Golds

Golds is a fashion brand which is quite well known in OurCity. It opened to the public in October 1999 under the name Golds Clothing & Co then acquired by Goldunits in July 2020. Since 2020, they have made new stocks and have made £207,000. Their wide range of clothing makes it suitable for anybody to wear.

### Early Days

In 1999, Golds Clothing & Co opened in OurCity with 4 stores dotted around the Central Zone and 3 stores in the outer zone. This focussed on expensive wear such as suits and formalwear. In 2001, they invested in more luxury wear from different companies such as The North Face and Armani. This proved to be a success as many customers bought these. In 2002, they expanded to seasonal clothing such as Winter and Summer, these rotated depending on what season it was and lasted until 2005.

In 2005, prices were cut after a downfall in customer rates and became a clothing store for loungewear and formalwear. This bought a spike of customers lasting for 9 months. There was nothing left to do so they introduced new items such as designer shoes and more affordable clothing for a larger customer base.

### The Decline in Sales

Ever since the decline in sales in 2006, Golds Clothing & Co had to put up basic advertisements on the internet and team up with other companies just to survive in the market. They had to close a store in the Central Zone after more stocks were cut. Less people were willing to buy these clothes putting them in debt in 2010. However, they agreed with a smaller company to sell some clothes in some of their shops. Slowly, the sales were starting to increase as people bought in in other shops.

By 2011, Golds Clothing & Co were back in it with people still returning for the new trends but it still wasn't enough. It took 4 months until an agreement with GAP Inc. was signed. With this agreement, sales soared again into the 10,000s. This lead them to pay their debt and import new stocks.

### The New Start

In 2016, the Rio Olympics sold all of Golds Clothing & Co's seasonal stock within 3 weeks which made them introduce more seasonal clothing until 2019. With these limited offers and clothing, it encouraged more people to shop and look for clothes that fitted them. It was the start of a new era for Golds Clothing & Co as they reached their 20th Anniversary in August 2019. As an anniversary gift to all their customers, they had a flash sale which sold their whole stock in two stores nearly four times.

In April 2020, Golds Clothing & Co was acquired by Goldunits after a meeting and an agreement of £1,250,000 to buy. This change introduced the high end clothing back to Golds whilst keeping the more affordable clothing people bought. This was a success as people were still interested in the stock that Golds had to offer. Three shops were introduced in key locations such as Oakley Wharf Mall, Owens Mill Fashion Quarter and Grand Central Shopping Centre.

In June 2021, Golds in the Fashion Quarter had to close for 9 months due to displays being destroyed and their stock disappearing. This turned into a major problem later as the store structure needed to be reassessed. This lead them into a loss of £10,000. On March 5th, 2022, they reopened Golds in the Fashion Quarter.

### Partnership with Stagecoach

As a new business proposal was offered between Stagecoach in OurCity and Golds was approved in September 2021. With this proposal, Stagecoach painted two of their Enviro 200 buses red with the name Golds on the sides. This is to boost sales and the company name. The investment cost around £15,000 and will help boost sales into the winter.

As of August 2022, the Partnership has lead them to gain an undisclosed profit, which will be revealed at the end of year meeting.

**Today**

Today Golds is sweeping OurCity's clothing market, bringing a whole range and profit. With an expected new shop at Wickham Airport, they can sell clothes at an affordable price, on the go. This has the opportunity to implement their new technologies to their shop and bring a new rake of clothes. Another upgrade is underway at Owen's Mill, as the Golds branch there is expected to close throughout April 2023 during the scheme at the Centre to not clash with plans.