Strandbags store in Westfield Carousel
| |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Australia, New Zealand |
| Products | Handbags, personal accessories |
| Owner | Michael Lewis |
| Parent | Strandbags Group |
| Website | strandbags strandbags |
Strandbags is an Australian and New Zealand retailer of handbags, wallets, luggage, backpacks and other personal accessories.[1]
The chain has over 234 stores around Australia.[2]
It also has 26 stores in New Zealand,[3] including 10 in Auckland.[4]
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.[5] It was one of a number of new stores to open in the mall.[6]
In October 2019, Strandbags owner Michael Lewis invested $8 million in direct-to-consumer luggage brand July.[7]
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, stores closed for at least six weeks.[8]
In August 2020, Scentre Group locked out some Strandbags stores over a rental dispute.[9] The decision affected stores at Westfield centres in Australia.[10] The dispute was resolved and the stores were allowed to reopen.[11]
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.[1] The Commission accused the company of marketing discounts against a regular price that had never been used.[3] Consumer NZ alleged similar tactics were also used by other retailers;[12] the Commission warned other retailers against doing so.[13]
In October 2021, Strandbags relaunched its website following a four-month redevelopment process.[14] It followed the appointment of new Chief of Technology and Head of Online the previous year.[15]
