The clothing retailer C&A and the denim label Mustang will go their separate ways in the future. The companies announced in a joint statement on Tuesday that they would “end their long-term partnership on February 1, 2023”. The reason for the step is the “strategic realignment of both companies”, it says in the announcement.
The Mustang stores, which were previously available in 503 European C&A branches, will now gradually disappear: the brand will withdraw from 303 stores by August 1st, and in the coming year “the cooperation will be completely terminated after four years”, declared the companies.
Martijn van der Zee, the Chief Merchandise and Sustainability Officer at C&A Europe, drew a positive conclusion from the partnership: “The goal of C&A to address new target groups with Mustang and to round off the jeans range upwards was achieved, as was the planned area productivity,” explained he. The retailer now wants to take a different path: “As part of the strategic repositioning of the European business”, C&A decided to “focus even more on its own brand”, the company announced.
C&A is focusing more on its own brand, Mustang is repositioning itself
Andreas Baur, the CEO of Mustang, commented on the separation from the denim provider’s point of view: “We regret C & A’s decision, but we understand it very well and we wish C & A only the best for the future. At the same time, the upcoming change also has a bearing on our strategy, ”he explained in a press release.
The company had already started implementing reforms at the end of 2020. The goals of the realignment are “to reorganize the product structurally and stylistically and to initiate a growth offensive,” explained Mustang. The next steps are due this year: “The presentation of the new brand identity” is planned for January; new brand communication is to follow from the autumn-winter 2022 season.
“Our goal is to get younger and more international customers excited about our denim brand and to increase our brand desirability in order to generate additional growth,” explained Baur. “In the course of this, we will also expand our middle and upper price ranges more strongly in order to offer our wholesale customers and ourselves in our own retail business the opportunity to generate higher average vouchers. We are currently seeing strong demand in the market here. ”According to Mustang, further cornerstones of the strategy are“ expanding sustainability, creating a unique shopping experience and increasing performance ”.