How Country Road went from cult classic to fashion forgettable largely thanks to a cost-cutting decision more than 20 years ago
The once-beloved Aussie brand is in clear trouble, with Country Road Group reporting in March its earnings were down almost 72 per cent at $14.2million for the last half of 2024.
One of its longstanding flagship stores at Sydney CBD's Queen Victoria Building has shut up shop, as has sister brand Trenery in Mosman, on Sydney's affluent lower north shore. Another CBD store in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall is expected to close when its lease expires in three years' time.
Queensland University of Technology marketing expert Gary Mortimer said Country Road had lost its iconic Australian lifestyle brand status since Woolworths Holdings took a controlling stake in the late 90s.
A cost-cutting move to manufacture offshore gradually eroded its 'Made in Australia' appeal and weakened the brand's authenticity, Professor Mortimer said.
'Since its launch in the mid-1970s, Country Road clothing was primarily made in Australia, specifically, the iconic chambray shirt which I and nearly every other young man had during that time was made here using Australian cotton,' he said.
'The company emphasised its commitment to Australian manufacturing during that time.
'Much of that production has shifted to Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan under new ownership, essentially losing the essence of what Country Road stood for.'
Professor Mortimer said a shift to lower prices in the early 2000s to boost sales had signalled to loyal shoppers that 'potentially the quality is no longer there'.
'Today, Country Road is a mainstream fashion retailer, medium pricing, mostly offshore manufacturing and now competing with other middle-market mainstream fashion retailers,' he said.
'They haven't brought their core customers along on a journey.
'Essentially those customers, like I, who were buying Country Road in the mid-1980s, are now aged in their 50s and are shopping different brands.
'Unlike RM Williams, who acknowledged an ageing core customer, and actively began targeting 25-35 year olds to fill that gap Country Road haven't revitalised their brand.'
Consumer behaviour analyst Barry Urquhart advised Country Road founder Stephen Bennett on the brand back in its heyday.
Founded by Bennett in Australia in 1974, the business began in Hawthorn, Victoria, with the first standalone store opening in nearby Armadale.
Bennett's vision was to create quality clothing designed for an Australian way of life, with the classic cotton chambray shirt released in 1984 an enduring wardrobe staple.
Mr Urquhart said this laid the foundation for the brand's success as a lifestyle brand, at times referred to as the Ralph Lauren of Australia.
The company expanded to the USA in the 1980s and by 1987 was listed on the ASX.
Last year it marked its 50th anniversary.
A year on from that milestone birthday, Country Road is on the brink of collapse, Mr Urquhart said.
'The brand has left itself exposed and vulnerable,' he said.
'It's lost its Australian accent, its identity and point of difference.'
Mr Urquhart said the brand could survive but it would need a lot of investment.
'The answer doesn't lie with loyalty programs,' he said.
'It is imperative that the Country Road brand articulates its values and defines its unique and differentiated market position.'
Mr Urquhart said the brand needed to formulate and project a compelling statement to stimulate relevance and demand.
'The brands, bricks 'n' mortar stores and product range need to promote the emotive and subjective attributes of touch, smell, colours and look,' he said.
'Fashion is a moving feast. Country Road needs to be dynamic, malleable and compelling.'
Professor Mortimer said to survive, Country Road should follow RM Williams' strategies to innovate ranges and target a younger market.
He said the company, which has blamed its poor sales results on a 'retail recession' it claims hasbeen running for two years, should also collaborate with iconic Australian and First Nations designers and commit resources to Australian manufacturing.
Since news broke of its flagship store closing in Sydney, the company assured customers that its retail footprint is being expanded in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.
'From time to time, we review our retail store portfolio to ensure we're continuing to meet the needs of our customers,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
'We are committed to delivering great experiences throughout our networks and we are investing in our stores, with 10 new or refurbished stores opening by the end of the year.'
Country Road Group has been contacted for further comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
More bad news for millions of Aussie borrowers as RBA chief makes pivotal rate cuts decision
The Reserve Bank has declared interest rates won't be slashed in Australia like in other nations because inflation is still too high. While underlying inflation has eased, Governor Michele Bullock says there needs to be evidence that will be stay at the mid-point of its two to three per cent target. The RBA left the cash rate on hold at 3.85 per cent in July, surprising financial markets, but Ms Bullock said borrowers expecting big rate cuts in 2025 and 2026 would be disappointed. 'Interest rates in Australia did not rise as high as they did in some other economies, and so we may not need to lower them as much on the way down,' she told the Anika Foundation Fundraising Lunch in Sydney. Australia's cash rate is much higher than Canada 's 2.75 per cent and New Zealand 's 3.25 per cent. This is despite underlying inflation in May falling to just 2.4 per cent. Ms Bullock said June quarter consumer price index data, due out next week, would have to show underlying inflation being much lower than the March quarter's 2.9 per cent. 'We expect trimmed mean inflation to fall a little further in the June quarter in year-ended terms,' she said. 'However, the monthly CPI Indicator data, which are volatile, suggest that the fall may not be quite as much as we forecast back in May. 'We still think it will show inflation declining slowly towards 2.5 per cent, but we are looking for data to support this expectation.'
Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Australia relaxes curbs on US beef that angered Trump
SYDNEY/CANBERRA, July 24 (Reuters) - Australia will ease restrictions on beef imports from the United States, the country's agriculture ministry said on Thursday, potentially smoothing trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, who had attacked its rules. Still, the decision is unlikely to significantly boost U.S. shipments because beef prices are much lower in Australia, analysts said. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said in a statement a "rigorous science and risk-based assessment" had concluded that U.S. measures to monitor and control the movement of cattle meant biosecurity risks were being effectively managed. The government "will never compromise on biosecurity," she said, adding: "Australia stands for open and fair trade – our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this." Canberra has restricted U.S. beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. has been allowed into Australia since 2019. But few suppliers were able to prove their animals had been only in the U.S., because cattle frequently moved between the U.S., Canada and Mexico without being adequately tracked. The U.S. has been improving its ability to monitor animals' movements to limit the spread of avian influenza and the New World screwworm, a parasite that eats cattle alive. Recognising those improvements, Australia will now also accept beef sourced from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and legally imported and slaughtered in the U.S., the agriculture ministry said. Australian firms will be able to apply for import permits from July 28, it added. News of Australia changing its policy was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. The report said Australia will use the easing of rules to argue its case for the United States to wind back 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium and Trump's threat to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Trump in April singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia after Australia's beef exports to the United States surged last year, reaching A$4 billion ($2.64 billion) amid a slump in U.S. beef production. Australia's biosecurity regimen aims to keep its cattle disease-free and help it preserve access to lucrative markets such as Japan and South Korea. U.S. beef shipments to Australia restarted last year after a hiatus. But exports remained tiny. Last year's shipment of 269 tons of beef to Australia was the most for any year, beating out the 263 tons sent in 1995, Australian customs data show. Australia has shipped between around 150,000 tons and 400,000 tons of beef every year to the U.S. since 1990, with U.S. fast-food chains prizing Australian product for its lower fat content and competitive prices. Cattle prices in the United States are almost always higher than in Australia and are currently double Australian levels, said Matt Dalgleish, a meat and livestock analyst at consultants Episode 3. "This is not going to displace Australian beef in the Australian market," he said.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
RBA wary of cutting rates until it has more evidence on inflation, Bullock says
The Reserve Bank is wary of cutting interest rates until it has gathered more evidence that inflation remains on a path back towards the 2.5% target, Michele Bullock says, as the governor defended the central bank's slow and steady approach to monetary policy. In a speech to the Anika Foundation in Sydney, Bullock also said the RBA was not targeting 'a certain unemployment rate or number of job losses' in its pursuit of low and stable inflation. Unions have harshly criticised the RBA's reluctance to cut interest rates despite inflation dropping well below 3%, saying the surprise decision on 8 July to not offer further mortgage relief had been a 'blow to workers'. Jim Chalmers has been more circumspect, but still noted that 'millions of Australians' would have been disappointed by the outcome. But Bullock in her speech defended the bank's record and its cautious approach, saying price pressures have been largely brought under control over the past two-and-a-half years without the significant rise in unemployment that has typically been the price of taming inflation. The key jobless measure ticked up to 4.3% in June, but has held largely steady at 4-4.1% over the preceding 18 months. Inflation is at 2.4%. Instead of job losses, the labour market has adjusted via Australians working fewer hours, voluntary job switching, and a drop in job vacancies, she said. 'Having your hours cut is tough, but it's often preferable to losing a job altogether. And it's worth noting that some of this decline in hours has been voluntary, especially over the past year or so.' While it's clear the RBA believes it will lower rates further this year, Bullock said the bank believed there was 'still some tightness in the labour market', and that the monetary policy board had become more concerned that consumer price growth was not falling as quickly as expected. 'We still think it (the consumer price data) will show inflation declining slowly towards 2.5 per cent, but we are looking for data to support this expectation.' Bullock said the bank's focus on keeping as many of the post-pandemic employment gains led to the board's decision to raise rates more slowly than in other countries. The flip side was that interest rates in Australia did not rise as high as they did in some other economies, and 'so we may not need to lower them as much on the way down'. This lingering concern over inflation contributed to the monetary policy board's surprise decision to hold the cash rate at 3.85% following its last meeting - although the decision had not been unanimous, after three of the nine board members voted in favour of a cut. Confirmation that price pressures are still easing are expected to come as soon as next Wednesday with the release of the inflation report for the June quarter. Financial markets and most economists at this stage are again predicting the cash rate will be lowered following the next policy board meeting on 11-12 August.
