| Strandbags | |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Foundation: | 1927 |
| Location City: | Belrose, New South Wales |
| Location Country: | Australia |
| Area Served: | Australia, New Zealand |
| Products: | Handbags, personal accessories |
| Owner: | Michael Lewis |
| Homepage: | |
Strand, or the Strandbags Group, is an Australian and New Zealand retailer of handbags, wallets, luggage, backpacks and other personal accessories. The chain has over 234 stores around Australia.[1] It also has 26 stores in New Zealand. It owns the private label brands Evity and Nere.[2]
In September 2019, Strandbags opened a new larger concept flagship store at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre, as part of a strategy to expand the size of major stores.[3]
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, stores closed for at least six weeks.[4]
In August 2020, Scentre Group locked out some Strandbags stores over a rental dispute.[5] The decision affected stores at Westfield centres in Australia.[6] The dispute was resolved and the stores were allowed to reopen.[7] Strandbags' revenue for the 2021 fiscal year was hit hard by the pandemic, only reaching $195.1 million compared to $350.8 million the previous year.[8]
In July 2020, the British luggage brand Antler was acquired by ATR Holdings, an associated company of Strandbags.[9] [10]
In May 2021, the New Zealand Commerce Commission laid charges against Strandbags under the Fair Trading Act 1986, accusing it of misleading consumers about discounts.[11] The Commission accused the company of marketing discounts against a regular price that had never been used.[12] Consumer NZ alleged similar tactics were also used by other retailers;[13] the Commission warned other retailers against doing so.[14]
In October 2021, Strandbags relaunched its website following a four-month redevelopment process.[15] It followed the appointment of new Chief of Technology and Head of Online the previous year.[16]
In May 2022, Strandbags launched Evity, a leather goods brand[17] and, in July 2022, the company launched its Nere luggage brand in Australia and New Zealand. A UK launch followed in May 2023.[18] [19] The first stand-alone Nere retail store opened in Melbourne in November 2023.[20]
In November 2022, Strandbags rebranded as Strand.