Nobue to tackle international and domestic retail scene
SYDNEY:Japanese-inspired womenswear retailer Nobue is set to branch out into the wholesale market.
The eight-year-old brand, which operates retail sites across The Queen Victoria Building, The Strand Arcade and Balmain's Darling Street, will begin supplying nationwide boutiques and independent retailers from August.
The move coincides with the brand's relocation from Gerald Street to Victoria Street in Marrickville, with a new showroom built specifically to attract potential wholesale clients. A dedicated workspace will also allow clients to see machinists work on Australian production styles.
National sales manager Rosanne Spagnolo said 12 stockists had already been confirmed to stock the debut spring/summer 2008/09 wholesale collection. She said the decision to tackle this new venture was prompted by weekly email requests from interstate customers.
"We are excited to be offering Australian boutiques the opportunity to stock our collections. Our products are currently Australian made but as we move into wholesale, we will be producing certain styles offshore in China while designing, sampling and construction will be overseen in Sydney.
The venture into offshore manufacturing will be bolstered by Nobue's impending assault on the Northern Hemisphere, with the brand planning to launch its autumn/winter 2009 collection through department stores in the UK, the US and Japan. Initial orders from clients in the Southern Hemisphere will be offered on a stock basis, with delivery available from early August.
"Our wholesale ambitions are set at a high standard: we want to offer exclusive Australian boutiques our collection and have 50 stockists Australia-wide," Spagnolo said. "When Nobue first launched in Australia, it started on a small scale in prestige positions in Sydney - eight years on, we want to keep producing unique clothing for the discerning customer."
The spring/summer 2008/09 range, dubbed 'Makie' after a Japanese scroll story book, is comprised of 30 "lolly" hued pieces priced from $100 to $350. Spagnolo said the emphasis was on "beautifully fitted" dresses made from imported Japanese fabrics such as silk, cotton and linen/cotton blends and accented with intricate embroidery, metallic tones and hues of red and black. Traditional Japanese sewing techniques such as 'Shibori', where the fabric is pinched and stitched using gold thread embroidery, have also been used to produce the range.
"Japan possesses excellent techniques to create beautiful fabrics and we aim to bring that excellence to Australia - these fabrics are delicate yet durable," Spagnolo said.
Along with its venture into the wholesale and export categories, Nobue is planning to launch a new homewares and fashion accessory line over the next year.
By Assia Benmedjdoub