Westport-Rising high on the fashion radar

Up until five years ago, the Westport brand was virtually unknown. However since they burst onto the scene in 2001, they have become a household name in TT and are continuing to firmly establish a niche for themselves in the local clothing retail market. Westport Kids is only another part of the company’s ever expanding brand name said company’s general manager Sean Gabriel in an interview with Business Day last week.

Gabriel said Westport’s directors got the idea for a company which catered to affordable casual clothing for the middle and upper classes as it was a market area which no company in TT had ever targeted before. The idea was simple enough, according to Gabriel, making it into a reality was the hard part. He pointed out the directors wanted the store to be innovative and unique to the local clothing market. He said the eventual design and layout of each store was fresh and inviting, something other retailers have not been able to emulate.

He said customers were also able to peruse items freely, without any pressure to purchase immediately. “When you see it, even if you don’t know what is inside, you just want to go inside because of the atmosphere in the store,” he asserted.

Westport began by selling casual clothing for men and women inspired by European fashion trends. A career clothing line is offered at times when sales for such items are expected to peak. Gabriel said this usually occurs nearing the end of school vacation periods.

The subsequent impact on the market fulfilled all expectations of the company. People were excited and eager about the innovation of Westport and the idea of purchasing and wearing affordable clothes by a local designer.

This impact gave the company the confidence to introduce Westport Body as a complement to Westport. This aspect of the enterprise offers a wide range of underwear and accessories at affordable prices, which Gabriel said, goes hand in hand with the Westport brand name.

The baby in the family, Westport Kids, came about as a result of regular clientele clamouring for the same value and service offered at the stores for their children.

Gabriel said the company found in their research that children stores tended to cater for entertainment rather than clothing. He said one found that toys were the main focus of many kiddie stores while apparel that genuinely appealed to children was hard to find and accessories were even scarcer.

Westport Kids, he emphasised, is an all-in-one store fashioned after the other stores in the company’s chain. He said the same image presented at Westport would be made available to persons from ages two to12.

As with the other stores, the concept and the merchandise are uncommon, the design and layout was done to appeal to the sensitivities of younger shoppers. To this end, Gabriel highlighted, bright colours, multi-hued LED lights and vibrant displays were used to cater to a child-like imagination. He said there were also plans in place to install monitors so infants and pre-teens could view cartoons and other suitable television features while wandering through the stores.

Westport is enthusiastic about the advertising campaign for their new venture. Gabriel said the advertisements mirror the company’s approach to the TT fashion market: fresh, edgy and unique.

Gabriel said the company hopes to establish Westport as a brand that customers could identify with at all stages of their lives. “We want the public to be able to grow up with the brand to ensure Westport’s longevity,” he said.

The company has merely been around for five years but already there are thirteen outlets, including the two Westport Kids recently opened at Trincity Mall and The Falls at West Mall in Westmoorings. Describing the rate of expansion as “ridiculous”, he said the company is expected to increase the number of outlets to 15 by year’s end.

This would included a combined Westport, Westport Body and Westport Kids in the new Gulf City Shopping Mall at Lowlands in Tobago and two larger stores in the new wing being constructed at the existing Gulf City Shopping Complex in La Romaine, South Trinidad.

He said a major overhaul could be expected at their Frederick Street branch in Port-of-Spain. Their casual line would also be different as by Christmas, Westport garments would be made from combed cotton and larger sizes would be more readily available as per customers’ requests.

In the next five years, Gabriel said TT should expect the company to further diversify their merchandise. Although he did not want to divulge much details, he said the company would surprise rival retailers and customers alike.

He said the company had initially decided to devote the first ten years to expansion and customer satisfaction, a view which has not changed. He emphasised the stores are all created with the customer in mind.

While the company makes a comfortable profit, according to Gabriel, most of it is reinvested into expanding and recreating stores and merchandise. He said the company hopes that customers appreciate the sacrifices they were making to provide the best service and apparel at affordable prices.

To cater to the rapid and large- scale physical expansions, the company has been making advances in terms of security, technology and staff training. Gabriel said in the near future a real time surveillance system would be introduced so management would have a live camera feed and access to up to date information from all their store locations. The company also hired Ken Corby to train staff in quality customer service so as to increase consumer comfort. There are also plans to introduce suggestion boxes in their nationwide locations to ensure their customers get exactly what they want.

Westport garments are designed locally but mass produced at several factories across Asia. Gabriel explained, “merchandise with a low standard of quality can be obtained from the Far East as well as high quality goods.” He pointed out, Westport opted to use factories which produce goods for “high end” brand names in Europe and the United States of America. He said this was beneficial to the company as stringent quality control measures are enforced at these factories so only the best is produced for Westport Clothing and accessories are inspired by fashion trends which tend to be popular in Europe before the United States. Gabriel said Westport therefore carries fashions prior to their introduction in the United States. He said Westport customers therefore are always out in front in the fashion arena.

Gabriel said the company always manages to stay one step ahead of rival clothing retailers which is why he expects the company to make a lasting impression on the minds, lives and wardrobes of persons from Trinidad and Tobago.