Australian-born global fashion business Cotton On has brought together its global supplier partners in Geelong for its Cotton On Connect – a week-long event that included a conference, a product fair, brand workshops and brand strategy sessions.
Cotton On operates eight Australian brands including Cotton On, Cotton On Body, Cotton On Kids, Factorie, Typo, Supré and Ceres Life, all across 22 countries, 1,500 stores, ten online sites, and eight distribution centres.
The latest Cotton On Connect event is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the fashion and lifestyle business hosted all its key suppliers in one place, and the first time the event has been hosted in Australia.
Suppliers in attendance included apparel and non-apparel partners from China, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam - the business’ top supplier countries.
“The creativity, energy and excitement that comes from having our key suppliers together with our team to celebrate outstanding performance as well as build our future together has been inspiring,” Cotton On brand director Bianca Ginns said.
The week’s agenda kicked off with a conference attended by over 800 people at the Geelong Arts Centre.
The conference included Supplier of the Year Awards which recognised the highest performing supplier partners across 11 categories: Cut & Sew, Woven, Denim & Knitwear, Intimates & Swim, Accessories, Footwear, Gifting, Stationary, Product Innovation Excellence, Sustainability Excellence and the Diamond Supplier of the Year.
For the remaining week, Cotton On’s Global Support Centre in Geelong hosted workshops covering sustainability, agility, artificial intelligence, ethical sourcing, brand and customer strategy, and quality and compliance.
A 59-stall supplier product fair was also held, which allowed Cotton On’s buying teams to collaborate directly with suppliers onsite to secure next season’s best sellers.
Cotton On’s general manager of production, Penni Donaldson, said nurturing and supporting supplier partnerships is at the core of the business's strategy.
“Consolidation of our supply base, together with diversification of our countries where we manufacture has been an important part of our global production strategy,” Donaldson said. “Our suppliers are critical partners in delivering for our customer and helping drive our purpose of making a positive difference in people’s lives.”