I’ve been talking about SuperDry for a year.  British born and Japanese inspired T-shirt and hoodie brand has finally crossed over the pond.  I’ve been waiting so patiently and it finally opened a couple of days ago at 729 7th Ave, NYC.  The SuperDry line covers both men’s and women’s apparel with ball park pricing of $30 logo tees, $100 hoodies, $125 denim, $80 shorts and backpacks and travel bags reaching $300.  The quality of the fabric and the make of garments and accessories are reflected in the price – pretty decent stuff. But will it catch on in America? We’ve got quite a few T-shirt and jean brands we love already.  Only time will tell.

Superdry Opens NYC Store in Times Square Today– Plus an Interview with the President of Superdry USA

Credit: Written by Robyn Stark on May 9, 2012 in Industry Insider

When you’re an internationally recognized brand, it’s practically a requirement to have a presence in New York City’s Times Square.

The iconic tourist arena is now home to a 14,000 square foot Superdry USA store, packed with contemporary clothing for men and women from the unique British label, including signature pieces such as their windcheaters and leather jackets. Our friends at the Sacramento Bee have assured us the two-story retailer also retains the brand’s wacky design flare, with “oversized jam jar chandeliers, as well as triple patchwork tables made from reclaimed wood and an extensive use of raw steel. New design innovations never before seen in Superdry’s U.S. stores will include an industrial bomb light chandelier made from British factory lights salvaged from the 1940′s, bespoke cubby-style denim cabinetry, vetrine mannequin display units and a dedicated area to the brand’s leather and premium footwear collection.” It’s everything you’d expect from the Tokyo-inspired label, and so much more!

So, how does a fairly new brand– not quite ten years old– gain an international following with stores around the country (this is their 3rd New York location, with another set to open up on Lexington Ave)? We spoke with Superdry USA President Michael Martens on the brand’s success, his aggressive day-to-day role with the company, and the secret sauce on how they gained their fan base.

Michael Martens, President of Superdry USA

How would you define the Superdry client?One of the great things about Superdry is that we are able to transcend multiple markets and reach a diverse group of consumers – from rugged, classic, preppy, rocker, to feminine and on – while still maintaining a cohesive statement. The Superdry customer is looking for interesting fashion with impeccable quality and fit.

What does your day-to-day role as President of the company entail? What I love about the role is that the day-to-day is never the same.  One day could be filled with back-to-back real estate meetings; the next spent selecting the upcoming season’s product, or diving into our retail and wholesale sales.  Our corporate team is still small so we have an “all hands on deck” mentality to keep the brand moving forward.

How would you describe your personal style, what inspires you? I’m inspired by vintage Americana fashion. I like comfortable, classic, all American style with a twist – interesting fabrications, fits, and details.

Can you talk a bit about the influences Japanese style has had on American fashion over the last 5 years and where Superdry fits into that influence? Japanese fashion is influencing western style more and more these days.  Superdry is inspired by Tokyo street style, which can be seen in the high impact Japanese graphics and use of Japanese characters in our overall design, utility and color.

Last year, Superdry launched an ambitious campaign to find stylish students to represent the company as ambassadors through a successful Facebook campaign, what other new-media approaches are you taking to promote the brand? Our Ambassador program has been a great success thus far.  Through a 4-month Facebook imitative we narrowed down thousands of applicants to select our 26 ambassadors from 13 Universities across the country. In addition to hosting on campus events and spreading the word about Superdry, our ambassadors have unique Superdry University Tumblr’s and create content for our Superdry University Facebook tab.

We are always trying to stay abreast of new-media and connect with our consumer in fun and engaging ways. Whether it’s through Tumblr, Instagram, Pintrest, Sotify, Facebook, etc., or even through our new photo booth in our Times Square store, which opens Wednesday, where after taking a vintage photo strip or video, shoppers can share their photo and videos to their Facebook and Twitter pages from the machine itself.

If you had to choose one aspect of the company that is responsible for building the brand’s international following, what would you choose? Our celebrity following has certainly helped in terms of international exposure. In 2007 David Beckham was spotted wearing our Brad Leather jacket all around the globe, which was really a turning point for Superdry.  From then our celebrity fans have remained strong including Josh Duhamel, Bradley Cooper, Camilla Belle, Kristen Stewart, Amy Smart, Jamie Chung, Lucy Hale, Zoe Saldana, ZacEfron, Leonardo Dicaprio and Adrian Grenier, among others. These fans have created large-scale visibility for the brand on an international scale.

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