Womenswear drives Dr Kruger expansion

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Young fashion retailer Dr Kruger is upping its womenswear offer and building a new floor to host the growing category at its Lancaster store.

The retailer is also searching for a fifth store with around 1,500sq ft of shop floor space to expand the Dr Kruger business in the north of England.

The four-store mini chain began trading in 1992 solely as a menswear operation and launched their womenswear  division three years later. In addition to the Lancaster store, Dr Kruger also has shops in Preston, Blackburn and Wigan, all in Lancashire.

Co-owner Asif Patel said: "At the moment we are refurbishing our stores to a high standard. We are also looking to open another store."Being two men, when we first started the business our focus was on menswear,  womenswear came as a bit of an afterthought. Now we have outgrown our womenswear area and the business needs a much bigger space so that we can attract more brands to our men's and womenswear offer."

Dr Kruger sells brands including Chilli Pepper, G-Star, Miss Sixty, Firetrap and Diesel, and its burgeoning womenswear offer accounts for about 30% of the retailer's total sales.
At the Lancaster store, owners Asif and Mustaq Patel are converting the floor above the shop into a third floor, which will provide them with an extra 2,000sq ft of retail space which will house womenswear.

The store's new womenswear area will echo the design of the retailer's Preston shop in terms of shop fit. An industrial theme with exposed brickwork, sandblasted wooden flooring and a glass wall area will complete the revamp. The Dr Kruger transactional website is under construction and is scheduled to launch in spring next year. Asif Patel added: "Business is really good for us at the moment and our sales have been up year-on-year."

Dr Kruger attracts a varied mix of customers ranging from 16- to 45-year-olds.