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Nearly two decades on, Daly Male continues as an Oxford Street institution, writes Reg Domingo.
Terry Daly halts the interview mid-sentence to attend to a client. It’s Friday afternoon, it’s not particularly busy and there’s another sales assistant in the store. But he recognises the customer from last week. The interview, he signals, will have to stop there. Customers come first and as they say in the industry: ‘Retail is detail’.
Such an approach is no doubt a key to the longevity of Daly Male, one of Oxford Street’s standout success stories. For over 17 years, in an area which has seen plenty of casualties, especially in recent times, Daly Male has managed to stay clear of the fault-lines and continues to thrive as a one-stop fashion emporium.
Daly Male began in 1985 with the opening of a small store in Cremorne in Sydney’s lower north shore. “But we weren’t really Cremorne style so we opened our second shop on Oxford Street in Paddington near The Albury in 1989,” Terry, the owner, tells SX.
In 1993, Terry closed the Cremorne branch to concentrate his efforts on Oxford Street, which, slowly but surely, grew into a fashion institution. Such was its popularity that in 2006 Daly Male was able to move to its current location, a bigger and brighter store, right in the heart of Oxford Street.
“We have a mini-department store look,” Terry says. “We have very eclectic tastes. From linen trousers to tight-fitted stressed trousers. We have short shorts, T-shirts and tank tops. We don’t carry shoes but we carry everything else from cufflinks, ties and business shirts to trousers, swimmers and unusual bits and pieces.”
At its core, Daly Male carries two signature brands: Daly Male and Christopher Daly. A third, entitled Stud, will be launched next month.
“Daly Male is more basic singlets, tanks tops, T-shirts, things that we’ll make more than one or two of. Christopher Daly, named after my nephew, is more exclusive, it’s more the upmarket brand.”
Daly Male also carries exclusive garments from all over the world including the US, Japan, Switzerland, France and Spain, the fruits of frequent buying trips that ensure customers get what they want.
“I don’t buy what I like to wear,” Terry says. “I buy things I know I can put on somebody. Like, I’ll think, ‘Oh, they’re great pants, I must buy that because Sebastian will like that’. I have clients who have been coming here for 15 to 20 years. And ninety-nine percent of the time they love it, because I’ve done it for years.
“And I like affordable clothes that you can wear and that’s not like $400 for a shirt. All my clothes range from $50 to $150. And that’s how we do really well in the street because we keep prices low enough and move more stock.”
The next step, Terry says, is an online presence, but for now things are looking good, especially on the strip.
“I think in the last couple of years there’s been a turnaround and business has picked up for everybody, not just me,” Terry says. “So, for me, Oxford Street is coming back again.”
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