Green and gold flag flies strong in Europe
Austrade business development manager Kerstin Classon said a collective growth in funding, resources and marketing capabilities since 2003 have equipped the export organisation with greater pulling power.
The Swedish-based representative added that since the start of 2007, an official 'Australian Style' website for the Scandinavian region had passed 7000 unique visitors with several local agents approaching Austrade as a result.
"I started a listing on the Australian Style website for the Scandinavian market a couple of years ago and now the labels are getting so many, I will need to change the formatting of the list."
Attributing the Australian boom to growing demand in the European market, Classon also said industry events such as 'Australia Hits the Streets' - which presented a range of streetwear, swim and surfwear to trade and media in 2004 ? and ongoing ties with local fashion agencies have facilitated this growth.
More recently, Classon assisted Australian denimwear brand Nobody with finding suitable distributors there after strong industry interest.
"Looking at Scandinavia plus Finland as a region means that getting a good representative for this area, or successfully entering on of the markets, opens up 25 million fashion conscious consumers. It's a good stepping stone to take on other markets in Europe too."
While these initiatives are conducted on an ongoing basis, Classon said she is in discussions for a major marketing opportunity in Sweden during May. If finalised, this would enable 10 to 15 selected companies to market their labels to approximately 200 member stores in Sweden.
"We will be discussing this with some local agents and distributors, either for them to promote their label to this group or do a joint promotional effort where we market a few strong labels from Australia."
Classon urged local designers to contact the organisation if they were interested in setting up a stockist base in the Scandinavian market. In particular, she said there were strong areas of opportunity for trendy collections with edge and attitude, competitive and unique children's products, trendy accessories and sun-protective wear.
Companies which Classon identified as performing most strongly in this market were Ksubi, sass & bide, RM Williams, Insight and Catherine Manuell Design.