Ragtrader Live panellist Laura Yeomans, country manager for ShopStyle Australia, reveals how the platform lured Macy's Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus down under.
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Shopstyle Australia started in... May 2011 with 180 clients thanks to ShopStyle’s existing relations on a global level.
It has since grown to... 330 and counting! As well as building up a local portfolio of 50 Australian brands we were the first Australian based fashion publisher to bring on Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Amazon Fashion, J.Crew, Reiss, Whistles etc and will continue to work with large retail brands as they begin shipping to Australia.
International retailers are signing on because... they are keen to target the Australian market and we act as an online gateway gaining them cost effective cut through within a brand safe environment.
The most interesting shopping trend we're seeing on ShopStyle is... ‘men's onesies!’ but obviously what’s trending varies on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. We see a lot of weird and wonderful items being sought after as well as a growing demand for luxury brands for both adults and children.
Some of the top-selling styles are... the top 10 is always a mixture of key brands such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Prada, Givenchy, Christian Louboutin mixed with more generic fashion searches such as ‘lace dress’, ‘leather pants’, ‘wedge sneakers’ etc
One of the most exciting initiatives we launched was... our sale alert functionality, the customer is emailed when a specific item or brand goes on sale. You get the sales to work for you!
International retailers who are doing it right are... asos, Shopbop, House of Fraser, MatchesFashion, Stylebop, Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, my-wardrobe, John Lewis etc
Local retailers who are doing it right are... The Iconic and Styletread for fulfilment. Surfstitch, Birsdnest, Glue Store for overall.
The advice I'd give to retailers is... all channels should go hand-in-hand. It shouldn’t matter where the customer is buying so long as they are buying! Ecommerce shouldn’t be a standalone channel but incorporated into all aspects of marketing.
We see the future of ShopStyle Australia as... Australia’s ‘Google for fashion’. Your first port of call when buying fashion online.