Getting a head for business

Born in New Zealand, trained in London, New York and Los Angeles and now based in Hong Kong, Louche founder Aleida Harger is a self-confessed adventurer whose journey has taught her to be tough, writes Belinda Smart. 

As the force behind womenswear label Louche, Aleida Harger wears a number of hats including print and fashion designer, manufacturer, wholesaler and trouble shooter.

A recent "mis-match" of a New Zealand sales rep to the Louche brand - resulting in a 40 per cent drop in sales from the previous season - illustrates all too well how shooting - as in "from the hip" - is a necessary part of Harger's job. 
Having parted from the rep, she took over selling for two seasons and "literally drove around the country twice, cold called, chased, followed up and nurtured until we were beyond exhaustion".
Crisis over, she was in no mood for clemency.

"By the second season we had sold 30 per cent more than any rep had sold for us in a season, at which point we handed the sales back over to the best sales rep we could find and told him that we would string him up if he didn't do as well as we had; and then smiled nicely."

Not a woman to be trifled with, Harger also knows how to shoot straight in terms of her target market.
Founded in sun-drenched Santa Monica (LA) in 2004, Louche fills a gap for soft dressing, typified by high quality fabrics and a "mid-level designer" positioning.

Mindful of keeping price points "comfortably affordable" - the brand retails for between $120 and $380 - Harger produces out of China, running the business from her Hong Kong-based offices.

"We only use high-end manufacturers so our production prices are not cheap but we have the ability to add more detail and produce complicated styling while maintaining our price points."

Louche's real point of difference is in its fabrics, with every print designed in-house and often used across a variety of fabrications.

"Our first collection was predominately printed silks but now we print on cottons, rayon jersey and nylon tulle. This has been a focused strategy to offer a broader range of price points within styles. We'll offer dresses in the collection that are made using the same print on 100 per cent silk and also on 100 per cent nylon tulle so that we appeal to more retailers and markets."

Louche now sells in Australasia, the US and Asia and boasts over 80 global retail accounts. But however successful the label becomes, Harger claims the ongoing challenge for an Australia/Asia-based label is summed up by one word: distance.

"If you're not partnered with a great distributor that understands and believes in the product, it is too much of a headache and the cost involved [in terms of] time and money will not make sense in the end."

Notwithstanding the "headache" factor, Harger remains inspired, claiming her most exciting recent development is the creation in winter 2007 of Lulu Peru, a more affordable sister label to Louche with a broader appeal.
Harger has high hopes for both brands.

"Our three to five year plan is to grow wholesale sales of Louche in Australia by 50 per cent and New Zealand by 30 per cent and to grow wholesale sales of Lulu Peru by 300 per cent in both Australia and New Zealand."
In terms of other markets, sensing the onset of an incipient migraine-scale headache, Louche recently dropped its US distributor. 

"We were having complaints from the sales reps that shipments to the retailers were late, the dispatching was often incorrect and many of the retailers were becoming frustrated."

While trouble-shooting in the US proved too costly to maintain a presence there short term, Harger fully intends to return within six months.

"During that time we plan to focus totally on Australia and the new Lulu collection and then re-establish distribution channels in the US, UK and Asia for a new launch summer 2008."

But before lining any more aspirin manufacturers' pockets, Harger's greatest ambition is far closer to home.
"I'd like to manage to take holidays longer than a long weekend every year; and to do so more than once."

By Belinda Smart