Menswear retailer, Peter Jackson has recently opened its 50th store in Sydney CBD, with the milestone reached after three and a half years since first opening at Rundle Mall in Adelaide.
Other recent NSW openings include Westfield East Gardens, Westfield Burwood and soon to be Warringah Mall. The company plans to reach 60 stores in 2017, with the remaining 10 sites possibly in Victoria.
According to IBISWorld, Peter Jackson now lead in market share for ‘formal’ menswear retailing in Australia at 6.0 per cent, with ‘formal’ defined as all types of suits, shirts, ties and jackets. Hugo Boss follows with 5.8 per cent market share (IBIS 2016)
IBIS forecasts a further 3.1 per cent annual growth from 2016 to 2021 in formal menswear retailing and Peter Jackson’s own growth is perhaps reflected by general category growth due to a number of factors including the rise in office based work; increasing wealth of consumers; declining manufacturing costs; increased access to men’s fashion options online.
Speaking to Inside Retail, Nick Jackson, marketing director of Peter Jackson said the brands rapid growth could be attributed towards filling a gap within the marketplace.
“I guess you could say the men’s tailored market is short on specialists with a national presence, yet there is good reason for this,” he said.
“The category trades around a third of womenswear and although there are less menswear traders, men do not or spend as much as women, however, as Peter Jackson have taken the next step in our business, the locations and conditions are now changing.
“The centres recognise they need to get their tenancy mix balanced which holds us in a strong position and has really encouraged our growth.”
Jackson said international expansion is not yet a goal, but could not be written off as a future prospect.
“I would rather keep increasing Peter Jackson’s brand equity and have a bigger business profile in our home market than being a small player on an international stage,” he said. “If an acquisition of sorts is on the cards one day where there’s real synergy, then this could be our next move.
“More often than not international expansion is driven by company ego, and from my observations those Australian retailers often fail.”
The menswear brand currently occupies a foothold in all Aussie states and territories, except Western Australia.
“Timing is critical in business and we will be there shortly as I see the mining boom coming back in full swing next year,” said Jackson.
“Due to our recent growth we could afford to be picky with the store locations, and unfortunately WA has not turned up the numbers over the past 3 years.”
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