Austrade media release
Wednesday, 23 April 2007
Ahead of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week next week, Austrade points to a strong demand for Australian fashion in the UK, with two fashion buyers from UK distributor Claret Showroom, flagging their intention to sign on two more Australian labels to their stable.
“Australia is seen as an aspirational brand and Brits are keen to buy into the positive brand image,” Austrade’s Business Development Manager in the UK, Hannah Weimers said.
In recent years Australian brands have developed a presence in many of the UK's leading retailers including Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Browns, Matches and Liberty. According to Ms Weimers this has fuelled the image of Australia as a source of leading design.
“Successful Australian brands in the UK have a strong point of difference that cannot be found in the high street store. Their pricing will be competitive and their collections will take into account the UK seasons and consumer demands,” Ms Weimers said.
“Pricing considerations are further fuelled by the strength of UK high street retailers Topshop, Zara and Miss Selfridge, and also the higher end chain stores such as Reiss and Jigsaw, and their ability to follow key trends quickly and at competitive prices.
“Lastly, public relations and marketing are key to stand out above the crowd. Brands need to drive consumer demand and dedicating budget to PR is vital to achieving this,” she said.
Claret Showroom Ltd was set up by Claire Troughton and Alex Lyles in 2005 in the UK and currently represents four Australian designers – Melanie Cutfeild, Alice McCall, Milk and Honey and White Suede.
Ms Lyles says Claret Showroom will be looking to expand its client list by signing up two more Australian labels that show potential for success in the UK and European market.
“Our passion for Australian brands stemmed from a very successful first season representing Alice McCall. We launched the brand in the UK for Spring/Summer 2006, placing it in the UK's top independent boutiques and key department stores.
“The labels' success here prompted other Australian designers to join our showroom and we have since earned ourselves a reputation as an agency specializing in the showcasing of Australian labels,” Ms Lyles said.
“Australia gives rise to an impressive number of talented designers offering refreshing designs to the northern hemisphere. The prints that emerge within their collections are particularly interesting and popular with our clients.”
Ms Lyles believes some of the main constraints for designers hoping to break into the UK market are price related. Import duty charges on apparel coming into the UK average 13 per cent, and on top of this is the stores' mark up of about 270 per cent or more.
“We find that our designers are always surprised at how expensive their product is by the time it reaches the end- customer over here. It means that certain garments within collections become over-priced so we work closely with our designers to help them set prices reasonably, or edit collections if there is no other solution,” Ms Lyles said.
Ms Lyles adds: “Another import hurdle in cracking the market in the UK, or any part of the northern hemisphere for that matter, is the opposite seasons and cold winter climates. Australian designers are starting to produce Autumn/Winter collections specifically for the northern hemisphere to ensure their sales are seasonally consistent rather than solely relying on their Spring/Summer collections to pull in the big orders.”
Ms Lyles says Austrade has been hugely helpful in assisting Claret Showroom to build relationships with Australian designers. Claret Showroom will attend Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney with assistance from Austrade.
Ms Hannah Weimers and Ms Alex Lyles are available for media interviews.
ENDS
Media contact
Caroline James
Mob: +61 413 481 579
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre. |