Salt Life, the beach-themed lifestyle brand started in Jacksonville Beach, plans to open three new Florida stores in 2022.
Parent company Delta Apparel Inc. announced Oct. 13 it will open stores in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Sarasota.
The company also is planning Salt Life stores in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Foley, Alabama.
Salt Life, which Delta says was “founded in 2003 by four avid watermen from Jacksonville Beach,” already has 13 stores, including eight in Florida, according to its website.
The company opened its newest store in September in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, “with strong initial results,” it said in a news release. It will open a store in Texas City, Texas, in November.
Greenville, South Carolina-based Delta bought the Salt Life retail brand in 2013 for $37 million. It does not own the three Salt Life Food Shack restaurants in the Jacksonville area.
“Year after year, Salt Life retail stores consistently exceed sales and operating performance targets,” Delta CEO Robert Humphreys said in a news release.
“These additional branded retail doors will offer a dynamic setting for consumers to engage and interact with the Salt Life brand and experience the beach lifestyle that resonates with such a large and growing audience.”
Sales in Delta’s Salt Life Group reached $42.7 million in fiscal 2019 but fell to $37.1 million in the fiscal year ended Oct. 3, 2020, due to pandemic-related store shutdowns.
Salt Life’s sales were $37.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2021.
Besides Salt Life, Delta also offers merchandise under brands Delta, Coast and Soffe.