The international premium jeans Replay wants to expand into the street-sport market segment by focusing on its newborn Replay Sportlab brand.
The new project debuted during Pitti Uomo’s June 2018 edition (also see: https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/stories/Trade-Show-Review-Discover-why-Pitti-Uomo-hit-another-successful-edition-14150) and is selling through its first two pop-up stores–one at Selfridges London opened in November 2018 and a second one inaugurated at Galeries Lafayette in Paris at the end of January 2019. It is now focused on expanding globally as it will soon also reach Japan as it plans to open a pop-up store at Isetan in Tokyo while expanding Europewide in Sweden at Åhlens in Stoockholm, and in Germany at Wormland, in Hamburg, Breuninger in Stuttgart and Engelhorn in Mannhein.
“We strongly believe in the importance to enter the premium sports apparel segment by offering this collection of pieces that mix our denim spirit with the ’90s hip-hop and skate culture,” says Matteo Sinigaglia, president, Fashion Box, the company behind the Replay, We Are Replay and Replay & Sons brands. “We have chosen to do it right now, especially because in a few months skateboarding will participate the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the first time.”
He continues: “The first results from these first few months selling the brand were very positive. For this we want to continue this path expanding in premium sports apparel, a vast market that is ruled by giant companies such as Nike and Adidas. Despite we are smaller we hope we can bring our added value and great innovation at product level.”
Fashion Box will also start selling Replay Sport Lab via e-commerce by 2020: “We want to offer Millennials a forward-thinking and transversal product. We originate from the heritage denim and want to contaminate it with contemporary and young-minded elements typical of the skating world. As this sport is highly sustainable also this collection wants to be so. For this we don’t offer, for instance, nylon pieces in it. Our outer jackets are made with printed paper. Being eco-friendly in this market is not for granted, though we chose to be sporty and sustainable at the same time.”
While always focused on developing new projects, Replay’s has closed a successful 2018 as it registered revenues of €237.9 million and an EBITDA of €21.7 million (21% more than in 2017).
The company is growing organically in Northern and Central Europe, though it is also focused on global expansion plans that, in addition to Southern America (also see: https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/portrait/Business-Latin-Americaa-tasty-bite-for-denim-brands-14543), it started a strategic partnership with Reliance Brands Limited for growing in India where it opened two flagship stores (one in Dehli and one in Mumbai). At the end of 2018 it also started a partnership for the distribution of clothing, accessories and footwear in Eastern Europe. Here Fashion Box has partnered with Fashion Company as majority holder of the agreement. By 2021 it expects to open eight monobrand stores and also sell through wholesale channels.
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