If there is such a thing as Australian fashion retail royalty, David Bush is arguably a strong contender for the title.
From a young age, his father, a former director of David Jones, ingrained in him an innate understanding of the industry, and years later, as general manager of womenswear at the iconic department store, Bush has put these pearls of knowledge to work.
During his 25-year stint with the company, he has helped in developing leading designers both in Australia and overseas, including Zimmermann, Kirrily Johnston, Thurley, Ginger & Smart, Camilla and Marc, and Willow, and now, as Australia's retail landscape continues to evolve, Bush is again taking a central role in steering David Jones towards a brighter future.
“Fashion retailing is in my blood,” Bush says.
“My father was a director of David Jones so I grew up with fashion all around me. Dad was always going overseas and coming back and telling me about the exciting world of fashion, so I was exposed to it even as a kid sitting in his office after school. I have now worked at David Jones for 25 years and thoroughly enjoy what I do as it allows me the freedom to discover new talents in the fashion world and help build existing brands.”
Part of this role that Bush so enjoys, also involves taking risks and investing in new initiatives to constantly refresh the David Jones fashion offering, which impacts significantly on the company's bottom line – down 1.5 per cent in profit after tax to $168.1 million for the 2011 fiscal year.
“You need a combination of taste, understanding and appreciation of your customer and serious numeric skills [to succeed in this position],” Bush reveals.
“I was drawn to the role because of my passion for fashion, my love of meeting new talent all the time and, strangely, my love of finance and numbers. Because I am accountable for the financial results as well as the fashion direction of the business, my job is a combination of all the things that challenge me.”
One of these challenges, no doubt, is trying to maintain a competitive edge in the continuing battle for market share between David Jones and major department store rival Myer. Both players have recently struggled to jump-start flagging sales figures in an increasingly volatile trading arena, and Bush has been instrumental in upping the ante in terms of the David Jones fashion offering, recently introducing renowned international brands into the Australian market, including Dolce & Gabbana, Celine and Yves Saint Laurent.
In August 2011, the department store also welcomed 60 new labels to its brand stable, including Lanvin, Dries Van Noten, Hugo Boss Women, Hackett London, Victoria Beckham and Gucci, to complement the David Jones' spring/summer 2011 collections launch, in line with a complete refresh of its tag-line, which now reads “Was. Is. Always. David Jones”.
In February this year, David Jones boosted its brand power again, and announced that it will introduce nearly 50 fresh fashion brands in 2012, with labels such as Jag Accessories, Fiorelli, Jill Sander, Trent Nathan and Trent Resort to depart in favour of new lines including Gucci men's accessories, iconic British brand Barbour, London-based shoe brand Charlotte Olympia, and Swedish fashion brand V Ave Shoe Repair.
The fresh line-up also includes fledgling local label Hunt No More, which has been touted by some as the successor to iconic brand Sass & Bide, which David Jones lost to Myer in February last year.
In addition, Bush recently supervised the launch of a dedicated bridal boutique into the David Jones Elizabeth Street flagship store for the first time, and he also spearheaded the company's autumn/winter 2012 fashion launch, as well as a new Autumn Racing Fashion Preview event.
“David Jones is constantly evolving and each year brings its own set of changes that we implement in order to revitalise the store and offer something new for our customers. There is no doubt the retail industry has been challenged in the last while, bringing with it great opportunities. But this challenging period has been the most invigorating time of my career,” Bush admits.
“When times are tough the tough have to get going and respond, and it’s been exciting finding new ways to do things to ensure we move forward.”
In the same spirit, the department store also recently revealed that it has partnered with technology giant IBM to create a new multi-channel retail systems platform, which will see David Jones become the first major Australian retailer to provide customers with a true cross-channel shopping medium.
As previously reported on ragtrader.com.au, the multi-million dollar deal is set to change the way David Jones operates forever, and with it, the way consumers choose to browse and buy, pick-up and return items at the 37 David Jones stores across the country.
“It’s a really exciting time for David Jones as we continue to define our position as the destination for fashion,” Bush says.
“We [David Jones] will soon become a multi-channel retailer as my team and I work with our marketing and IT teams to develop what will be an amazing online assortment of the country's best brands for our new online venture, to be launched later this year.”
If nothing else, it’s blatantly clear that Bush is an avid supporter for the future of fashion retailing – which makes sense, given it plays a huge part in his personal and professional legacy. But in recent times, he's taken to the cause with an even greater ardour and has signed on to mentor some of Australia's emerging talent in the industry as part of the Fashion Future program – a fashion business consultancy, led by Pamela Trantalles, with a focus on building and strengthening entrepreneurship and innovation in the industry.
“Pam the founder of fashion future approached me [to become a Fashion Future mentor] and I jumped at the opportunity. I feel strongly that our industry will only prosper with strong creative talent who also have a savvy business head on their shoulders.
“Giving back to the industry is something I do whenever I can. If my experience helps then I am happy,” he adds.
Bush is currently mentoring two aspiring designers for Fashion Future, helping them to understand what customers want and how to deal with retailers, while ensuring they remain focused on creativity as well as their bottom line. He also balances this with shifts teaching at the QUT design college in Brisbane where he offers students an insight to the commercial reality of the fashion world.
“The retail world is evolving so quickly and customers have access to so much, that it's important that designers continue to push themselves to create intellectual property that sets them apart and ensuring they deliver quality creativity with the right amount of commercial appeal,” Bush says.
“Retailing is a challenging industry and not for the faint hearted. And now is not the time to play it safe, so we must continue to innovate and show our customers innovation.”
Bush obviously applies the same advice to his own role, and despite the recent raft of changes already announced by David Jones this year, he let’s slip that there are more surprises in store.
“As fashion evolves so does our business, to ensure we continue to over deliver on our customers expectations. So watch this space.” he says.
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