Dior to claim space on Aussie shelf
The Paris-headquartered luxury label - owned by the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) group - intends exploiting the fact few of its high-end competitors have managed to get a foothold into this market by appointing a Melbourne agent to distribute both its Baby Dior Newborn and Baby Dior Junior ranges.
Prolific Entities, which specialises in importing European labels, was awarded the exclusive distribution rights to the label after director Kylie Campbell was invited to France to view the collections earlier this year.
Sharing a stable with fellow high-end kidswear labels Mayoral, Toff Togs and Air De Je, the Dior Baby collections will include christening gowns and footwear as well as its usual "clothing collection stories".
Campbell said as with its adult lines, Dior had proved meticulous in the material and stitching it had used for its childrenswear garments, going so far as to insist on using only the most "gentlest" of materials so as not to irritate the skin of the wearer.
Despite this attention to detail, the price points of the brand's summer collections - expected to be available from September - start at $48.
With boutiques wishing to stock the label having to pass Dior's strict marketing guidelines, Campbell said so far only Designer Babies in South Yarra had been approved to stock the Dior Baby and Dior Junior lines.
But it wasn't just with stockists that Dior had proved a tough negotiator with Campbell herself admitting she was forced to endure close scrutinisation before being approved to distribute its goods.
"The process in obtaining any rights with any manufacturer is a very lengthy process in ensuring due diligence is carried out for our benefit and the manufacturer has to conduct their due diligence to ensure they place their products with the right distributor."
Campbell said despite its luxury reputation, she was confident Australians would be quick to latch on to the brand.
"The only competitors with a label such as Dior would be Versace, Gucci and Prada. We do not tend to get much of these other labels available to us or if we do, it is only minor pieces and not the full collection.
"Dior is a label that actually suits many more markets than would be expected."