Discovering the future

With a completely revamped image, a sharp new  marketing campaign and a personalised approach to sales, Howard Showers is looking to shake up the contemporary womenswear market. Melinda Oliver uncovers the strategy.

Danny Avidan is no stranger to a challenge. Since launching his fashion business, The Discovery Group, in 1983, he has experienced the financial highs and lows of life in the fashion world, along with supporting his designer wife Charlie Brown through similarly mixed fortunes.

So it comes as little surprise that he has set out to revitalise diminishing fashion label Howard Showers in its 21st year – determined to revive the glory of its heyday and bring the brand back to the fore.

“We said nothing but perfection will do – we raised the bar – and to this very moment we are sticking to it,” he says.

Employing a new designer, Theodora Vagenas, and new sales manager, Melissah Mullen, formerly of the Dolina Fashion Group, Avidan is leading the brand into a new era. Already turning heads, the first revamped range for spring 2009 has attracted refreshed interest from boutique buyers and significant editorial in consumer magazine fashion shoots.

Avidan, who also controls the Charlie Brown and Lili labels, purchased Howard Showers in 2000 for approximately $5 million. This was nearly five years after his wife, who launched the label in 1988, first cut ties with the brand. Avidan says that during its height the brand was a $30 million retail business, but he is uncertain of its current potential. 

“We might find in today’s market $20 million is the right number – we don’t know – so we are on a discovery tour,” he says.

He explains the label was “tagging along” as a “cash cow for the company,” while he focused on the Charlie Brown brand. Howard Showers was stocked widely across department stores and boutiques with basics a primary part of the collection. However, buyer interest faded and Avidan decided an overhaul was needed in all respects, except for the well recognised logo.

“As markets change and fashion changes we realised we had to start from scratch. We took its history, studied the marketplace thoroughly and said ‘what is Howard Showers, who is this woman and how do we cater to that market?’”

That “woman”, according to Mullen, is on average 30-years-old and is “an incredibly modern, intelligent” and confident woman. “She likes her clothing to reflect her personality but she also wants her wardrobe to travel with her in all aspects of her life,” she says.

Initially founded in 1988 on the principle of “office to cocktail”, the new-look collection is chic, with modern pieces for work, weekend casual and a touch of evening glamour. Three collections per year include summer, high summer and winter.

New catalogue imagery marks the transition, with the spring 2009 look fronted by a fashion forward model wearing a fitted striped dress, sharp blazer and holding a stylish black clutch. Avidan says that over time he will develop an advertising strategy for the label.

Following spring 2009 sales, the brand has 150 accounts across Australia and New Zealand, but department stores are no longer part of the mix, and nor does Mullen plan to re-enter this arena. “It is a brand that requires TLC,” she says. “Our boutique owners give the personal service that only they can give.”

Tender loving care is also something Mullen is aiming to give boutique buyers of the brand. To develop relationships, she spends significant time visiting city and regional boutiques to better understand their needs.

“We become a part of their business, we are constantly asking, ‘What can we do to for you, what do you need from us?’ That way we can personalise business to our country and metropolitan accounts.”

The first re-vamped winter collection is about to be sold to boutiques and Mullen hopes it will further impress. The range features lots of prints, vivid colours and quality fabrics including jersey, crepe de chine silk and 100 per cent cotton. Shirts, shift dresses, smart jackets and coats are key to the range, while details such as pleats and tucks add value.

The retail price range is around $120 for a shirt to $349 for an intricate item. Around half the range, particularly the suiting, is made in Australia with the remainder manufactured offshore.

Avidan considers the new-look label is an “affordable status symbol”. He pitches it alongside Saba, Veronika Maine, David Lawrence, Cue and George for eveningwear.

At this stage, he has no intention of opening retail stores for the brand. “We want to experience the full journey of two seasons on the floor, summer and winter, so it will be a good question to ask in 12 months’ time. At this stage, it is off our radar,” he says.