Clothing giant Janie & Jack is looking to grow overseas and online

As consumers divert their apparel budgets to activewear , outdoor gear and casual sports, many retailers are struggling to meet this demand.

The trend has also affected children's clothing, and the downward trend is expected to continue for several years, according to research from IBIS World. But its new president, Shelly Walsh, said that the premium children's clothing brand Janie and Jack, had only seen a slight change in demand and was performing well.

“We haven’t really seen a change in buying habits in the pandemic ,” Walsh said in a video conference call . “ Particularly for our brand, and this is really a very important part, which is that she still wants to dress her child well and show it off after it’s been done and done. We’re still selling Easter, holiday, home dress-up and swim items, we’re selling all of our products just like we always have. We haven’t really had to change our strategy and move to buying more casual and knitted leisurewear. ”

Walsh ’s title and position are new, but she represents continuity for the brand. She has served as general manager of Janie and Jack, the upscale sub-brand developed by Gymboree, since 2015 and served as vice president of merchandising before that.

Janie and Jack , known for its clothing for infants and toddlers, also sees opportunity among slightly older kids. Walsh said a soft launch of tween sizes (up to 16) for all genders went well.

“It’s awesome considering another brand that’s been through two bankruptcies, a going-out-of-business sale, we’re growing and we just launched Tween. We have a great lineup of partners,” Walsh said .

Jeff Streader, principal and managing partner of Go Global, is hopeful things will get better. Both Streader and Walsh have spotted some opportunities to grab market share during the pandemic .

The company also plans to expand its wholesale business, including with yet-to-be-announced new partners in the U.S., they said . Streader said it will provide longer runway for growth by increasing the brand’s technology capabilities, with Go Global buying ModCloth’s technology from Walmart last year and Jenny and Jack “underdeveloped.”

“We’re going to invest in marketing technology, and we’re going to invest in infrastructure to do forecasting, planning, and price optimization,” he said . “And we’re going to invest in e-commerce, which will help us build a profile of a user based on whether she hits us on the website, she goes into a store, or even on TikTok. We’re going to capture all of these different ways that a user is touched and build a profile to get more precise information.”

This doesn't mean the brand is abandoning brick-and-mortar stores. The company operates about 115 stores in "A locations" across the U.S. and will cautiously open more stores.