Camilla Franks met with Tattarang director Nicola Forrest AO last year, culminating in a successful investment towards her designer fashion label.
Tattarang invested in the brand in January 2023, with plans to accelerate its global footprint and drive omnichannel growth through retail and eCommerce channels.
Speaking with Ragtrader, Camilla Franks CEO Jane McNally said the relationship was successful from the beginning.
“Over the years, we've had a lot of approaches, but Tattarang were definitely the best fit and we've got experience of knowing how it would actually work in reality.
“In terms of timings, these things always take longer than you think they're going to. We're really fortunate that we've got a fabulous executive team. So you can imagine there's lots of due diligence and presentations, but yes, it helped that we got to know one another.”
According to McNally, founder and creative director Camilla Franks wanted keep majority control of her business, saying this was also a key factor in choosing a partnership.
"She's still got a good runway ahead of her, and I know that during this new period, she wants to see her brand become a global powerhouse."
McNally said that prior to the search for an investment partner, the company spent time stress-testing Camilla’s stores in the US, saying that it can be a challenge to enter new markets directly.
Camilla has 25 retail boutiques across Australia and the United States, and 264 wholesale stockists across the globe spanning 65 countries.
“We felt that we'd stress tested enough of our business workings to say this was actually now the time we were ready to accelerate. But we did have a really clear list, which is what I started the conversation with, about who do we want to partner with.
“Getting that right partnership was so vital for us.”
McNally said she was fortunate to sit on the board of RM Williams, giving her insight behind the Tattarang group.
“I have seen first-hand the integrity and the ethical values that the Tattarang organisation support,” McNally said. “I felt that that would be a really good alignment with Camilla Franks and everything that she has espoused in her brand from its inception.”
The investment priorities for Camilla include additional stand-alone boutiques – particularly in the United States.
International sales now represent 40% of business sales, with the United States representing the most successful international market overall.
The brand has also transitioned into an omnichannel model, more than doubling its digital mix over the last three years, growing from 18% in 2018 to 47% online sales today.
The full story will be shared in Ragtrader’s next print edition for March/April, covering the technology space in Australian fashion. Subscribe here.