International jewellery label, Thomas Sabo, is pushing to build its brand presence in Australia, aiming for double digit store numbers for the local market. Thomas Sabo, founded by its namesake in 1984 in Germany, has earmarked 10 standalone stores for its Australian division. The first Australian boutique opened in Sydney in 2009, and has since opened sites sites in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. The brand has a total of eight stores in Australia, the latest, a second Melbourne flagship
at Emporium.
The Emporium store is the largest for the brand on the east coast of Australia and includes the retailer’s full jewellery range.
Thomas Sabo is present in more than 60 countries, and has more than 130 standalone boutiques around the world. In Australia, it has around 350 multi-branded outlet stores.
“We opened our first flagship store in 2009 and since then we’ve seen significant growth in Australia,” Phil Edwards, MD of Duraflex Group Australia (the official Australia/NZ distributor of the brand), said of the brand’s growing physical presence in Australia.
“Long term, the brand would do well to have 10 stores, but after that we wouldn’t look to have any more.
“We’re very conscious that we need to maintain a national presence, working closely with the standalone boutiques and the wholesale stores as well. It needs that combination of both.”
Edwards says there are no immediate plans to open the remaining two boutiques.
“We see our flagships stores as very important for the brand, but at this stage we don’t have any direct plans to open more. We’re open to opportunities when they become available in certain areas.”
Since its local online launch in 2009, Thomas Sabo has gained solid momentum in Australia, recording double digit month on month growth. Online is also attracting a younger market.
“Online is definitely a growth channel and it’s a key market. Over the past three years we’ve seen double digit growth month on month and that’s very much a consistent number. We’re still seeing double digit growth even now.
“As a general target market, we’d probably look at late teens through to late 30s, that is the core demographic, but there are pricepoints within the range that allow flexibility for a younger audience.
“There’s also some more refined, elegant pieces that fit an older demographic. What works online is a repeat of the store, and we consider the online store an equivalent to a standalone store.”
The Emporium opening follows the launch of the first New Zealand flagship, which opened late last year in Newmarket, Auckland.
“We’d like to open a second store in New Zealand. We would consider Auckland or Wellington for the second store and then see how they both go, but it’s still early days.”
This story first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 1998.
