Dick Smith’s wearable technology business, Move, will open its first New Zealand store in 2015.
Move debuted at Westfield Bondi in Sydney, Australia in October last year, targeting women aged 25 to 35 with a curated range of ‘fashtronics’ – wearable technology products and digital accessories.
The company is currently scouting locations in NZ, with a store expected to open in 2015 and a goal for a total of 10.
“Our immediate focus is Australia and then New Zealand, which will be our first foray internationally, but we think the brand’s got a bit of maturing to do,” said Michael Dykes, Dick Smith director of customer strategy.
“We’re pretty considered about how we’ll do it. NZ first because we know that market really well, airports to grow the brand exposure, and then look at opportunities beyond NZ and Australia.”
The product line up of the 160sqm to 180sqm stores includes curated technology products and accessories, encompassing everything from smartphones, tablets, and headphones, to cameras and MP3 products.
To complement the hardware, it also sells a high end range of fashionable covers and peripherals, including exclusive designer collaborations for smartphone covers and bags. Move has previously collaborated with fashion labels Romance Was Born and We Are Handsome.
Dykes describes the offering as “mobility” products. “If you can’t take it with you or it’s not going to help you when you are on the go, it’s not got a place in here,” he said.
“It’s the wonderful accessories you can get to personalise your product, and that’s where the fusion is – wearable fashion that is personalised with curated technology.
“Although we’re really pleased with what we’ve got [with Dick Smith], we realised we hadn’t gone far enough to attract the new customer.
“We studied what was happening in other markets, and it is becoming pretty clear that women are an early adopter with technology – in fact, they are John Lewis’ biggest spender in the entertainment category.
“There’s a real gap in the market, and no one else was doing it, so we thought there was an opportunity for someone to step in and own wearable technology.”
The Move experience begins before shoppers even enter the store, with windows merchandised more like a fashion store than an electronics store, and mannequins draped in electronics as part of their accessories.
“Move is the first brand to be on trend and actually work with designers to forecast future trends on what people would want. We’ve employed a buyer with a fashion background who is already educating the buying team on materials and colour palette for the next season. An electrical business talking about fashion season is new,” said Dykes.
A year on from its inception, and Move has seven stores in Australia and is gearing up for an e-commerce launch in the next month.
An additional seven Move stores will open across Sydney’s domestic and international airport terminals in the first quarter of 2015 in a $350 million deal with duty free retail operator, Gebr Heinemann.
The airport stores will be a launching pad to overseas markets.
“We think getting it in an airport location where there’s so many transient people and it’s very high profile will enhance the brand and people’s awareness, and then it’s more likely to have international relevance,” said Dykes.
