Off-price chain sheds apparel outlet image - Canda Fashions

Discount Store News, May 9, 1988

Off-Price Chain Sheds Apparel Outlet Image

LOS ANGELES--Bucking the apparel specialty store trend toward more and more sportswear, Canda Fashions is devoting its entire store to the women's career apparel category.

The 51-store chain, with locations in Southern California, the Midwest and Canada, is an offshoot of a Canadian vendor, the name of which Canda keeps anonymous for business purposes, said general manager Felix Scott.

Canda's apparel specialization targets the business woman, who Scott said is well-educated and also shops the major department stores.

Although the career segment is tough these days--in part because suits and the like are so promotional at department stores--Scott said Canda is able to succeed exactly because there are so few discount or off-price stores catering to this customer.

The average stores are about 1,600 square feet carrying some 3,000 total units, and in addition to Canda apparel, the stores also stock coordinating tops, sweaters and accessories. Scott said the stores average about $200 per square foot, and annual sales per store are $400,000.

Although Canda started in the early '70s as an outlet store, Scott said its popularity eventually grew and the retail sector of the business is "now the biggest factor of the company."

Much of the growth has come since 1982, when Canda had just two locations, and it is also since this time that the image of an outlet store has been left behind.

No Longer Just Overruns

However, Canda draws some 75 percent of its merchandise from its manufacturing parent, but unlike the early days, the stores no longer stock just overruns or returned merchandise. Instead, Scott said Canda has its merchandise ordered and cut to its specifications while following the fashion leads set by its wholesale business.

Since the manufacturing portion of the business is still an important aspect, the Canda retail division does not carry the same labels as the wholesale products.

Instead, names like Madison Club and Brian David appear on suits, skirts, pants, blazers and two-piece dresses.

While most off-pricers try to play off the names of national department store-level brands, Scott said Canda is able to successfully sell its virtually private label products because customers just really care "about the look and the feel" of the garments.

Local newspaper ads indeed play up the fact that Canda is a discount store offering prices that are 30 percent to 50 percent lower than department store prices. Scott said the company experimented this spring with a low-key advertising approach, but it is now switching back to a more aggressive position.

However, Canda will keep its new merchandising approach, which Scott said takes it from an outlet position to off-price status. Most of the stores have been moved to better locations while interiors have been changed to include four-way display racks, wall face-outs and rounders, instead of the once familiar pipe racking, Scott said.

Scott said Canda will probably open only one or two units in '88, preferring instead to place greater emphasis on the upcoming two years when the chain should double in size.

PHOTO : Canda caters to the career woman, eschewing sportswear altogether, as in this Northridge, Calif., unit. The 51-store chain is an offshoot of a Canadian apparel manufacturer.