Down not out
There's a light at the end of the GFC tunnel - and according to the panel of speakers assembled at Melbourne's Whitehouse Institute of Design, it's the dull glow of a computer screen.
Following an audiovisual presentation of leading international trends for the autumn/winter 2009/10 season, Metalicus design director Vanessa Rochman, Sportsgirl chief executive Elle Roseby and trend forecaster Kate Vandermeer talked all things 2.0.
As a former editor of stylehunter.com, a fashion website targeted at Australian retailers and consumers, Vandermeer is well versed in the power of online marketing.
"When I started [stylehunter.com], I'd talk to major players and ask them 'what is your online brand strategy?' And they'd say 'Online brand strategy? We have a website'. Australian retailers were perhaps not as tech savvy as international retailers...but it's certainly improved. We've still go a long way to go."
Anyone questioning the value of online initiatives such as e-tail, blogging, video and/or podcasts would do well to speak to Roseby. This month, she and her team at Sportsgirl revealed a brand new website which incorporated all three elements and then some.
"Blogs, forums, Sportsgirl TV, music downloads, competitions, polls," she rattled off. "It's going to be a first for any Australian brand to go to the extent we have - we even have an editor who writes for us everyday. That's what we feel the new space, the new area to be in."
First launched in November 2007, Roseby said the website had taken on a life of its own. Some 10 per cent of sales were now generated through international orders - even though Sportsgirl had no dedicated global marketing program.
"Do we want to go into Asia? No, we're planning to get Queensland right. We're not interested in expanding into New Zealand or other international markets [but] the way we can go there is through online."
For Rochman, the 2.0 story will be a different one for Metalicus.
"Is she tech savvy enough?," she asked of her customers, explaining Metalicus had always had ageless appeal. "We're looking at people to photograph themselves in Metalicus - because there are so many different ways to work the product and they can add their own flavour, their own twist - and put it on the website but would our customer want to do that?"
Combating the economic downturn is more likely to take place in bricks-and-mortar stores, with Metalicus set to expand its sizing offer for basics and release an extensive collection based around 'the little black dress'.
"We started off as a basics brand...but we're really going back and revamping them to make sure there's something for everyone. The 'little black dress' collection will include a lot of silhouettes for different body shapes. If [consumers] are going to spend their money on something, it will be a dress that will do something for them."
Product ranging will also be a strong imperative for Sportsgirl. Roseby said long gone were the days when "you'd go 'yeah it's okay, it will sell".
"Now you have to be really conscious about what's going into the business [and that means] refined ranges, focused ranges. It's so important to be able to forecast and predict. We've come off incredible growth and now there's a very conservative viewpoint going forward. One week to another, one month to another, can fluctuate quite dramatically."
In the short term, this definitely means no more drop crotch pants. Or "poo catchers" for detractors.
"We have an express system in our business where if we see something on the catwalk, we can literally get it into our store in four weeks," Roseby explained. "Customers have not reacted at all to the drop crotch pant - we're certainly not going down that direction for summer."
This is where street bloggers, not fashion magazines, can come in handy.
"Street fashion has always been an important part of the trend process but I think it's become that much more important to consumers now," Vandermeer said. "They're now looking towards street blogs rather than what designers say is bible. This has seen a change in the way consumers shop and the way the trend cycle is interpreted from the northern hemisphere."
And that, according to Rochman, is the great challenge of balancing trends with real world expectations.
"Do I look to trends? I get more of a feel. We design everything from scratch - it's not 'here's a top, change 10 per cent and make it for us'. The thing that has made Metalicus so successful is creative integrity."