What’s in a name? The names Goody’s and Duck Head are synonymous with retail, particularly in the Southeast, and after a few years migrating from owner to owner, Duck Head has finally nested at Goody’s.
Knoxville-based Goody’s Family Clothing is banking on the recognizable Duck Head brand to bring old and new customers to its stores— in effect reliving the label’s glory days of the 1980s—and pull the retailer of moderately priced casual clothes out of a recent financial funk.
Goody’s corporate executives have been keeping a close eye on Duck Head, says Goody’s executive vice president of merchandising Max W. Jones. The clothing line, which got its start in Nashville after the Civil War, had been shuffled around with four different owners in the past five years, and when the time—and price—were right, Goody’s acted.
The 350-store retail chain struggled from 2000 to 2002 along with the rest of the retail industry, forcing the company to scale back its growth (opening 12 new stores in 2002 and 2003 combined) while changing some decisions made by a former merchandising head.
With direct competitors like Kohl’s hot on its heels, Goody’s wanted to get back to basics and add the freshness of a well-respected brand to its stable of private label and major brand casual clothing lines.
At a low, low price of just $4.1 million, Goody’s bought Duck Head in June 2003, becoming the exclusive designer, manufacturer and distributor of the label. (Duck Head’s previous owner, Tampa, Fla.-based Tropical Sportswear Int’l Corp., bought the label for about $13 million in 2001.)
It isn’t taking much in terms of sales for the retailer to see its return on investment. After a March launch, Duck Head accounted for more than $20 million, or 7%, of the company’s total second quarter sales of $295 million. On a same-store basis, Goody’s sales in the quarter ended July 31 slipped 2.2%.
“Although sales are weaker [across the retail industry], Duck Head gives Goody’s another brand with the same margins as their private label business, which is a higher margin than the [major] branded names that they sell in their stores,” says Molly Gerber, a senior financial analyst with Avondale Partners in Nashville.
Why then is Goody’s succeeding with Duck Head where others have failed?
“We’re letting different vendors who really know their stuff take the lead in designing the different looks. So far, it’s been really well accepted. We’re giving the brand a life of its own,” says Goody’s spokesperson Kristin Macht.
Goody’s continues to lean on Duck Head and took a natural next step by launching the Duck Head Jeans Co. just in time for back-to-school promotions this July. At a competitive retail price of $32 to $42 a pair across all divisions, Goody’s hopes the new denim line will capture the attention of one particularly finicky clothing category—juniors.
This is the first wholehearted venture by the khakis-centric brand into denim territory, and Duck Head now serves as a catchall label for Goody’s private denim brands. “We don’t want to totally separate the Duck Head brand from Goody’s,” Jones says.
Duck Head’s encouraging sales results are enabling Goody’s to be more aggressive this year as it opens about 23 retail stores in new markets such as Kansas and Maryland and introduces the Duck Head name to regions that may not be familiar with the brand.
To promote its new brand, Goody’s is looking to use more widely known personalities in its advertising. Avondale’s Gerber says NFL star Peyton Manning and country singer Martina McBride could be potential Duck Head spokespeople.
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