Ally Fashion CEO Anne-Marie Wade details how the brand has changed its fashion offering.
What were the driving factors for Ally to launch maternity and childrenswear?
The Mummy and Me line was first launched in 2020.
This came to be as it was a niche area that needed some more love and attention.
We received feedback that customers wanted to dress their children in fashionable yet affordable apparel and that such options were limited.
In saying that, with many mothers in our business we decided to create a capsule collection that used the first style icon we were exposed to – our mothers.
From there, the designers and I created a range called ‘Mummy and Me’.
Based for children and mothers, the collection was all about being able to incorporate dual styles to complement.
The first week of launch was a success, so we revived a second collection this year whilst adding maternity to the line.
Feedback has been great and it opens up the dialogue to the Ally customer how we believe style is for all bodies at every stage of their life.
How have these categories been communicated to customers?
At Ally, we always like to highlight our new collections through socials and EDMs.
It’s important for us that we garner awareness and interest through our marketing communication channels.
Social media for us is an instant PR/marketing opportunity.
We always like to show the backstage process accompanied with videos and imagery.
We then cement this idea through EDM and the web to let our audience know what is up to date and what we are currently launching.
Communicating through these owned channels proves very effective for us.
I’ve found that our behind the scenes footage is a powerful medium.
That’s because it allows the customer to be a part of the journey and to gain an understanding of how the collection came about.
It’s a way to uniquely communicate our speciality through total transparency.
It’s an excellent way to build a trusting relationship with them.
Are there any other apparel categories Ally is set to expand into?
We are currently in the process of working on the launch of our new Basics Mix.
One of the most important fashion staples for anybody are quality, everyday basics. This new category was born from that idea.
The Basics Mix will consist of t-shirts, loungewear, cami’s, underwear and more.
The focus is to design and produce these everyday essentials in a modern, practical and affordable way.
We’ve put a huge focus on quality fabrications, neutral colourways and functionality so our pieces are all lifestyle friendly for our target customers.
With a core basics range, we can now deliver versatility, timelessness and practicality in one.
How else has Ally’s fashion offering changed recently?
We’ve taken many other steps here at Ally to continuously strengthen our fashion offering.
Together, we created the goal of elevating the brand as a whole.
In order to do so, we had to rethink who our key audiences are. We identified a brand persona and created our very own Ally girl.
This way, we could narrow in on what our customers really wanted.
From there, we initiated production of better quality clothing from sourcing premium fabrications to finessing the subtle details.
Market research led us to identify more on-trend designs that our customers were actually seeking.
From there, we were able to develop key messaging.
Through the use of several communication channels, specifically social media, we’ve been able to build awareness around this and deliver greater value for our key customers.