LOS ANGELES — California’s Anchor Blue is setting sail for the Sunshine State.
The junior manufacturer and retailer, which operates 157 stores in the western U.S., is in the midst of launching 13 new units, with 11 of them in Florida.
The Florida openings represent the company’s first foray into the eastern U.S. Based in Ontario, Calif., Anchor Blue has close to 100 doors in its home state.
In Florida, the company launched units in Tallahassee and Saint Petersburg on Nov. 1, and in Sanford on Nov. 8. The remaining stores are scheduled for completion by Dec. 6: in Altamonte Springs, Boynton Beach, Fort Meyers, Jensen Beach, North Lakeland, Melbourne, Ocoee and Coral Springs.
Elsewhere, the company opened two units in Utah in October and will open locations in Sacramento, Calif., and in Texas towns Humble and Arlington by the end of the year.
Michael Bush, chief executive officer of the privately owned company, said imminent plans include “focusing on expanding our presence in our existing markets, as well as extending our reach into the Sun Belt in Florida and Texas. We think our West Coast fashion aesthetic will do well there. They are a little more trend-driven, less preppy-driven. And they have strong net population gains. Lots of people are moving into places like San Antonio, Miami and Jacksonville.”
With its Florida stores, the company bowed a new store design that will act as a template for all future locations. The concept features an ocean-inspired color palette and an open, industrial-feel floor plan; stores range from around 5,000 to 6,000 square feet. “There’s more product accessible on tables,” said Bush, “and the layout is more intuitive, so that items that complement one another are placed together.” Bush said it’s likely that some existing stores will be overhauled in the same image in the coming months, as well.
The company, which sells under its moderately priced private label, was founded as Millers Surplus in the Sixties, then later morphed into Miller’s Outpost, a moniker the company has retained for its 11 stores located in strip malls, as opposed to enclosed shopping centers. In 1981, owner David Miller sold the company to American Retail Group, which renamed the stores Anchor Blue in 2000, after its house denim brand. Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners acquired the retailer’s parent company, Hub Distributing Inc., in 2003.
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After three consecutive years of double-digit same-store declines, Bush was brought on to spearhead a successful turnaround of the company in December 2003. “Comp-store sales are basically steady every year [now],” said Bush. “They’re solid this year.” Net sales last year were approximately $400 million.
“One of the key things we found in turning around…was finding what Anchor Blue is all about and what we mean to our customers,” said Bush. “One of the things that’s really cool is that we have a kind of West Coast vibe, but also a kind of welcoming and inclusive brand personality. We’re a brand that appreciates the diversity of teenagers and cultures and points of view in terms of fashion and lifestyle. So rather than being exclusive or a little bit arrogant, we’re very embracing.”
Anchor Blue’s in-store merchandise mix is around 30 percent junior apparel, 50 percent young men’s apparel and 20 percent accessories. Core price points are $29.50 to $34.50 for denim; $24.50 to $29.50 for tops and $16 to $21 for Ts and basic knits. The fashion aesthetic is laid-back California: basic denim, silk-screened Ts and sporty jackets.
“What we really saw was that our customers were looking for good values — high-quality clothes at a good price. Rather than doing a kind of high-low…or promotions [such as] buy-ones, what we really focused on was having our initial prices be good values. That made our initial pricing much more credible to the customer. It allowed us to have much higher full-price sell-throughs of our merchandise.”
Bush said creating a welcoming, nonthreatening store environment — and apparel that won’t challenge the average teen’s bravery — was also integral to the turnaround. “We have a phrase internally,” he said. “Lots of other teen retailers ‘afflict the comfortable.’ They make the captain of the football team and the prom queen feel inadequate. We’re all about comforting the afflicted. We sell clothes you can wear every day.”