the price tension that can come with third-party distribution.

Dunkerton stresses that he will not bring in brands that compete with one another internally. Each brand has to earn its place, and he will only bring in brands that have their own space. 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.

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. The early performance of new stores is reinforcing that belief, with the Lincoln store already doubling its budget expectation.

The Lincoln result also points to a wider direction of travel for Superdry & Co, with a focus on women-first strategies for brands like Kappa and Bench. Dunkerton sees this as a meaningful change for a brand that has historically been male-dominated.

The store estate is not just being expanded, but refreshed, with the aim of making the new Superdry & Co proposition immediately visible to shoppers. Dunkerton describes Superdry & Co as having a very physical moment, with store refits and openings becoming the clearest expression of the wider repositioning. According to Retail Gazette, Dunkerton says the new stores are massively outperforming their budget, and that it's the easiest way to communicate to a consumer that you have changed.