Holding the Reins on Retail Store Growth
As True Religion invests first in building its e-commerce business and secondly, the wholesale distribution, there’s still room in the budget for brick-and-mortar.
“We are not going to roll out stores like we used to. It’s a different world today,” said Michael Buckley, True Religion’s chief executive officer, when asked about the future for the brand’s store fleet.
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“We think that for the demographic of our customer today, we know exactly what’s the right footprint. If we could find the right location, the right demographic, the right economic deal, the right store size with the right adjacencies, we would roll out more stores. It wouldn’t be dozens per year, but it could be five or 10 stores a year.
“Some of our stores are in places you wouldn’t expect, but we happen to have our demographic there and we are very selectively looking for other locations where we absolutely feel we have the right demographic,” Buckley added.
Also factoring into decisions on opening new stores is what’s in the vicinity. What brands and what types of stores are adjacent to or nearby a site under consideration is a crucial factor in deciding to take the site.
“Is there a Guess there? Is there a Levi’s there? Is there a Nike there? How are they performing there? If we get the right economic deals with landlords, which I think is a little more in our favor now than it was a few years ago, I think we will continue to roll out stores,” said Buckley. “But the real growth is going to come from number one, e-commerce, and number two, wholesale. And number three would be from stores. It’s about getting growth out of all of them.”
At one time, True Religion operated over 130 doors. Yet three years ago a dramatic streamlining began that was hastened during the pandemic.
“Brick-and-mortar is important to all retailers, but at the end of the day, consumers pick and choose how they want to interact with brands,” Paige Havens, vice president of retail for True Religion, told WWD. “Our brand is no different. Consumers could start online, and end up shopping in the store. Or some want to start by touching and feeling the product. There is a new generation that likes that experiential component and wants to become part of the community and the brand.”
True Religion, said Havens, is “definitely diversifying its distribution model. Today we have just under 50 stores. There’s been a tightening of the store fleet. Like most retailers, we’ve looked at how and where our stores are positioned, and have been making sure the stores are profitable, in the right locations, where customers are shopping and where they live.”