Loading
Like Radical, Dude
STRATEGY
A national teen retailer is bringing its California vibe to Florida.
It's opening 17 stores in the Sunshine State in less than a year.
Laid-back cool and righteous surfer hipness is making its way to the Gulf Coast, in the form of a teen-focused, California-inspired retailer that has chosen Florida as its next big-wave growth market.
Get ready to be stoked.
Ontario, Calif.-based Anchor Blue opened 10 stores in Florida over 42 days late last year. The blitz included new stores, with companywide new designs, in Fort Myers, St. Petersburg and Coral Springs. The company is now making plans for seven new stores in Florida, five of which are scheduled to open in malls in Brandon, Clearwater, Naples, Sarasota and Tampa over the next three months. The first store opening is scheduled for Aug. 8 at the Westfield Sarasota Square Mall.
"We feel like Florida is a natural fit for us," Anchor Blue Vice President Bob Higgins says. "We see a lot of similarity between Florida and California."
Looking past whether that's a complement, an insult or something in between, Anchor Blue's expansion comes with some significant retail challenges. The teen clothing market is notorious for its competitiveness and its fickle customer base. Also, Florida has a wide cultural mix of teens, who have various codes and mantras when it comes to dressing up (or down, as the case may be), meaning any store catering to teens must have a diverse merchandise menu or be really in touch with its niche.
Not surprisingly, Higgins says, Anchor Blue has it covered. He considers the retail chain an entry market-type store from a price standpoint, but with a higher quality than the low end of the market. Closest competitors: Aeropostale and Hollister.
One of Anchor Blue's attractions is it's the type of place, where teens - and young adults, ages 13 to 25 - can buy an outfit and still afford to go to the movies afterward. "We're not too trendy," Higgins says, "and we're not too expensive."
And Higgins' answer to meeting the constantly changing purchasing habits of teens? Join 'em.
Higgins, the company's vice president of real estate and store development, has changed the interior look of the company's stores, starting with the ones the company opened in Florida last year. The new look is more inviting, Higgins says, using soft lighting and natural woods. The stores have metal desks replicating a 1960s feel and the entrances have a blue metal facade, what Higgins calls a "portal."
Anchor Blue, with its suburban Los Angeles headquarters, operates 236 stores in 32 states and Puerto Rico, including 110 stores in California. It has been around for 60 years, first as Millers Surplus, than as Millers Outpost and since 1981 as Anchor Blue. Initially, Anchor Blue was just a clothing line, selling to other teen retailers.
The first Anchor Blue store opened in 1996, but revenues and earnings didn't grow significantly in the early years. Boca Raton-based private equity firm Sun Capital Partners bought a majority share of the company in 2003, and the firm retains a large stake in the retailer today.
Higgins says earnings and returns have been steady the past two years, although he declined to release specific revenue figures.
-Mark Gordon
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
