Officers Club in mid-market move

Menswear retailer Officers Club is investing£4 million to reposition itself away from the discount sector and into the middle market.

The decision follows the success of the retailer's first out-of-town store, which opened in Edinburgh last year and targeted mid-market shoppers.

Chairman and founder Dave Charlton said the retailer is aiming to move away from its discount image to a mid-market, less brash offer to distance itself from copycats. 'As opposed to an in-your-face discount message, it's now a bit more low key and concentrating on the merchandise,' he said.

A new graphics package is being installed in stores, while interiors are being revamped in a redesign programme that should be completed by this time next year. Lighting and flooring are being improved and some merchandise is being removed from stores to make them less cluttered.

Charlton said the retailer will maintain price points, but bring better quality to its ranges.

Charlton said the handful of stores that have already been revamped are producing like-for-like sales increases of 10 per cent.

'We recognise things have changed on the high street and we were guilty of becoming a little complacent,' said Charlton, who has been named Ernst & Young's UK Entrepreneur of the Year 2002 in the consumer services category.