With Australia on the radar of international brands such as Gap, Banana Republic and Zara, independent boutiques will have to fight harder to retain customers. A number of fashion agents are pre-empting this challenge – moving to specialise in brands from selected countries, as Melinda Oliver discovers.
As far back as the early noughties, when independent Australian brands set their focus on department store representation, fashion agent Dominique Nestel realised small boutiques would need to provide something different to stay relevant. The director of Melbourne-based distribution company Alchera reviewed her business strategy and ventured to South Africa in search of new brands to bring to Australia, securing denim label Sissyboy for her books.
“Everyone does the same path, Paris and New York,” she said. “We wanted to go off the beaten track.”
In the years since, Nestel has shifted attention to Brazil and become a focused provider of Brazilian womenswear brands. She now travels there twice a year to trade shows and fashion weeks to nurture business.
“A country like Brazil has a massive internal market,” she said. “It has young and interesting brands. There is lots of colour and detail – they are trendy but not faddish.”
Brands represented by Alchera include Coven, Osklen, Leticia Birkheuer and Cantao among others. On her latest trip, Nestel chose to buy deeper into these existing collections rather than take on new brands.
“We’ve had to take huge risks and invest heavily to get these brands up and running. Each collection we do out of Brazil is 150 to 200 units per collection.
“You have to purchase a sample collection which might be about $10,000 to $20,000.You pay for it up-front and that is the initial investment. You bring it in [to Australia] and hope that you sell it. So each collection we do has to be taken quite seriously.”
For Eyegasm managing director Ben Lewski, it is sunny Los Angeles that holds appeal as a source of brands. The Melbourne-based distributor’s portfolio includes trend-driven fashion labels fLuXuS, Gypsy05 and Wildfox Couture.
He also distributes celebrity Nicole Richie’s brands – Winter Kate, House of Harlow 1960 jewellery and House of Harlow footwear. He caters to a few hundred accounts nationally, as well as a recently signed deal with David Jones department store to stock the House of Harlow 1960 range.
“We started a few years ago, but before we were trading as T-box,” he said. “We bought T-box from Istanbul to Australia initially. That evolved into the importation and wholesaling of other brands, which has now culminated in some US labels, all coincidentally from LA.”
Lewski experimented with various European brands but found them less suitable for the Australian market. Sizing differences and the opposite seasons caused challenges.
“We saw the LA market as a very good fit climate-wise with Australia,” he said. “It is quite trans-seasonal there.”
Lewski said having a complementary stable from one country can be an advantage when dealing with buyers, as many stores suit more than one of the brands. Also, the economies of scale are proving helpful when shipping from the one place. The downside is the risk of currency fluctuations.
“Last year when the dollar suddenly plummeted to some terrible numbers in the 60-cent mark, our business was really at risk. The dollar, fortunately, at the moment is trading pretty well. As a distributor it is my job to make sure I don’t take too many risks.”
Flaunt Marketing director Sharyn Lowe has focused on supplying Swedish brands to forge a path of difference. The Melbourne-based sales agency and public relations firm initially started with a young, feminine label called Koola Anna, shortly followed by Rules by Mary and Red Collar Project.
“We are avid followers of the blog Stockholm Streetstyle, so have been a fan of the Scandinavian fashion scene for a while,” she said. “We were surprised there wasn’t more on offer in boutiques.”
Lowe said a key attraction is that the labels are predominantly manufactured in Sweden, yet have realistic prices, with summer dresses retailing at around $79.
“The market has changed greatly over the past 18 months and customers are less likely to buy on impulse,” she said. “Swedish fashion offers that extra bit of ‘cool’ in its design that draws customer’s attention.”
Educating buyers and consumers about new brands is part of the process, she said, but she finds most hungry for something unique.
“Once all the boxes are ticked – price, quality, marketing support and design relevance – the interest of new international brands is a great bonus.”
Scouting brands from the US is next on Lowe’s agenda, due to a new store venture on the cards.
“We are currently working with Turnabout Retail (run by Mike Holtzer, a former chief operating officer of Oroton Group and Rory Scott, a former chief executive officer of Webster Holdings) to open a business called Worn in the USA, with it’s flagship store at Harbour Town in Melbourne,” she said.