Iconic local brand Emu Australia has ramped up its product offering as it prepares to unleash its most extensive fashion collection to date.
The brand, which initially only sold women’s apparel, footwear and accessories, will launch a men's apparel line along with a babywear collection at New York Fashion week this month.
The new ranges, part of the Emu Australia fall/winter 2012 collection, will comprise 76 Australian sheepskin footwear styles for women, men and children and will also see the women's apparel and accessories collection expanded to include 96 apparel and accessories styles, crafted from Australian sheepskin and Merino wool.
Following its debut in New York, the fall/winter 12 collection will be distributed throughout Emu Australia's 12,000-strong stockist network, across 71 countries, with premium stores in the northern hemisphere to receive product first, from August 2012.
The brand's Australian and New Zealand stockists, which include stores such as David Jones, Peter Sheppard, and Beach Culture, will begin receiving the first drops of product from February 2013. The collection will also be sold online via Emu Australia's e-store.
Emu Australia international marketing manager Coel Dart said the additions to the Emu Australia product offering are part of a larger expansion strategy for the brand as it looks to grow its distribution network and increase sales.
“Emu Australia's men’s apparel collection has been a number of years in the pipeline, but the success of our women’s apparel and accessories collection was the driver of Emu releasing a men's collection for fall 2012,” he said.
“Sheepskin is also a major fashion trend currently and so our release is well-timed, and we plan to continue expanding into more countries during 2012 and beyond and expect to see further increases in our sales both domestically and overseas.”
Emu Australia is an Australian owned brand established in 1948 in Geelong, Melbourne. The brand is now available in over 12,000 retail doors and 71 countries worldwide, including 800 stockists across Australia and New Zealand. Since 2009, Emu Australia's apparel account base has grown from 50 accounts worldwide to more than 1,600 in 2011 and in Australia the apparel business grew by more than 30 per cent last year.