Premium leather goods retailer, Braun Büffel, has opened its second store at The Emporium in Melbourne, with a third at Westfield Sydney due to open in November. The brand has a long history, dating back to 1887, when founder, Johann Braun, began producing leather bags, purses, and satchels in Kirn, Germany. Since then it has expanded its footprint to 22 countries, establishing itself as a premium provider of men’s and women’s leather goods, and accessories. Braun Büffel arrived in
Australia 10 years ago, as a small wholesale project, and opened its first store in Collins St, Melbourne six years ago.
It’s currently undergoing an aggressive retail expansion, says Wen Tan, international sales manager, Braun Büffel, with plans to establish 10 to 15 boutiques around Australia over the next five years.
Tan is the driving force behind the Australian expansion, and told Inside Retail PREMIUM, that positioning Braun Büffel boutiques within high profile malls will be key to building its brand recognition.
“It’s sort of like a chicken and egg situation, the more boutiques you have, the more awareness you have, and that’s what we’re finding with Emporium right now,” said Tan.
“Being in an upper, luxury price bracket, there’s not many centres that are suitable for us, so we have to be quite careful about where we select our sites.”
Tan says the plan is to open two to three new boutiques a year, with its sights set on Chadstone and Doncaster in Melbourne, and Sydney’s Chatswood Chase, and Westfield Bondi Junction.
“The next two to three years should be quite aggressive for our expansion.
“We are trying to push out as many boutiques as we can as sites become available.
“We are not afraid of competition, we are confident of what we are doing in terms of product and customer service, and its a matter of really getting the brand out there, and having a presence so that our customers can compare our products to our competition,” said Tan.
