Upscale Spanish clothing franchise opens in Nashua, N.H.

Byline: Karen Spiller

Jun. 18--Richard LeBlanc's new job takes him to Madrid, Spain, twice a year. The Pelham man is owner of the upscale Spanish clothing franchise Amichi -- the first one in the United States.

He opened the store three weeks ago in Nashua on the second floor of the Pheasant Lane Mall.

Amichi, an international design and fashion distribution franchise based in Spain, has stores in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Philippines, El Salvador, Malta and Portugal.

Amichi offers stylish, modern clothing with a European flair for women, men and children, LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc recently returned from a trip to Madrid to pick clothes from the newest Amichi line that he thinks will sell. The company is open to input from franchise owners, and even adjusts their designs to suit them.

"My son told them that, in the U.S., men don't like button flies, so they changed it to zippers," LeBlanc said.

Amichi fashions appeal to people age 25 to 45, LeBlanc said. "It's a target age that's kind of missed in the United States," he said.

After working as a general contractor in Maine for 30 years and owning eight Subway sandwich shops for more than a decade, LeBlanc switched gears after a divorce and chose Nashua to open his first clothing franchise. He found the Amichi brand while doing an Internet search for clothing businesses. Amichi was the only one he found and really liked because of the quality. He also liked that the business is family-owned by people who design their own lines: style, sport and casual.

Initially, he wanted to go to the Copley Place Mall in Boston, but decided to test the store in Nashua first to find his customer base.

"I just thought New Hampshire was a good place to start because it's right on the border," LeBlanc said. "I thought I would have a diverse customer."

During his research, LeBlanc was attracted to Pheasant Lane because he was told that higher-end stores including Coach and Hollister (a division of Abercrombie & Fitch) were coming to the mall, he said.

Ginny Szymanski, general manager at Pheasant Lane, said the mall is in fact looking to add several high-end stores.

"We're looking at a Hollister and Coach for next year," she said Monday.

LeBlanc already has big plans for Amichi. He has set a goal to open eight stores in the next five years and has purchased the territorial rights to open additional stores in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Anyone who wants to open stores in those locations has to go through LeBlanc first, he said.

Amichi, which means friend, is a family-owned company founded in 1982.

Today it has 117 stores in Spain (38 of its own and 79 franchises), and 15 in other countries. The clothes are not Spanish looking at all.

"It's nothing like the flamingo dancers," LeBlanc said. "It's up to date, high-quality clothing. It's all modern and trendy."

The clothing is priced on the higher end, with a children's collared shirt at $36.50, women's jeans and khaki pants for $79.50 and cocktail dresses for $149.50.

"We're not any higher than Banana Republic, but we don't have the name recognition," LeBlanc said.

The entire store is 20 percent off right now as LeBlanc waits for the new line to arrive.

"The colors are bright; different than what you normally see," LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc's daughter, Stacy, 22, said teenagers love the clothes but most of the sizes (all European sizes) don't fit because they're not "low rise."

Amichi also carries an accessories line with bags, scarves and footwear as well as a swimwear line including bikinis and towels.

Om Amichi is a brand created for men. The new spring/summer 2006 collection also has different lines: The Saharans of the Safari line or the marine stripes and sport look of the Navy line. Polo T-shirts, shorts, shirts and swimwear complete the Om Amichi collection for men.

Ami & Chis is the brand created by Amichi for children aged 4 to 10. The new collection has two lines: Safari Chic Look, with cargo trousers and waistcoats specially designed for kids, and "Navy Atmosphere" where the nautical and sport garments are come in red, navy and white.

"If somebody wants something very different or nice, then this is the place to come," LeBlanc said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H.

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