27/11/09 WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Barkers cemented a fantastic year last night with two wins in the JRA Best Workplace Awards, including a hard-fought victory in the Medium-Large Workplace category.
"The win is a massive achievement for Barkers," says company CEO Zac De Silva. "Of course it makes the best retail staff across the country want to jump ship and come and work for us! Better still, our current team get a real lift from the award and are proud to work for Barkers, so this drives even better performance."
Zac says that one of the company's medium-term aims when he became involved with Barkers three years ago was to win the Best Workplaces Award.
"We entered for first time in 2008, and got third, so knew if we were focussed enough this year, during the so-called 'recession' that we were going to be right up there!"
Barkers also took out the Most Improved Medium-Large Workplace award for the first time, and the only award they missed out on was the Overall Award, which went to real estate company Colliers. Zac says that having tasted success this year Barkers is keen to have a tilt at the big prize in years to come.
"This will be a big focus for us in 2010! I can't guarantee that we'll pull it off, but we'll take a big look at the areas we need to improve on, focus on them and hope to reap further rewards next year with the big one!
"The only problem is there are so many other fantastic employers out there. It's going to be a real fun battle! Go Barkers and good luck to the rest. May the best workplace win!"
Read more about the JRA Best Workplace Awards here.
15/6/09 BACK IN BLACKBarkers has joined forces with the All Blacks to create a new and exclusive Barkers Black line that will be seen decking out our very own boys in Black.
Barkers Creative Director Wade Hawkins drew inspiration for the line after seeing European football teams decked out in Italian designer gear, and wanting to replicate that sleek luxurious look for our own sporting superstars.
The biggest challenge was to create a slick tailored silhouette for blokes that are world renowned for their stocky, muscular) physiques. The Barkers team have worked hard to achieve a balance between style and function and the lads are stoked with their new formals.
All Blacks Josevata Rokocoko, Anthony Boric and Richard Kahui front the campaign and give the Barkers Black collection the thumbs up “I love the suits, they’re nice and fitting” says Rokocoko.
The tight collection of a suit in both black and pinstripe, wool coat, 2 shirt shapes in a variety of fabrications and NZ made merino knitwear offer every Kiwi guy the chance to dress like their heroes.
Barkers Black is available now from Barkers stores nationwide and online here.
15/5/09 LITTLE BROTHER HITS THE SHELVES & THE WEB
Little Brother serves up a concise collection of pieces for Winter 09 staying true to what the brand has always been about; “really good basic utilitarian type pieces that work with everything”, says Little Brother designer Murray Crane, and Barkers customers seem to agree with some styles selling out in the first week on the shelves.
The Winter 09 collection has moved from Little Brother boutiques in Auckland and Wellington to an exclusive distribution deal with Barkers nationwide.
Little Brother staples including a Blazer, Cotton Drill Pant, Shirts, Zip through Hood and Tee shirts make up the collection. Highlights include plaid shirts in slightly ‘off’ colour ways, and a ¾ length coat that epitomizes little brothers knack of reinterpreting of what is a very classic wearable piece.
The ‘Trekka’ and ‘Smoko’ T-shirt prints pay homage to iconic NZ references in an understated way. “It’s not about slapping jandals on a t-shirt; it’s more of a subtle, tongue-in-cheek nod to our heritage that can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on your background,” says Crane.
With its slimmer silhouette and indie feel, Little Brother is still tailored to a niche market however distribution through Barkers will now ensure the product is more accessible on a nationwide scale. Customers can look forward to interesting and exclusive fabrications along with better price points due to greater economies of scale.
Available from Barkers stores nationwide and online at www.littlebrotheronline.co.nz from 18th May.
6/5/09 Don’t Call it a Come Back, It’s Been Here For Years.
The Gulf War is raging, Prince Charles & Princess Di announce their split, we don’t win the world cup (again), something called the ‘World Wide Web’ is launched and a legend is born.
18 years later, it’s time to welcome that legend back… the Barkers Trackpant.
We’ve embraced 90’s fashion icons Raybans, Waistcoats, Acid Wash and Leggings, and it’s time to make room for one more. The Barkers Trackpant was the definition of casual cool with nearly half a million pairs sold in the 90’s (that’s one for every 7 people in the country).
It’s a grass roots return to an old classic available in signature washed out shades of Indigo & Charcoal. It’s time to slip back into the unique mix of comfort and style achieved by this definitive kiwi icon.
Available from Barkers stores nationwide and online at www.barkersonline.co.nz
27/11/08 Barkers takes on Little Brother
Barkers and NZ brand Little Brother are joining forces, with Barkers set to be the exclusive distributor of Little Brother in our 25 stores nationwide and online.
"Barkers is continuing to grow despite market conditions. We have expanded from 17 to 25 stores in the past two years and the agreement with Little Brother is just another indicator of our strategy to define men's fashion in New Zealand," says Zac de Silva, Managing Director of Barkers.
Barkers will now be able to offer a higher end fashion brand to their more fashion forward clients. For Little Brother, it opens up the scale of nationwide distribution. The first collection will be available in store in April 2009.
"After 10 years as a successful boutique brand we felt that if we were to continue to grow we needed scale. I've watched Barkers with interest over the last two years and felt that what they were doing was innovative in a commercial sense and that we could benefit from thier retail growth and they could benefit from having our brand in their stores," says Little Brother Managing Director, Murray Crane.
As the next step in our expansion plans, Barkers is looking to open a store in High Street, Auckland's fashion sector in 2009.
26/11/08 Barkers makes it to Hawkes Bay
Hawkes Bay men have picked up a new clothing store in Napier, just in time for updating their summer wardrobes. Barkers have opened its 24th store on Emerson Street and Managing Director Zac de Silva said it didn't come a minute too soon. "We are really excited to finally be open in the Bay. We have been wanting to for some time and had just been waiting for the right real estate spot to come up" de Silva said.
The brand has been around for 36 years and de Silva said despite the recession, Barkers was continuing to expand and had opened five stores in the past two years. "This new store fit-out exudes style, offering consumers a totally new experience - one that is fresh, contemporary and masculine," he said.
The new store will stock the first in a line of commemorative T-shirts to be rolled out during the next 12months. The shirts show famous world cities replaced with names of New Zealand areas.
25/11/08 Introducing Barkers 48hr Capsule Wardrobe
Take the stress out of packing for that quick business trip or weekend away. Bakers have launched the new 48hr Capsule Wardrobe.
Contained in a stylish travel bag is a shirt, polo shirt, shorts, jeans, pants, knitwear and completed with Barkers new Black & White Basics: a 3 pack of tees, 3 pack of underwear and a 3 pack of socks.
Not confined to specific garments, Barker's assistants will help pick and choose from a wide range of clothing pieces to create a 48 hour capsule wardrobe tailored to specific taste and preferences.
25/8/08 Barkers MD Wins Award for Awesome Service!
Barkers Managing Director, Zac De Silva, has won the first ASB Awesome Service Award.
Sponsored by the ASB, and supported by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Newstalk ZB, the new weekly awards encourage Aucklanders to nominate people in business who provide excellent business service.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett, who selects the weekly winner from those nominated by the public, says there was a “great twist in the tail” in Zac being given an Awesome Service Award.
“We initially thought that Zac was a Barkers salesman who had impressed the customer who nominated him. He turned out to be Barkers Managing Director.”
Mr Barnett says Mr De Silva’s recognition of a simple customer concern, and his desire to take care of it himself, demonstrated his commitment to customer care. “It is obvious that the service culture in this company starts at the top.”
“Great service is always a winning business strategy and the partners in this campaign (ASB, the Chamber of Commerce and Newstalk ZB) want the Auckland public to reward those in business who provide it,” Mr Barnett says. “Details of exactly why Zac won are on www.awesomeservice.co.nz.”
08/10/07 Barkers600Alive Media Coverage
We have collated some of the coverage of the event onto one page. This includes a time elapse video of the event and video coverage from Campbell Live, 3News and Prime.
Check out the Barkers600Alive videos.
25/09/07 Barkers600Alive a Huge Success! On Saturday about 400 people turned up at Mt Smart Stadium to take a stand in support of beating Prostate Cancer. Zac de Silva described the event as a world record setting event "never before have 400 people stripped to their boxers to form the number 600!"
Photograph: Shaun Pettigrew
03/09/07 Beat Prostate Cancer with Barkers BoxersBarkers Men’s Clothing invites you to join some of your favourite New Zealanders in the fight against Prostate Cancer.
Prostate Cancer kills around 600 New Zealand men a year, so Barkers, working with the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), have created a compelling range of boxer shorts designed by leading New Zealand personalities.
All Black Neemia Tialata, Artist Dick Frizzell, Musician Chris Knox and Designer Agustina Ellis have all joined the fight against Prostate Cancer and come up with boxer short designs that will suit all types of butts!
Each designer has been paired with a ‘muse’ who has modeled the designer boxer shorts for a stylish and sophisticated print campaign shot by leading fashion photographer Charles Howells.
Warrior Ruben Wiki, Presenter Alison Mau, Musician Boh Runga and entrepreneur Marc Ellis have all donned a pair of hip Barkers Boxers for the campaign.
The range of designer boxer shorts will be available at Barkers stores nationwide and online at www.barkersmensclothing.co.nz from 15 September. $10.00 of every pair of boxers sold at $29.95 will be donated to the PCF.
“We are really excited to be launching this initiative and working with some of New Zealand’s leading personalities to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer,” says Zac De Silva, Managing Director Barkers Men’s Clothing.
The campaign aims not only to raise awareness of the disease but ‘normalise’ it as a men’s health issue. Even young men in their 20's and 30's need to be aware that they need to maintain the health of their prostate. It is one of their sex organs and keeping it healthy will help them retain an active sex life well into their later years.
“It’s a tragedy that every year 600 NZ men die from Prostate Cancer when in 50% of these cases death could quite possibly have been avoided with early detection,“ says De Silva.
05/12/06 New Ownership of BarkersBarkers Mens Clothing has recently been acquired by Zac de Silva and Chris Greive. Zac de Silva will be the managing director, with Chris Greive acting as chairman.
Barkers have 19 stores across NZ. It is established as an iconic male fashion brand in NZ and has been operating since 1972.
Zac de Silva said they had been attracted to Barkers as it was a well established brand with a strong reputation. “With 34 years history in New Zealand Barkers is well regarded and would be considered to be in the top two male retail brands in the country.”
De Silva commented that plans included enhancing the commercial approach of Barkers. “Obviously our priority is to our existing customer base, which is very loyal. Over the years they have come to expect stylish, durable clothes at a reasonable price and this will continue. We do however see opportunities to expand Barkers into other related areas.”
De Silva said that the first months trading under their ownership saw sales up by 5% on last year which compares well to recent sales information released by two fashion retail publicly listed competitors who had reported sales declines.
Greive and De Silva worked together at Flight Centre Ltd for a number of years, as managing director and chief financial officer respectively. More recently De Silva was the finance and commercial director for the House of Travel Group. Greive has been based in Europe whilst still acting as an advisor to Flight Centre Ltd.