Rip Curl is taking some important product initiatives while going through some management changes in its European operations. Denis Holtzwarth, a former Procter & Gamble executive who worked recently for Reebok and Oxbow, has been appointed as the new commercial director of Rip Curl Europe, replacing Stéphane Weinhold who recently moved to Rossignol. Fabien Dubois, formerly with Nike, has become commercial director for France, replacing Christophe Perrier who is now with Umbro’s French licensee.
The Australian brand, known mainly for its surf fashion range, plans to invest heavily now in promoting its mountainwear collection, which has seen a 40 percent sales increase during the last 3 years. It also plans to develop a full-fledged women’s collection, since women are seen as a customer base with major market potential. Women’s collection now represents only 37 percent of the company’s sales.
As part of its brand repositioning efforts, Rip Curl also wants to develop further the technical segment of its merchandise, particularly neoprene suits and glasses, including sunglasses. The company rolled out a new eyewear collection at the beginning of May that will replace about half of the brand’s current eyewear line (more in EyeWear Intelligence). The technical category now represents 25 percent of the company’s sales, while clothing represents 60 percent of sales and footwear the remaining 15 percent.
Rip Curl Europe, whose fiscal year ends on June 30, should achieve projected sales of €100 million in Europe, up from €90 million the previous year, according to Olivier Cantet, who runs the operation. Another 10 percent increase is budgeted for the next financial year.
The company continues to expand its retail base, adding new retail clients as well as corporate stores. A new corporate store just opened in Lausanne at the end of April, bringing the number of European concept stores to 42. Another opening was scheduled for the beginning of May in Madrid and a few weeks later in the Moroccan city of Rabat.
France remains the brand’s main European market with 20 corporate stores and 1,000 other retail venues. The brand is now available in 3,000 retail venues throughout Europe. As for the lucrative North American market, Rip Curl expects to add 4 new corporate stores to the existing 6 by the end of this year, located mostly in surf-crazy California and in Florida.
The Australian brand has apparently benefited from the continued liveliness of the leisure and sports fashion market, which has been growing at an annual clip of 7 percent in Europe in contrast to the stagnating general sports market.
Rip Curl’s sales in the relatively mature French and Spanish markets have risen by 10 percent. The growth has been even more remarkable in Portugal and Italy, where the brand is set to post a 15 percent sales increase. The smaller markets in Germany and Switzerland have grown by 20 and 30 percent, respectively, while sales in the Benelux have doubled. European sales have been boosted by 15 percent growth in apparel, while footwear and neoprene suits have been selling at a slower pace.
The brand has kicked off a new advertising campaign, taking advantage of the return of Mike Fanning, the Australian surfing champion, to the competition scene following knee surgery. The campaign, tag-lined “My Search,” targets primarily the 15-25 year-old audience with emphasis on experimentation, adventure and personal search. Besides the usual promotional materials, Rip Curl’s overhauled website now features personal blogs and videos of “My Search” exploration trips of the brand’s ambassadors filmed in partnership with MTV and other media partners. The company, which still has no immediate plans for going public, allocates up to 9 percent of its annual sales for advertising and promotion.
As previously reported, Rip Curl is developing strongly its line of sunglasses and ophthalmic glasses in Europe. In France it will work with a specialist, ADCL Plus, to cover the market as a distributor with its nine reps.
