Then and Now

Each fortnight Ragtrader touches base with a brand previously profiled in the magazine to see how it has evolved in the intervening years. This week Assia Benmedjdoub spoke with Denise L'Estrange Corbet, founder of World.

COMPANY World
FOUNDER Denise L'Estrange Corbet

What are the key issues or challenges for your company five years ago? What are they now?
The challenges are the same for the company today as they were five years ago, except on a larger scale. We have more stores, more wholesale accounts, the ranges are larger, and we have to ensure all this is handled effectively and efficiently to ensure the company's continued growth.

What was the range like five years ago? What is it like now?
The range was smaller five years ago, but today we have a minimum of 80 styles per season for both the men's and womenswear collections, and the production has grown tremendously because of this.

How many stores/wholesale accounts did you have five years ago? How
many do you have now?
We had four stores five years ago, and today we have six, one of which is our Glenmore Road, Sydney store. We show both the men and women's ranges each season in Paris, so we travel there four times a year. We have just returned and secured new accounts in Russia, Italy, Japan and Paris. Each season we collect new accounts in different and already existing countries. We do not really see the brand as one that would fit nicely into a department store, particularly in Australia, as the looks are always 'the look of the season' and I find these tiresome, so World is usually sold in great boutiques which have a better understanding of design, department stores are all about sell-through and dollars and cents, which is of course important, but not to the detriment of the collection. I rarely, if ever, buy at department stores, but usually trawl all the boutiques as they have a better eye in terms of buyers and are more adventurous with their styling.

What was the retail climate like for your business five years ago?
How has it changed?
World has an enormous following, as we were established in 1989, so each season as our ranges improve, so do our sales. We opened our first, tiny store just after the stock market crash of '87, and were told it was the worst thing we could possibly do, but we work on gut instinct, and proved the knockers wrong, and that is still our philosophy today. We do not have any backers, so we are able to run the company exactly as we feel is good for it, and so far, this has served us well.

What was your approach to marketing and promotions five years ago?
What is it now?
We rarely, if ever, advertise, our sales are through word of mouth and satisfied customers. We have never had a PR company in New Zealand, but two years ago did take on Hush in Sydney, as they also hold the collections each season, which is great for media in Australia, as the magazines and stylists can go through them. In New Zealand the stylists come to the Head Office to see the ranges. I find so many fashion brands put out press releases for everything, and have read the most ridiculous printed articles which are pure fabrication, it is the "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome, if you tell the story enough, people will elieve it, and fundamentally, the media rarely checks press releases out or the authenticity. We do not run our company like that, and prefer the ranges to speak for themselves.

What was your approach to staff training five years ago? How has it hanged?
Our approach to staff training 5 years ago is pretty much he same today. All our staff are extensively trained in how World works, nd what we expect of them (which is why other fashion brands are always
trying to poach them!) We have regular meetings with all senior staff embers, and they pass this on to their team. It does not suit everybody, s we are very specific in what we want, and we can tell who are the stars ery soon after they start. We have a philosophy that works for us, and hat is what we stick to.

How many staff did you employ five year ago? Now?
Five years ago we employed 16 staff, and today we employ 25 full time e also have factories and cutters who are dedicated solely to orld for production.

What was your approach to retail technology five years ago?
We have EFTPOS installed in all our stores, and started this soon fter it was introduced. Eighteen years ago customers would either pay by cash or cheque, but we have pretty much become a cashless society. It is much asier to buy things on credit as it is so painless! We have become an instantaneous society, and are all guilty of this, we want things now, and are not prepared to save for it, and that is the way of the world. The latest and newest item is a must have, and this has changed how people retail today.

What was your greatest moment/most significant development in the past five years?
My personal most significant moment was in 2002, when I was the first female fashion designer in New Zealand to be awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for fashion design. World has always been a leader in design, and this was one of those great moments, when you are recognised by the establishment, which was incredible, as we have always been very anti-establishment. This was the icing on the cake. As a company, December 2006 was when we opened our first Worldbeauty store, and this shows the true diversity of World. We plan to open more stores later in the year.

What has been your worst experience of the past five years?
I never look at things that way, everything is a learning curve, both good and bad.

Any other significant comments you'd like to make?
Our mantra is "World, factory of ideas and experiments..." and that is what we are about. We spend an awful lot of time and money on research and development - unlike so many fashion brands that feel a new collection is achieved by going overseas and filling a suitcase with all the latest styles, and bringing this back to copy and pretend is yours. I find this abhorrent. You can't be a writer, copy someone's book and call it your own, or a musician who copies an artist's music and passes it off as their own. But in fashion it is the norm. If you can't design, then admit it and do something else, as any twat can buy clothes and copy them, and this just proves how few true designers there are.