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Published
May 30, 2017
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Jack Wills opens first German store in high-end resort town

Published
May 30, 2017

Jack Wills has opened its first German store as part of a plan revealed by Fashion Network earlier this spring to maximise sales opportunities in markets using currencies other than the pound.


Jack Wills



It has opened a store in Sylt in the north of the country with plans for another 11 international locations in the next few months. The new location is the brand’s first store in mainland Europe with Germany chosen after online sales there rose 75% in recent periods. It already has 90 stores spread across its domestic UK market, as well as the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.

Sylt is a good fit for Jack Wills. The high-end holiday resort hosts the Windsurf Worldcup and repeats the firm’s US strategy where it opened in report towns, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The brand was itself founded 18 years ago in a UK seaside town, Salcombe.

The company, which recently launched athleisure lines for women and men, is seeking to reduce its heavy exposure to the weak pound and operate in a variety of currencies as this will act as “a natural hedge” against exchange rate volatility, founder and CEO Peter Williams said.

UK firms are currently facing a pricing dilemma as the weak pound raises the cost of imported goods. While the luxury sector has seen a boom due to tourist arrivals in Britain as Chinese, American, Russian and Middle Eastern shoppers seek to buy their wishlist pieces at a cheaper price, the rest of the fashion retail sector is wrestling with how much to push up their prices. The costs of imported raw materials and finished goods have gone up by 20% in some cases while local business property tax rises and higher wage bills have also put pressure on retailers.

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