Taking the global leap
The story of Australia’s independent labels is one that tells of success and failure in equal measure.
Over the past few years, we have seen the likes of Bettina Liano, Kirrily Johnston and Lisa Ho crippled by financial ruin with no light at the end of the tunnel.
We’ve seen Alannah Hill walk away from her eponymous label and watched Ksubi go under – again.
Yet there are a concentration of independent labels who continue to make strides not just in the domestic market, but internationally.
In 2011, Dion Lee collaborated with Cue on a 55-piece diffusion line, which at the end of season drummed up a reported $4 million in net sales. In addition, the designer allegedly received a cash boost of last June after selling a majority stake to the company for what industry sources believe to be around $500,000.
Now Lee has won over the US market, securing a place at New York Fashion Week. He’s caught the eye of Net-A-Porter and Shopbop as stockists and has been listed as one of Business of Fashion’s 500 most influential figures in global fashion.
And he’s not alone.
Best known for its illustrious kaftan collections, Camilla is a brand that seems to have it all figured out. Speaking to the company’s CEO Paul Cherny, the label’s presence in the market appears to have grown beyond expectation since its inception 11 years ago.
“A prominent lifestyle element of Australians is to live by the water to enjoy our stunning coastlines - as such, this complements our brand and product offering more than it would overseas. We also have to kindly consider that international regions such the USA and the Middle East tend to have a more conservative culture than Australia’s.”
Despite these considerations, Camilla has surged into the international market with no sign of slowing down.
In fact, Cherny revealed that its international arm is by far its fastest growing division, equating to 40 per cent of its wholesale business. Within that 40 per cent, 50 per cent can be attributed to the US alone.
Cherny and the team have pinpointed the States as a critical market to grow into and by 2016 will dive straight into the international eCommerce arena, taking its US wholesale sales in-house while opening its first boutique in the region.
On home soil, Camilla will aim to expand its store count from 12 to 18 over the next two years as well as further strengthening its relationship with David Jones and its other 100 stockists across Australia.
For Cherny, the cherry on top is the strong ties that Camilla has with some of the world’s most prolific retailers.
“Penetration into the international department store area has been a high five moment. We’re currently stocked in eight of the leading department stores around the world, including Berdgorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Harrods & Selfridges. We currently stock Camilla through 275 doors in over 40 countries.”
On the other side of the pond, Australian footwear band Sol Sana has made a big splash in the UK.
After being snapped up by footwear retailer Office, it now takes pride of place in the store’s flagship on Carnarby Street.
Although business is still good downunder, Sol Sana founder and creative director Sara Caverley divulged some surprising insights into how the brand is traveling since its launch in 2011.
To begin, 60 per cent of the company’s revenue is generated by international sales, while the other 40 per cent is attributed to Australia.
On top of that, the brand has managed to secure major stockists around the globe, both in bricks-and-mortar stores and online.
David Jones, Urban Outfitters, Free People, Shopbop, Nordstrom, Revolve, Galeries Lafayette, Tuchuzy, Nasty Gal and as aforementioned, Office are among the retailers who have bought into the Sol Sana vision.
It’s what Caverley calls her ‘pinch me moments’.
“When we first launched Sol Sana internationally we were an unknown brand with little or no track record outside of our home market. This was a challenge, as we essentially had to build brand awareness from scratch. In order to help us achieve this we sort out and selected likeminded distributors, sales teams and PR firms in each of our targeted markets to help us successfully launch.”
In retrospect, we have to consider that there’s more to international success than just the fairytale of winning global retailers over with a clear vision and seamless designs.
Minkpink general manager Laura Fulton seems to believe that setting up a strong operational structure can help effectively understand the global market, how it works and how different regions differ from one another.
“We have now set up a fully functioning operations in North America and the UK to supply those markets better. We have sales, marketing and distribution offices in those territories as well as a supply chain equipped to deal with the needs of different countries regulations.”
Minkpink has formed collaborations with some of the world’s biggest online competitors, including Urban Outfitters, ASOS and Nasty Gal, so when asked about the challenges of being an Australian independent working with overseas companies, Caverley said the main issue was adjusting to seasonality.
“Seasonality was an issue in the beginning. We then moved to global ranges and now design to meet the separate needs of the Northern and Southern hemisphere.”
The problem is, unlike Minkpink, not all independents have the capacity to produce separate collections for their global customers – so how else do they do it?
Cherny said that for Camilla, tapping into resort collections as a burgeoning category in international destinations has helped set the brand apart from a market saturated with independent hopefuls presenting structured seasonal collections.
He also believes that northern and southern hemisphere segmentation for marketing content and consumer communication is critical for success.
Finally, Cherny revealed that the company has grappled with different business model requirements in selling to customers via outsourced showrooms verses selling direct in Australia.
Caverley said that in terms of production, maintaining a strong relationship with Sol Sana’s suppliers and freight forwarders allows the brand to stay ahead of its markets.
“We design for the southern and northern hemisphere and our time lines, development and production are very tightly controlled due to season cut offs and delivery deadlines. We have long standing relationships with our international freight forwarders who we have been working with for many years; they understand our business and our needs. They work hard to accommodate our schedules and time zone differences.”
As for supply, Caverley echoes Fulton’s approach to managing an effective chain.
“In terms of warehousing, locally we have our own building in Alexandria where all our Australian distribution is managed and for our overseas markets, we have warehouse facilities in New York, Los Angeles, Brussels and Hong Kong. We are about to go live with a warehouse in the UK to accommodate our growing UK business.”
Another independent trailblazer on the international stage is C/meo Collective, previously known as Cameo The Label, with head designer Siham Elmawey suggesting that as far as challenges and successes go, there are always two sides to the coin.
“Being an Australian business, Australian sales are still extremely strong, but we’ve seen increasing interest in C/meo Collective overseas as well. Obviously international markets are also larger than Australia, so there’s more scope for growth and people to access.”
Yet where there’s more room for a brand to spread its wings overseas, managing a brand Australia, far away from international market hotspots can prove to be a logistical nightmare.
“Logistically it is quite difficult. We rely on our team of international agents to help drive sales and awareness of C/meo Collective overseas. Social media has also helped dramatically ensure our brand is kept top of mind to consumers.”
Of course, planting the seeds of a business and watching it grow is not merely an organic process. It takes time, knowledge and substantial financial backing.
Funding and grants from the government and organisations such as the Australian Fashion Chamber (AFC), The Woolmark Company and the Council of Textiles and Fashion Industries of Australia (TCIF) can help give emerging independents the boost they need to climb the ladder to international recognition.
If we go back to Dion Lee, the designer was awarded a hefty sum of $10,000 after winning the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award in 2011.
In addition, Lee was then mentored by Zimmermann, which still remains one of the core representatives of Australian fashion on the world stage.
Then again, there are those such as Josh Goot and Michael Lo Sordo who have won similar awards in the past, only to crumble under the pressure of financial strain later down the track.
There are challenges and opportunities alike for independent brands looking to break into the global market, but if we look at the ones who are doing it right, talent is a given but the strong focus on ensuring strong operational structures and streamline logistics systems remains unanimous.