UK: High And Mighty To Launch Pilot Standalone Kayak Store

The millennium man is taller and broader than his predecessor - and that's official. The High and Mighty chain of shops is set to trial a new look name and store to fit in with the expanding market. High and Mighty, launched in the50s, says research carried out shows more men are now 6ft-plus than they were years ago. And it is renaming its flagship Oxford Street Plaza store in London `Kayak' in a trial to see if the new look and name is successful. The name is based on the Kayak brand, featuring casual clothing, which High and Mighty launched a year ago and has been a huge hit. If the new look name is a success, Kayak shops will be launched in other key sites across the country. A spokesman from the company said: "Men are growing bigger and taller and there is a gap in the market. There isn't that much choice for the bigger man." High and Mighty has 23 shops in the UK and 10 on the continent in Holland, Germany and Belgium.The Kayak range is aimed at the 17-24 market, which wants high street fashion to rival other retailers, but in larger sizes.High and Mighty says young people are getting taller and bigger but are no longer seen as outsize. A company spokesman said: "Kayak is a radical departure from the whole idea of specialist clothing. It is the fashion clothing that everyone else wears and wants to be seen in. "It is the spirit of youth with the emphasis on fun, adventure, action and music."