Luxury fashion retailer Robby Ingham has continued to raid the executive ranks of competitor Belinda, as it launches a powerful bid to dominate the designer womenswear sector.
Marlene Mangioni was appointed joint managing director of the company late last year, following 11 years as retail operations manager for the Belinda boutique empire. As part of the executive shake-up, Sue Rainger has also been poached for the position of Robby Ingham retail manager.
Mangioni said she has worked with Rainger for over 15 years and described the trio as an “A team”. Both Mangioni and Rainger first cut their teeth at Robby Ingham in the early 80s and 90s respectively, before later moving on to work at Belinda in 1999.
Mangioni is credited with expanding the Belinda network of stores, which include The Corner Shop and Marni, from two to 15.
“It would take a very attractive offer to make me jump ship,” Mangioni said of her agreement with Robby Ingham, which also includes an equity stake in the company. “And Robby made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. We both have a vision for retail in this country and want to work at turning this into a reality.”
Company founder Robby Ingham said he approached Mangioni in a bid to grow his womenswear department. Despite the depth of “female spending power”, menswear sales had been on par with women’s for some time, he said.
Ingham has now consolidated his small network of stores to just two sites in Paddington, a women’s store located at 424-426 Oxford Street and a neighbouring men’s store at 428 Oxford Street.
Mangioni was en route to Paris for a sourcing trip at the time of press.
“There are so many good [womenswear] options that are just not available in this country – and I’m not just talking about megabrands – I’m talking about second-tier and third-tier designer labels,” she said.
Mangioni has already locked in exclusives with Stella McCartney, Halston and Halston Heritage as well as boutique label Hache. Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Jac + Jack, Clu, Velvet, Kristen du Nord and Orla Kiely are also currently offered at the women’s store, alongside power brands such as Givenchy and Chloe.
Meanwhile, the two-storey menswear store offers suiting and designer tailoring options, as well as a ‘t-shirt bar’ and ‘denim realm’. Labels include Neil Barnett, Steven Alan, James Perse and Inhabit. Ingham is also sourcing options for the “bigger bloke” for coming seasons. Prices range from $70 to $6000 at the women’s store and $70 to $3000 in the men’s store.
Ingham has also opened a second-hand venture called ‘Trunk’ in Sydney.Similar to Belinda’s Frock Exchange, the store sells ‘recycled’ garments by luxury fashion brands.
A new website will be launched to promote the new stores in coming weeks. Mangioni said interstate expansion for Robby Ingham could be on the cards in the mid-term future. “But we want to nail our new [formula] first.”
Assia Benmedjdoub