Radley is looking forward to its first-ever appearance at the TFWA World Exhibition this month, where it will present its travel retail exclusive “˜On Safari’ range as well as selected styles from its Spring/Summer 2015 collection (stand number: Red Village J22).
As reported, the leading British handbag and accessories brand will also introduce a new branded display unit for duty free shops, designed to maximise the use of space and encourage high volume sales from a small footprint.
The decision to take part in the Cannes show underlines Radley’s ambitions of global expansion in the duty free channel, according to Radley CEO Xavier Simonet.
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“We have very ambitious plans for Radley within travel retail, with major expansion planned over the next two years. We are very much focused on the brand’s expansion in the geographical areas with the most potential“ |
Xavier Simonet CEO Radley |
In an interview with The Moodie Report, Simonet said: “We have very ambitious plans for Radley within travel retail, with major expansion planned over the next two years. We are very much focused on the brand’s expansion in the geographical areas with the most potential.
“We are looking to grow this arm of the business through new distribution with key strategic partners, investment in our travel retail team with the appointment of Rohanne Campbell in April this year, the introduction of new travel retail exclusive products, and of course launching for the first time at the 2014 TFWA World Exhibition,” he added.
Radley was founded in 1998 by Lowell Harder, who built the premium brand based on three principles: beauty, function and integrity. Harder began her journey into handbags by selling leather goods at London’s Camden Lock Market in the early 1980s. Driven by a passion for colour, carefully considered design and a strong belief that a bag only truly works when it is beautiful both inside and out, she refined her products and went on to launch Radley.
In Radley’s first year, a leading UK department store trialled the collection in a few of its top stores. The brand’s bright colours and structured shapes stood out in a sea of navy, brown and black plain shoulder bags, and the collection sold out almost immediately.
Today, Radley is a leading handbag and accessories brand in the UK and is considered a British icon of affordable luxury, with an average Radley leather handbag priced at £200. Besides handbags, the brand’s product portfolio also includes small leather goods, tech bags/holders, umbrellas, scarves, hats, gloves, slippers, wellington boots, luggage, watches, and eyewear.
Outside the UK, the brand’s footprint covers 14 international markets including Germany, Japan, Russia, South East Asia, South Africa, and Taiwan, where a second Radley store will open this November. This month Radley launches in Australian department store David Jones, which joins the brand’s established list of stockists such as Karstadt, Manor, Seibu, Takashimaya, Isetan, Daimaru, Stuttafords, and Parkson. Adding to its global reach, Radley’s e-commerce site www.radley.co.uk ships to 47 countries worldwide.
The brand celebrated a solid performance in 2013, posting +9% sales growth in its own retail stores in the UK. Global sales increased two-fold during the year as Radley successfully launched into several new markets.
For 2014/2015, Radley’s focus is very much on the travel retail channel (airport, inflight and cruise ships) where the brand is now present in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
“We first ventured into travel retail well over a decade ago but it is only recently that the brand has given the category significant focus,” Simonet said. “From the beginning we rapidly became the number one selling accessories brand within World Duty Free Group in their UK airport locations.
“Internationally the biggest challenge was competing against established brands with large advertising budgets but thanks to our unique style and design and affordable price points we quickly began to grow,” he added.
In spite of this challenge, Simonet believes that there is “a real opportunity for newness”.
He explained: “Radley is a brand with a strong identity, a distinctive offer and is great value for money which makes our brand an attractive new proposition. We also ensure we offer something different and functional, something the consumer can’t buy on the high street – it’s all about value propositions.”
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Radley’s Cannes showcase will include the travel retail exclusive On Safari range (top) as well as selected styles from its Spring/Summer 2015 collection, such as Clerkenwell (above) |
According to London-based market research firm Mintel, handbags make up the lion’s share of the fashion accessories market and have seen the strongest sales, up +11% over the past year to £1.2 billion – a trend that augurs well for Radley.
The brand has also noted that consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their discretionary spend and are actively looking for brands that deliver value for money. “With the fashion accessories market being extremely price sensitive, our affordable luxury positioning is something our customers rely on us for,” Simonet said.
Furthermore, with their busier lifestyles and the onset of technology, consumers are constantly looking for products that make their lives easier, he noted. “We believe in intelligent design, putting women’s needs first, achieving the perfect union of beauty on the outside and function on the inside.”
Describing Radley’s target consumer as professional women in the 30-45 age bracket, Simonet added: “We have collections that appeal to a wide spectrum of women, from the fun-loving holidaymaker looking for unique designs to the stylish businesswoman looking for practical work bags they can travel with. Within travel retail we focus on our unique colourful and fun designs as well as on functionality and price, targeting that impulse buy.”
Radley’s huge ambition for travel retail is matched by its commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). “CSR is key to the integrity of our brand,” Simonet stated. “We have two key charities that we support on an ongoing basis: the British Heart Foundation (BHF) with whom we have a longstanding partnership, having introduced BHF exclusive products with all profits going to the charity; and Kids Company which is very close to our hearts as it’s a London-based charity that does incredible work with disadvantaged inner city kids.”
In line with this commitment, Radley will be donating prizes for the WiTR (Women in Travel Retail) charity auction in Cannes this year, which aims to raise funds for Sierra Leone-based children’s charity All As One.
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| Radley’s target market comprises professional women in the 30-45 age bracket | ||
