$3.4M Grant To Support The Cotton On Group’s Global Growth

17th October, 2014

The Cotton On Group is set to grow its Geelong based headquarters even further as the result of a $3.4 million grant through the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund (GRIFF).

Victorian State Premier, the Hon Dr Denis Napthine, joined by the Victorian Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett and Federal Member for Corangamite, the Hon Sarah Henderson, today made the announcement to over 350 Cotton On Group team members.

“The Cotton On Group is doing Victoria proud. It is certainly one of Victoria’s major success stories, growing from a local Geelong store in 1991, to a global brand that now boasts 1,300 stores in 17 countries,” Dr Napthine said

The funding will support an $8.2 million project to expand the Cotton On Group’s global head office in North Geelong and facilitate 300 new full time jobs by mid 2017.

Cotton On Group Chief Financial Officer, Michael Hardwick, says the expansion will be a catalyst for the business meeting the ongoing global expansion of its operations.

“These expansion plans are not pipeline dreams. We will open over 200 stores in the next 12 months, including the opening of 60 stores across the globe in the next 60 days, taking our store count to 1400 before Christmas 2014.”

This rapid expansion means investing in the global headquarters team is crucial to the long term sustainability of the Group’s success.

“The Cotton On Group is proud of its Geelong heritage and we are committed to driving our brand, product, range innovation and geographical diversification from our home here,” Mr Hardwick said.

The announcement followed a tour of the Group’s state of the art facilities in North Geelong.