In January, we had the opportunity to learn about a founder’s passion and drive to save his company. Retail entrepreneur, Julian Dunkerton, who won a proxy battle in early 2019 to regain control of Superdry and commence a design-led turnaround of the brand, was with us to discuss the ongoing transformation of the brand.
Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Our conversation with Julian touched on his personal philosophy, provided an encouraging update on the status of the turnaround of the brand, and shared his contrarian actions that have seen the company expand its reach with limited incremental capital needed. Through Superdry’s increased use of social media influencers (including Neymar Jr.), and renegotiating store rent expense significantly lower while even expanding the store footprint, Julian is taking advantage of the current market environment. We believe the company is coming out of the Covid period stronger and with a very long runway for growth ahead of it.
We’ve put together the best parts of the conversation as it relates to rejuvenating the brand, utilizing the social channels to drive customer engagement, and improving profit margins.
We also had the pleasure to spend time with Superdry’s Creative Director, Phil Dickinson, back in November 2020 and get a firsthand view of the AW’21 product. While being able to get a “sneak peek” on the next season’s product is fun, the highlight was having Phil express his excitement on the state of the new strategic style approach he’s helping to define since joining in January 2019. Unfortunately Covid-19 has prevented the market from fully appreciating how stark a difference the product is from years ago, so in addition to a Q&A with Phil we take you through a walkthrough of the Cheltenham Superdry store.
Article by GreenWood Investors
