Creative director Katie Greenyer, administrator Sam Dunning, brand president Julia Massey and designer Anna Tia Ward
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"Great design at affordable prices" is the long-standing motto of iconic U.K. brand Red or Dead, which powerhouse Pentland
Brands is taking forward across multiple product categories.
Red or Dead started life as an irreverent fashion brand in the 1980s. Creator Wayne Hemingway developed the then catwalk brand
into retail with a series of extensions but pulled out of the business gradually from 1996 when Pentland took control. A period
of retrenchment ensued, but the brand is now experiencing a renaissance as it re-emerges across fashion, footwear, accessories
and optical.
The unique selling point for Red or Dead is that brand president Julia Massey likes to launch new product categories into
the market with exclusive retail tie-ins, despite the perception that this could limit the potential for expansion.
"My philosophy is that less is more," Massey says. "You have to ask yourself if widening the distribution contributes to building
the brand. Red or Dead is different. We don't look at licensing simply as a legal contract." Massy also is proud of the way the brand works with licensees. The quirky but accessible design of Red or Dead product results
from a tight brand team that works very closely with licensees.
"We do everything that we can to make it a success. We provide the inspiration and the personality. But the licensees are
experts in their product fields. Our designers work closely with licensees, but they know what they are doing and they know
how to make products that people want to buy. We add value by giving the product the Red or Dead twist."
Red or Dead's most significant retail deals are with the specialist optical retailer Specsavers, a deal that started in 2003,
and the branded fashion footwear multiple Schuh, whose agreement with Red or Dead started in 2004. Both have proved that there
is a place for the brand in diverse categories.
The optical collection, called What a Spectacle, is consistently the best-selling branded line in the 1,000 Specsavers stores,
and in 2009, the range is being extended with a new collection for teens. At Schuh, the women's collection was augmented with
a men's footwear line last spring.
Although it is one of the most successful specialist footwear retailers in the U.K., Schuh only has some 55 stores and 15
concessions within young fashion retailer Republic.
"People ask why I have not broadened the footwear distribution. But I know that other fashion footwear brands would love to
achieve the sales that we do through Schuh. And when you work closely with a strong retailer, you are all part of the same
team."
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Massey is not in the business of making a quick return on the Red or Dead name. "I don't want a check for a guaranteed minimum
royalty—that's not about brand building," she says.
After establishing the brand with Schuh and Specsavers, the extension program has gained momentum in 2008 with launches of
sunglasses, bags and watches. And spring 2009 will see the core area of fashion launched with branded young fashion retailer
Bank.
Bank, which like Schuh has 50-plus stores, is part of the Pentland family—it is owned by the John David Sports Fashion retail
group, itself majority owned by the Pentland Group.
