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Coral Coast founders open new store

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Shop front: from left, Coral Coast Clothing founders Adam Petty and Sam Outerbridge outside their new retail outlet, showcasing their own brand and other top designers (Photograph Raymond Hainey)

The two young businessmen behind the successful Coral Coast Clothing range have launched a new store.

Thirty Two° 64° — named after the island’s map coordinates — opened yesterday and will showcase their own range as well as feature a shirt bar offering a custom-tailored service and a host of other top designer brands.

Co-founder Sam Outerbridge said: “The reason we called it Thirty Two° 64° is because it’s not just Coral Coast Clothing, although about 75 per cent of it will be.

“Basically, we just wanted to give a choice to the Bermuda consumer — we’re both Bermudian and brought up here and our clothes reflect that.”

Business partner Adam Petty added: “We are very excited to open the store. It’s a dream come true for Sam and I and it’s been a long time coming.”

The pair, friends from childhood who both worked in reinsurance before starting Coral Coast in 2014, latterly operated out of an office and showroom in Bermudiana Arcade on Hamilton’s Queen Street.

But when the space they were in was sold, they took the plunge and decided to open their own store on Front Street, opposite the Ferry Terminal and close to the Astwood Dickinson flagship store.

The new shirt bar, due to open soon, will offer a massive choice of fabrics from the Italian style capital of Milan and a range of design details in a made-to-measure dress shirt package with a ten-day turnaround.

Mr Outerbridge, 29, said: “Customers can have a drink at the bar and watch television while they make their choices.”

Coral Coast was originally founded as a wholesale business with a online presence — and received a major boost with the 2015 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series.

Their signature casual shirts in bright colours and crisp whites reflecting Bermuda’s colourways are now sold across the island, including the new-look Hamilton Princess, the Coral Beach Club, the Mid Ocean Club and Rosewood Tucker’s Point.

And Mr Outerbridge said the duo expected their new range of dress shirts to do just as well.

He added: “There is a very strong market for dress shirts on the island and want to capitalise on that as well.”

Mr Outerbridge added that the west end of Front Street was fast becoming the “Rodeo Drive” of Hamilton, with new, upmarket stores moving into the area bounded by Bermudiana Road, Par-la-Ville Road and Front Street.

he said: “It’s great — the buzz here will drive people in our general direction.”

Mr Petty, 30, added: “The America’s Cup definitely pushed us to get this open faster than we could have done — the foot traffic generated by the Cup is going to be tremendous.”

He said the pair tested the water with a pop-up store last December.

Mr Petty added: “We had an incredible response. We always wanted to have a ground-floor retail store for the foot traffic.

“Bermuda seems to be booming right now with foot traffic and we hope that translates into sales.”

As well as Coral Coast Clothing, which features casual shirts, polos, hats, ties, T shirts, swim trunks and Bermuda shorts, all branded with the firm’s trademark Bermuda blue angel fish logo.

In addition, the store will stock stylish accessories like Jimmy Lion socks, Hudson Sutler bags, Hook & Gaff watches, Saludos espadrilles, sunglasses from Red’s Outfitters and local glassware from Soiree.

And — to celebrate the opening — Mr Outerbridge and Mr Petty have teamed up with other designers to offer a $1,500 giveaway for two visitors to the store.

Mr Outerbridge said: “We wanted to do something special for the America’s Cup, although we’re not an official partner.

“People who visit the store can leave their business card and be in with a chance of winning one of the two prizes.”

Shirt style: pictured, from left, are Sam Outerbridge and Adam Petty, founders of Coral Coast Clothing, who have just opened a Front Street retail operation called Thirty Two° 64° (Photograph Raymond Hainey)