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J O H N C r a i G
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if you care about how you look you’ll know John Craig, a retail chain that truly puts the customer first.
By ian armitage
T H R I L LDressed to
I t has been an exciting 12 months for John Craig. Founded 70 years ago, and with its
origins as a Jewish, family-run men’s outfi tter, it is a niche player but it’s a large and signifi cant niche – and it is growing steadily.
John Craig is a specialist in men’s clothing and footwear. It has over 60 shops throughout South Africa and it caters for a mainstream market.
It competes neither with the cheap clothing sheds at the bottom end of the market nor the high fashion boutiques favoured by the wealthy.
“We’ve had a good year and things are getting better – we intend to continue opening new stores as we ramp up our expansion,” says marketing manager Nicole Van Doninck.
A typical customer would be a mature male, over 30, with a good career and all the aspirations that go with the expanding South African middle class, among whom incomes have trebled in the last decade.
He will probably have a growing family and the responsibility of a house, but he needs to maintain his image socially and at work.
These customers are comfortable with John Craig.
The plan is to get the word out, cater for a wider audience, and get into provinces it hasn’t reached yet.
“We are looking at a few locations in the Cape area, and when we fi nd out where our target market does its shopping we will be setting up there,” says Van Doninck. “There is a lot of potential to expand and we are carefully selecting the best locations.”
Several key words sum up John Craig: trust, loyalty, integrity, sincerity, style, quality, and exclusivity.
John Craig foCus retail
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John Craig foCus retail
We should add ‘personal service’ to that list.
“Personal service of a practical nature is what typifies a visit to a John Craig branch,” says Van Doninck.
Appreciating that no two men are the same shape as each other if any suit or formal trousers bought at John Craig needs to be altered to make a perfect fit, those alterations will be carried out at no charge, very often on the same day.
Most of the clothes John Craig sells are international brands that have proved popular over the years. This range is updated but only
Personal service of a practical nature is what typifies a visit to a
John Craig branch
SOVIET has been a trusted brand within the fashion industry, following suit after its strong descent from Mother Russia.
SOVIET represents urban expressionism; a lifestyle that inspires SOVIET to rise beyond expectations of a fashion forward society and honour the every-day, trendy people whose voices are expressed through their clothing accessories and footwear.
This season SOVIET is honouring urban culture with their incredible collection for winter 2012. Let SOVIET be the brand that is a part of your freedom, thrill and lifestyle.
SOVIET only has one wish for you; for the freedom to express your individuality in SOVIET wear.
Soviet
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John Craig foCus retail
very selectively: even so, there are occasions when lines that sell well abroad aren’t quite right for South Africa. When a gap is spotted it is fi lled with one of John Craig’s own brands like Muratti or Carano.
“We are always looking to improve and so have altered the layout of some stores,” Van Doninck adds. “The store fi ttings used to be a lot more fi xed – one area was dedicated to formal products, another to footwear and another for causal, for instance. We’ve mixed that up a bit, depending on the location.
“In terms of customers we are still very much catering for the sophisticated gent, who wants to be smart and is aspirational.
“One trend we’ve noticed in recent months is that men are going out and buying footwear that is a bit more fashionable, especially in terms of colour. There’s been a big change there. It’s not a huge drift, but there is a slightly more fashionable element that has come into play.”
Van Doninck says the goal is to have 100 John Craig stores across the country.
“We can’t open as many as we’d like because the property isn’t there! Eventually we’ll get there – there are a number of mall developments springing up around the country.
“From Johannesburg’s fi nancial district, Sandton – the richest square mile in Africa – to dusty mining towns in remote provinces, there is nowhere South Africans would rather work, eat or unwind than a sparkling new shopping mall.
“New complexes are currently planned for every corner of the country so there is a lot of potential for the business.” END
To learn more visit www.johncraig.co.za.
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3 River Road Corner Boeing RoadBedfordviewGauteng, 2007, South Africa
Tel: 011 615-0133Fax: 011 615-0133 Email: [email protected]
www.johncraig.co.za
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