License Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 53) O U T L O O K ’ 0 8 | R E TA I L ER PR O F I L E In the United States, there is a more limited licensed product range—and all with U.S.-based licensees. Dress shirts and suits are supplied by parent company Oxford Industries and there is also a licensee for leather jackets and headwear. Gray sees licensing as an important part of the brand to keep developing. “Licensing is already a big part of our business, accounting for a third of our turnover, but is concentrated on the UK market,” he says. “Some of the existing more luxury product, watches for example, could be global. But in the shorter term we’re likely to develop licensed product regionally—but always keeping control ourselves.” Ben Sherman was bought by the U.S. apparel group Oxford Industries from private equity investor 3i in 2004 in a deal worth £20 million. It now sits alongside Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Geoffrey Beene, Dockers, Nautica, and other owned and licensed brands in the Oxford portfolio. And the investment is taking the business into significant new realms through an aggressive international storeopening program. On its home ground, Ben Sherman is opening its fifth store, in the Bullring in Birmingham in October, heading toward a target of 15 stores in the UK. In the United States, the fourth store is opening shortly in Union Square in San Francisco, following up on New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. The plan is for 12 to 14 U.S. stores to open over the next two years. Internationally, the picture is just as dynamic. Ben Sherman already has stores in Singapore, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Melbourne, and Manila. In October, stores are opening in Cape Town and Kuwait, and in early 2008, stores are set to open in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Next spring a store opens in Berlin for the first time. While the company runs its own businesses in the UK, United States, and Germany, the other stores are opened with local partners and, already, retail accounts for a third of the turnover. It’s almost 45 years since the first Ben Sherman shirts hit the UK fashion market—back in Brighton in 2008, the brand is set to feel just as fresh. © Traveling through Time Ben Sherman’s spring/summer 2008 Global collection is themed around the concept of ‘Decades’ and inspired by the music genres that have mapped Ben Sherman’s heritage. It celebrates the British music movements that themselves created style statements. From this inspiration, three distinctive looks have been created for the season around The Original Brighton Mods, Punk with a Ska twist, and Britpop. Menswear highlights include an iconic slim-lapel blazer, modern military jackets, two-tone knits, super-slim shirt collars, and a skinny jean. The womenswear collection features bold gingham checks with mod-inspired scooter coats and skinny trousers; sharp, clean tailoring; slim silhouettes with black-and-white geometrics; and highlights of industrial pink. Festival summer dresses inspired by the 1990s in bold reds and yellows with bright, classic Ben Sherman checks have a relaxed and carefree attitude. August 2007 www.licensemag.com 53 http://www.licensemag.com
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