The assets of Australian shoes and accessories brand Sol Sana have been taken on by a private investor, with plans to expand product categories and international stockists.
A spokesperson on behalf of the new owners - House of SolSana - confirmed they retained at least 80% of the staff following the original sale in May, along with all of its key suppliers.
Sol Sana’s now former parent company Kinzu Brands went into administration earlier this year, with a value estimate of total creditors at $3,362,452.
The brand is currently evaluating brand, product categories and export opportunities.
“We've spoken to the original founder of the Sol Sana brand (Sara Caverley), just to get her insight into the brand,” the spokesperson confirmed to Ragtrader. “We've brought on a new person, who is going to be heading up the branding - who owned a fashion brand that sold out three or four years ago.
“We need to breathe a soul back into Sol Sana in a quirky way, but go back to what we're good at. And make sure we don't do what we're not good at.”
One key change ahead is product ranging, with the brand exploring denim apparel and jewellery lines alongside a recently launched bags and belts range. From there, House of SolSana intends to bring Sol Sana back to the global stage - “where it ought to be.”
“Its signature products led the way for a long time. I think we went away from that - for various reasons," the spokesperson said. “I'm not sure of the history, but we'll certainly get it back - we have gone back to the old look books.
“We'll revamp the brand because it had a considerable following. It still does. Some big celebrities wore the brand in the US. We think that there's a lot to the brand that we can bring back.”
The US is one key market identified by House of SolSana, with Sol Sana’s entire international market already seeing organic growth.
“We currently have distributors in Israel; we also have one in Japan. But looking at the brand historically and looking at our eCommerce business, we do get purchases from the US. And that's despite the fact that we do very little in the US and despite the fact that our pricing is not competitive.
“So with a little bit of effort, a little bit of focus, and a little bit of restructuring our pricing, we think there's lots and lots of opportunities in the US for our particular products. Especially the warmer parts of the US, I think they do really well.”
Speaking on its retained suppliers, the spokesperson said they are small operators and rely on Sol Sana.
“We've met all our obligations with our suppliers and we continue to do so, and we continue to build that relationship whilst continuing to push for sustainable use of material as well as ensuring that quality maintains as high as we possibly can.”