Australian label Mossman has signed on a US agent to initiate the brand's wholesale market push in the United States.
This comes as the brand furthers its stockist growth in the Middle East.
Speaking exclusively with Ragtrader, Mossman owners Deanna Depetro and Ben De Rango said the US push comes following heavy market research over the last year.
“We've just been pivoting and spending the last 12 months doing a whole heap of research - traveling to New York and LA last year,” Depetro said. “That's all paid off now.”
The brand’s newly signed US agent has already begun promoting the collections as of February to potential stockists.
“We went and did some trade shows in New York last year - twice,” De Rango said. “We met with a lot of people, and we had some really strong consistent feedback about the fashionability, the quality, the price point - everything was like tick, tick, tick.
“So it was just about finding the right person that we felt was going to be a good fit for the brand.”
Currently, Mossman ships worldwide via its website, including through the US.
Depetro, who is also the brand’s creative director, said Mossman is nearing maximum growth in the Australian market, which is a key driver for the US push.
“You see a lot of other Australian brands selling into the US and see the success that they've gotten from doing that,” she said. “That's always been our goal, but we weren't ready for that point just yet, because we still felt like we needed to maximize Australia.
“We prefer to do one thing at a time and do a really good job of it, and then move on to the next thing, rather than trying to do multiple things at the one time.”
For the US in particular, managing director De Rango said the US has a celebrity power he and Depetro are aiming to tap into.
“[The US] is such a globally recognized nation, but the celebrity power in the US is so much stronger than anywhere else in the world,” he said.
“A US celebrity is not just a celebrity in the US; they're a celebrity globally. Whereas in Australia, an Australian celebrity is just an Australian celebrity.”
The brand is also growing in the Middle East, with De Rango confirming Mossman picked up another wholesaler at the end of last year in Dubai. Currrently, the brand is now sold through Ounass and Harvey Nichols.
“We're also in talks with someone in Doha in Qatar at the moment as well, for a department store there,” he said.
“And then we're just making a real effort to work closer with the existing stockists that we have, because they are doing so well. They're actually ordering exclusive collections that we're making just for them.”
Regarding collections, Mossman has recently scaled its Essentials collections from around 20 styles to now 60 styles in its Autumn/Winter release. The Essentials range is a take on basics, and adds to the brand's eventwear collections.
“We've had a really consistent [Essentials] collection of about 20 pieces for the last three years,” De Rango said. “And they continue to perform really well. They're a big part of our business.
“We thought we really have a missed opportunity here if we don't reinvent it and maximize.”
De Rango said the biggest changes over the last few years has been a larger push in online sales during COVID, which makes up a majority portion compared to wholesale, as well as shifts in consumer spending patterns and behaviours.
“We've always been such a strong dress business,” he said. “We noticed a lot customers shifting towards more separates last year. And we took that as a result of inflation, cost of living, interest rate rising - people are trying to get more for their money.
“If they can buy a separate that they can wear multiple times and wear it with different things, different ways, it's a more versatile piece that they can get better value for money.
“We saw such a big shift the first half of 2023 with that, and that was another reason why we needed to expand the Essentials collection.”
Depetro said Mossman needs to have a good balance and mix of all clothing and styles for women.
“Selling separates will encourage them to buy multiple items, as opposed to just buying that statement dress for that occasion,” Depetro said. “Whereas when you're buying a separate, they'll see the top but then they might buy that statement dress as well or a hat to go with it.
“So we're finding that they're doing multiple purchases, as opposed to just a single item.”
In Australia, Mossman is distributed through Myer and The Iconic, as well as around 50 independent boutiques and a dedicated website.