Superdry & Co co-founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton is planning to convert three of the retailer’s smaller European stores into womenswear-only shops and is considering returning the business to AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s market for smaller, growing companies.
The first store conversion is expected to open in spring 2027, with Dunkerton reportedly saying that a small women’s store the company previously tested at Westfield London had achieved high sales densities.
Speaking at the Fashion [Un]Bound Summit in London last month, Dunkerton said renewed attention to womenswear marked the business’s biggest change. For the past 18 months, the brand has focused on learning about younger female consumers and creating products to suit them. He said the strategy had produced strong results and that the next step is to use this approach in menswear.
Separately, Dunkerton told The Times that he would begin seriously considering plans for an initial public offering after Christmas. A float on the junior AIM stock market could happen as soon as 2027, although no timeline or target valuation has been set.
“I think the AIM market would be logical, because the reality is I would only release a small percentage of the company, because I’m fully committed to it. I never want to leave. This is my life, I love it,” he told the publication.
Dunkerton also said that he would not let his holding fall below 75%, adding that “when you’re in a growth phase, the public markets are a great place to be.”
Superdry first listed in London in 2010 and was once valued at almost £1.7 billion, but then delisted from the London Stock Exchange in July 2024 after a restructuring undertaken when the business was close to collapse. Its shares closed at 3¼p on their final day of trading. Dunkerton had pledged £10 million towards an emergency fundraising after take-private talks fell through.
The business has since returned to profit. In the year to 26 April 2025, revenue fell 23% to £374.6 million following 47 store closures and reduced discounting. Statutory profit after tax was £50.5 million, compared with a £67.7 million loss a year earlier. Earlier this month, Superdry & Co also secured a £70 million refinancing package from Barclays and Bank of America.
The retailer operates 121 stores across the UK, Europe and the US and plans to add another 100 in the UK and Europe over the next five years. At the summit, Dunkerton said he aims for revenue of £750 million over the same period.
That target rests partly on an expanding brand portfolio, which includes Bench, Stan Ray, Road Jeans and Kappa.
Dunkerton also told The Times that a classic American men’s tops brand and a UK student-focused brand would follow.
At the Summit, he described a retail format centred on Superdry, alongside eight to 10 brands, which he said would serve an unmet need in the current market. “The desire for fashion is there,” he explained.
Dunkerton told the audience that resale platforms such as Vinted had become a source of product insight and that demand for older pieces, some of which resell at higher prices, had helped the brand identify designs that could be brought back.
The retailer is also targeting teenagers with a 6,000 sq ft concept store on London’s King’s Road, due to open at the end of this month. The store will stock womenswear and menswear, alongside Bench and vintage clothing. Giveaways and styling sessions will be on offer, with influencers also visiting.
The King’s Road opening comes ahead of Superdry & Co’s relocation at Harlequin Watford in December. The company says the move forms part of £30 million invested in the brand over the past 24 months.