UK brand Superdry to boost local sourcing
Premium- In 2022, Superdry worked with and trained 1,824 farmers on organic farming practices. It plans to take that number to 20,000 by 2025
NEW DELHI : British apparel and accessories retailer Superdry will increase its sourcing from India to 25% from the current 20% over the next three years, the company’s founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton said.
Superdry works with Indian farmers to source organic raw cotton which is woven and made into garments. The company has been expanding organic cotton farming in India since 2018. In 2022, Superdry worked with and trained 1,824 farmers on organic farming practices. It plans to take that number to 20,000 by 2025 as part of the company’s focus on sustainability practices. By 2023, the brand has pledged to fully move to 100% organic cotton.
The company works with 67 third-party production facilities across clothing and accessories in the country.
The premium casual clothing brand entered the Indian market in 2012 through a master franchise agreement with Reliance Brands Ltd., part of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. RBL owns and operates all Superdry sale channels.
“I would say India is among the top five to six markets for us. It is a very important country to us," Dunkerton, who co-founded the brand in 2003 said. Dunkerton said India’s social transformation over the years is prompting demand for branded apparel.
The retailer plans to add 15 new stand-alone stores this year apart from 14 shop- in- shops in ten cities. “We’re sort of doubling every two to three years," Dunkerton said. Currently, Superdry is present in 45 cities, across 123 points of sales apart from sales via online channels.
The market is “incredibly important" both from a sourcing and retail point of view, said Dunkerton.
“You know what we do with the cotton farmers here and how we’re adjusting all the cotton production that we do into organic which is very exciting. We’re both increasing our Indian production and we’re increasing our footprint in terms of store space. We’re probably going to move from 20 to 25% (sourcing) of our global production as well within three years which will be accelerated if there’s a trade deal that we do," he added.
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Dunkerton was reinstated as the company’s CEO in April 2019 and has since mapped a turnaround plan for the retailer that was witnessing a slump in profits. For one, Dunkerton has vowed to lower discounted inventory apart from offering fresher designs to shoppers and bolstering e-commerce operations.
In India, Dunkerton said the local partner would decide the future course of action. “I obviously can’t dictate (that) to our partner. What I can do is show everything that we do and show what works. But as we move forward as a brand, discounting becomes less important and less relevant," he said when asked if the retailer would move to offering more full-price products.
The brand has also introduced Superdry sportswear in the country. It will work on developing its Original & Vintage, Superdry Studios, Superdry Code and Performance Sport concepts in the market.
“Sports footwear is definitely an area that we intend to be big in. There will be probably more accessories coming through," he added.
Meanwhile, the retailer has witnessed a pick-up in footfall. “Every time, particularly in Europe, because that’s our biggest footprint, every time we came out of a wave, consumption in physical stores came bouncing back very quickly. There was an innate need to go out and be social again," he added.