Based in Canada, teen fashion retailer Garage has made strong inroads in both the US and the Middle East. Anna Martini, President, talks to RLI about the company's plans for growth and just what makes the brand stand out in an ever-competitive marketplace.
In its home market of Canada, teen fashion retailer Garage currently operates 142 stores, with a further 17 stores in the US, two in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, three in the United Arab Emirates and one in Qatar. The brand is aimed exclusively at 11-19 year-old girls and social media, as one might imagine, plays a huge role in constantly driving brand awareness, with Facebook leading the march.
Garage has been carrying out transactional e-commerce for over 12 months in Canada and the US, and whilst not yet shipping abroad, it is certainly on the cards. The brand has enjoyed phenomenal success in North America, says company President, Anna Martini: "We have been seeing a lot more e-commerce business in the US, which we ascribe to the fact that we have a lot fewer stores, whereas our bricks and mortar penetration in Canada is far greater."
Indeed, the brand is in just about every mall in its home market!
Situated in Montreal, Garage’s flagship store is currently undergoing something of a transformation and is scheduled to reopen in April.
In 2012, Garage aims to open another 12 stores in the US and is working with its international partners to open a further ten.
"We have a very detailed business plan and work closely with our partners to roll it out," explains Martini. "Between now and 2016, we are targeting between 150 new stores in premier markets throughout the US, whilst continuing to leverage our e-commerce business. We are also continuing to evaluate other territories and are targeting between 100-150 new stores internationally."
The company is currently assessing potential in markets such as those in Central America, parts of Asia and Russia.
With an average GLA of some 3,500sq ft, Garage is a predominantly mall-based brand and does not have very many street stores, preferring locations that lie close to foodcourts and other retailers that generate strong footfall, such as Apple or Sephora - anywhere that teens hang out!
"Our people travel the world, they go to music festivals where they can connect with the teens, and they work hard to stay on top of emerging trends," explains Martini. Garage is a vertically integrated retailer; it has huge design teams working on all of its collections, which is of course one continuous process because teens are extremely demanding.
For the full article, please see the March 2012 issue.
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