Aussie fix at Lotus 76
With six boutiques in Brisbane, notable designer and retailer Natalie Denning has built the beginnings of her own empire.
Starting out in the industry in the early '90s Denning's first store, named Natalie Denning, provided a platform to showcase her own designs while following stores - Bessie Head, City Dweller, Bam & Juju and Dirtbox - display her aptitude for retailing and intuitive understanding of the Brisbane market.
Her latest acquisition Lotus 76, however, sees a new style and direction for Denning. Located in the popular Brisbane lifestyle and retail precinct Emporium in Fortitude Valley, Lotus 76 targets a new market and territory for the Denning domain.
As one of the first stores at the Emporium, Denning and her partner Michael Doherty jumped at the chance to tap into the Emporium's exclusive market and retail culture last October when the original owners moved on to new ventures. With Denning's other stores located in the city, she seized the opportunity as store manager Laura Gault explains. "It was a chance to get into a different market...test the waters in the Valley as it is a well known shopping area for boutiques."
Located among restaurants, cafes, fine food grocers, hair and beauty salons, bookstores and other speciality stores, Lotus 76 is targeted at 20 to 40-year-old women; however, attracts very wide market.
"We get the flow through from the restaurants...from young mothers to grandmothers with their granddaughters...we get a very broad range of people coming into the store," Gault says.
While catering for a broad age range, Lotus 76 is aimed at the fashion conscious, middle income earner who likes to shop for labels and who is looking for something a bit different, edgy and individual.
Stocking only Australian designers, Lotus 76 holds a unique position in the Brisbane market. With top-sellers including labels Nevenka, Manning Cartell and Ginger and Smart, Lotus 76 support towards Australian talent and design provides access into a growing market segment highly conscious of buying Australian-designed clothing and accessories. With this in mind, buying decisions are based upon the label's fit with the store's style and target customer.
Also considered is whether the label holds a point-of-difference, with Lotus 76 preferring to stock lesser-known and upcoming designers as opposed to more established labels.
Newly stocked labels for example include Show-off and Bracewell. Also stocked are Gorman, Shona Joy, Kate Hurst, State of Georgia and Hussy and jeans by Sissy Boy and Bettina Liano.
Dresses are currently key sellers due to the Brisbane climate and "their outfit all-in-one factor" says Gault. However, accessories such as Dita sunglasses, Bonton belts, Alex and Alex shoes, Justine Pratten purses and wallets, as well as Ginger and Smart bags, belts and candles have also proven to be rather popular. Lotus 76 also provides gift vouchers for those looking to spoil someone special.
With a minimalist and oriental themed store design, the store provides a more relaxed and tranquil shopping experience in comparison to Denning's city stores. However, there are renovations scheduled for later this year with plans to include new shelving and increased use of the store's high ceilings. Further ideas include a new lighting scheme and the use of props to create a more atmospheric feel and enhance the store's unique character.
Window displays are kept rather minimal, though, both the front and the back windows of the store are utilised. With three floor-to-ceiling glass panels at each end of the store, visual merchandising is based on Denning's personal style to focus solely on the clothes with mannequins displaying styled outfits. Taking advantage of the back window to display clothes has meant that many women have been provided with a visually pleasing interlude whilst stuck in peak hour traffic on busy thorough-fare Wickham Street.
"It really does bring people in, we always have people saying 'oh what was in the window last week, I drove past and I really want to try that on,'" says Gault.
While word-of-mouth is relied upon as Lotus 76's primary form of promotion, repeat business is rewarded with loyal customers receiving discounts through the store's VIP membership program. A further point-of-sale system is the store's database, which is used to send SMS alerts when new stock arrives or to notify customers of sales. This form of promotion has proven to be very successful, ensuring that the store is kept top-of-mind.
"It definitely does bring people in," says Gault.
Lotus 76 has also received publicity through local magazines with stylists using clothes from the store for photo shoots. In addition, it garners further publicity by dressing the presenter of local Channel 7, television program Queensland's Best Living.
Denning's prominence in the Brisbane retail fashion scene coupled with her support towards upcoming Australian designers validates her position as an exemplary entity in the Brisbane fashion industry.