Company behind Superdry brand to start selling clothes in China

SuperGroup, the British company behind the Superdry fashion brand, has signed a joint venture deal to take its clothes into China, it said on Thursday, stepping up its push for a global presence.

The firm, whose trademark jackets and hoodies and are popular with teenagers and twentysomethings, has over 160 stores in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, with goods sold in over 100 countries, including concessions and online.

Expansion is planned in countries such as Germany and Austria, but it has also moved to gain exposure to the United States, and now China.

Having bought its US licence back in March to help accelerate growth, the company said on Thursday it had struck a minimum ten-year deal with retailer Trendy International Group to open its stores in China, a country set to overtake the US as the world's biggest apparel market.

Shares in the company were up 3.6 per cent at 1,285 pence in early trading, boosted also by strong first quarter sales figures.

"We believe SuperGroup's global growth opportunities remain undervalued. It is an early stage roll-out story with potential to double its UK and European owned store base, plus franchise growth opportunities and longer-term upside from the US and now China," said Investec analyst Kate Calvert, who has a 'buy' rating on the stock.

The first Chinese stores will not open until the middle of 2016, SuperGroup said, declining to give specific rollout figures. The tie-up will be funded by a combined investment of up to £18 million and is expected to be self-funding within two years of being in operation.

Trendy, which has 3,000 stores in China, will manage daily operations while SuperGroup focuses on brands and marketing.

SuperGroup also reported a small rise in profit for the year to April 25th. Underlying pretax profit rose 2 per cent to £63.2 million, within its guided range of £60 to 65 million, on revenue up 12.9 per cent at £486.6 million.

Reuters