KEY POINTS:
The new owners of unlisted company Barkers Men's Clothing say sales in their first month at the retailer were up 5 per cent on a year ago.
Barkers, which has 19 stores across the country, was bought for an undisclosed price from company Apparel Brands at the beginning of November by Zac de Silva and Chris Greive.
Greive has previously been managing director of Flight Centre, where de Silva was the chief financial officer before becoming finance and commercial director for the House of Travel Group. Greive has been based in Europe while still acting as an adviser to Flight Centre.
Yesterday de Silva said the new owners were attracted to Barkers as it was a well- established brand with a strong reputation.
In the first month's trading under the new owners, sales were up by 5 per cent on last year, he said.
In contrast, clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson last week said its sales for the 16 weeks to November 21 were 2 per cent down on last year.
De Silva said the new owners saw opportunities to expand Barkers into related areas.
He would not elaborate, except to say that could include not only expanding product range but also growing throughout the country. For instance, Barkers now had just four sites in the South Island.
Barkers was established in 1972 by Ray Barker, father of Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker.
- NZPA
