Responsible for the expansion of Scotch & Soda in Austria is the franchise partner Christian Leitner, Managing Director of Retail Group GmbH, who took over the store on the Vienna shopping mile Mariahilfer Straße, at the corner of Zollergasse, after the Austrian subsidiary went bankrupt. He has been managing the location in the Wien Mitte shopping center – The Mall since September 2022.
Leitner then opened another location in the Westfield Shopping City Süd mall in Vösendorf in November 2024. An opening in the Parndorf Fashion Outlet was actually planned for last November. This is now planned for October, Leitner told FashionUnited. The trade magazine Textilwirtschaft had previously reported on expansion plans. In addition, a sales area will open in the Auhof Center shopping center in Vienna in October and a store on Landstrasse in Linz in November.
Up to 10 stores planned
In total, the store network is to be expanded to up to ten locations, with Leitner still targeting cities such as Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt and Villach. But there are no concrete plans for this yet, explains the franchise partner of the Dutch brand.
The entrepreneur is thus driving forward his expansion strategy while the fashion retail sector continues to be confronted with a difficult market environment and low consumer demand. To do this, he relies on a network with good contacts that enable him to close deals quickly: “Our big advantage is that we are expanding quickly, so the landlords are very happy to be able to implement quick openings.”
Overall, the business would also develop very positively and there is currently only one location that is still difficult to develop. But here too, “we are relying on the good partnership and intensive exchange with the landlord and will turn the tide,” says Leitner.
Strengthening in wholesale
In addition to the company’s own branches, the wholesale business is also to be further expanded. At that time, the Retail Group took over two existing customers from the Austrian Scotch & Soda subsidiary. After the first round of orders for spring/summer 2026, the retail partnerships were expanded to ten.
Leitner is particularly pleased that they have opened up the state of Vorarlberg and have been able to enter into a partnership with the Riedelsberger family for SS26 in order to offer the brand exclusively in their Max & Stella stores. There is also a partnership with Sagmeister for kidswear.
You are currently in the order for Prefall 26, which is always a little more difficult. Nevertheless, there is intensive exchange with fashion retailers such as Kleider Bauer, Peek & Cloppenburg and Feucht Moden.
Retailers are currently “proactively looking for attractive concepts, quality and special features”. This is the perfect time to capitalize on Scotch & Soda’s renewed momentum.