SYDNEY: Cooper St's recent venture into opening its own store has revealed new product avenues for the dress-focused brand to explore.
Cooper St. director Craig Cooper said bridesmaids outfits, items in sizes six to eight, trousers, jackets and tops are all set to be boosted as a result of direct customer feedback and monitoring sales.
“I definitely am using the information from the shop, as you certainly know what is more popular – colours, shapes and lengths,” he said. “That was one of the main reasons we did the shop, as a form guide.”
The predominantly wholesale brand has around 350 national accounts and opened its first store in Westfield Bondi Junction in December 2009. Cooper said trade throughout January and February was challenging, but sales are now improving.
“I think the department stores and everyone is feeling it; it’s like the recession we didn’t get last year,” he said. “We opened up a shop in the toughest retail climate, but the support from the wholesale office is an advantage and we’ve got the website supporting the shop as well – people going online and calling up to see if we have things.”
Cooper said recent seasons had seen the product lift in standard to project a more premium edge within its price-conscious market.
“I think we are on track with what we are doing, something a bit more stylish and classier, “ he said. “We are diversifying away from that cheaper end.”
New stock is dropped into the store weekly from new ranges created every month.
More stores are planned for the label, with Melbourne viewed as the next potential location.
“[It will be] next year sometime, I think, as long as it does not effect our existing [wholesale] clientele,” he said.
The brand is preparing its back-end operations for online sales. It is also adopting social networking media such as Twitter to drive consumer interest towards the store. Cooper St.’s spring/summer 2010 campaign is due to be shot soon and will appear on buses and in magazines from August.