When it comes to jeans, PAS Group CEO Eric Morris swears by one brand in particular: Italian fashion label Replay, which opened its first store in Australia at Chadstone Shopping Centre today. “I’ve worn Replay jeans for many years, and I’ve worn them because they are the most comfortable jeans anyone can ever wear,” Morris told Inside Retail. That’s a bold statement, but the fact that he recently wore a pair of Replay jeans on a 24-hour flight from Australia to Europe backs
backs it up.
PAS Group signed an exclusive agreement with Replay owner Fashion Box Group to launch the brand in Australia and New Zealand last August. And the comfort factor is just one of the reasons Morris made the deal.
Another is the brand’s strong track record of sustainable manufacturing, which he believes will resonate with local shoppers. Replay was an early adopter of natural pigments, recycled fabrics, and water-saving techniques.
“Ninety-five per cent of the product range is sustainable. There’s not many brands which actually can say that,” Morris said. “The mix when you look at that element with the actual Italian style, it’s just phenomenal.”
PAS Group has already launched local marketing campaigns emphasising the brand’s environmental credentials, with messages like: sustainability never looked so good.
This is in addition to the marketing that Replay does globally, such as sponsoring the All Blacks and major soccer clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax and Atalanta, and signing the likes of Neymar Neymar Jr and Usain Bolt as ambassadors.
“They’re really doing a lot from a marketing perspective,” Morris said, noting that Replay is also sponsoring the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament this year.
“They’re doing future collaborations with music artists. We’re talking about top names here as well,” he said.
New brands, new stores
The Chadstone store is just the beginning of Replay’s local expansion. PAS Group is in the final stages of securing a site for the first store in New Zealand, and actively looking for store locations in Sydney.
It has also signed a deal with David Jones to sell Replay jeans in five stores on a wholesale basis, with plans to expand that to 10 stores next season, and launched a local e-commerce site.
And Replay is just the first of many new brands that PAS Group expects to launch in Australia and New Zealand, following the appointment of former Tigerlily and Crumpler CEO Adam Wilkinson as head of new business last year.
The growth mandate comes directly from PAS Group owner Larry Kestelman, who acquired the business out of administration through his private equity arm Queens Lane Capital in 2020.
“With Larry, it’s all about growth, constant growth. And I think that’s what you need in this day and age,” Morris said. “You’ve got to keep moving forward. New brands, new stores, new opportunities, new licences. It’s happening all the time.”
PAS Group currently has a portfolio of over 15 brands, including Review, Yarra Trail, Marco Polo, Black Pepper, Breakaway, Everlast, Lonsdale and Bluey, which it sells through its own stores and wholesale partners, such as Kmart, Rebel and David Jones.