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| Chanel's new Melbourne flagship boutique Source: Broadsheet.com.au |
On a global platform, Australia has always struggled to synchronise it's seasons and trends every year because of it's geographical positioning within the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore domestically, our own Australian fashion industry has fought for it's international recognition. The truth is that we're always behind but, we can't help it because of the opposite seasons and because geographically Australia is positioned so far from the most influential cities of fashion - New York, Paris, London and Milan. And although we could potentially create our own niche of a fashion industry, the Australian textile and garment industry is simply too small. Most Australian consumers purchase their clothing from local commercial retail stores such as Cotton On, Sportsgirl or Factorie and all of these companies outsource their production to countries such as China or Bangladesh. The Australian fashion industry is becoming smaller and smaller everyday as imported brands takeover the cities of Melbourne and Sydney, leaving no choice for home-grown brands to either sell out and become commercially viable or leave the fashion industry all together.
Over the last few years, living in the city of Melbourne, I've seen the influx of international stores and brands open stores in and around Melbourne. International designer brands arrived in Melbourne with the opening of stores such as Marais and Assin, both opening in 2004. While these two stores are distinctly different in their interiors and accompanying offerings, they share the same philosophy of exclusivity - both are hidden away from the prosaic city of Melbourne, offering an oasis for those who know where to look. Although Chanel has been a part of Australia's luxury retail market since 1988, being represented by a single store in Sydney until 2001, it's new flagship store in Melbourne is a sign of the changing retail landscape in Australia. The new Chanel store in Melbourne boasts a total of 4 levels, 2 of which are dedicated to providing the best shopping experience for it's customers. Dior's newly opened boutique in Sydney is also a sign of international brands investing in the success of the Australian retail market. Yet these brands are only a part of the growth of international labels, stores and designers Australia has seen in the past few years.
GAP was the first major international retailer to expand into Australia in 2010. Following this Zara opened it's doors in Australia in 2011, and currently have a total of 8 stores in Australia - most of them in either Victoria or New South Wales. While Topshop also expanded into Australia in 2011 and now own 4 stores with flagships in Victoria and New South Wales. H&M also announced it's decision earlier this year to open it's first Australian store next year at GPO in Melbourne and Uniqlo will be set to open a multi-level store in Melbourne's Emporium around April 2014, planning a number of stores to be opened within weeks after it's store in Emporium. These retailers are eyeing the possibility of global expansion and with their resources as some of the most powerful and largest international retailers in the world, the Australian market will soon become a tempting statistic for other international retailers wanting to achieve the same goal. While the Australian market becomes dominated by some of the most powerful players within the international retail market, this ultimately will force Australian retailers to compete with the availability and affordability of garments. Inevitably, Australian retailers such as Sportsgirl (a retailer who used to "borrow" ideas from Topshop) will be forced to become more efficient, original and affordable but in reality, Sportsgirl who has an impressive outreach within Australia, cannot compete with international retailers such as Zara backed by Inditex, the largest retailer in the world, who reported the Australian market as their most profitable. Sure, you can argue that many will buy Australian brands over international but when push comes to shove consumers will always be concerned with the two factors of affordability and availability over anything else - the two factors which are the most basic fundamentals of retailers such as Zara and H&M. Yet this is not the only monopoly international retailers hold over Australian retailers. Zara has an international following which equates to an international reputation. Sportsgirl has a small Australian following, reputation and it's target demographic is also extremely limited when compared to Zara's. Therefore as Australian consumers choose international over domestic, don't be so surprised when you see a decrease in the amount of Australian retailers continuing to operate successfully within the market.
Whilst the number of international brands have continued to successfully emerge in the Australian market, it has forced many designers to either sell out or leave the fashion industry altogether. In this past year alone, the Australian fashion industry has seen designers Lisa Ho and Kirrily Johnston being forced into administration. Lisa Ho's brand went under administration after having recorded a loss of $2.4 million and a debt of up to $11 million and less than a month after Johnston announced her decision to place her business in the hands of administrators. Johnston reportedly blamed a mixture of the GFC and manufacturing bad luck for the closure of her business. However, this was only the beginning of the demise of Australian fashion designers as Alannah Hill, Kit Willow and Collette Dinnigan all left their brands and consequently the industry. Although Dinnigan's official reason for leaving the fashion industry was to "free up time" to spend with her child and had no debt, it is a shame as she was the first Australian designer to ever show at Paris Fashion Week. Willow and Hill however have not stated reasons for leaving their eponymous brands. All the while, co-founders of Sass & Bide, Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton resigned as directors of their brand after Myer purchased the remaining 35% of shares, making Myer the sole shareholders of Sass & Bide. Thus, Sass & Bide, is now more than ever, becoming a commercially viable high-end brand. As the number of successful Australian designers and brands continues to diminish the question becomes if the Australian fashion industry will be able to sustain itself and it's consequent domestic retail market.
GAP was the first major international retailer to expand into Australia in 2010. Following this Zara opened it's doors in Australia in 2011, and currently have a total of 8 stores in Australia - most of them in either Victoria or New South Wales. While Topshop also expanded into Australia in 2011 and now own 4 stores with flagships in Victoria and New South Wales. H&M also announced it's decision earlier this year to open it's first Australian store next year at GPO in Melbourne and Uniqlo will be set to open a multi-level store in Melbourne's Emporium around April 2014, planning a number of stores to be opened within weeks after it's store in Emporium. These retailers are eyeing the possibility of global expansion and with their resources as some of the most powerful and largest international retailers in the world, the Australian market will soon become a tempting statistic for other international retailers wanting to achieve the same goal. While the Australian market becomes dominated by some of the most powerful players within the international retail market, this ultimately will force Australian retailers to compete with the availability and affordability of garments. Inevitably, Australian retailers such as Sportsgirl (a retailer who used to "borrow" ideas from Topshop) will be forced to become more efficient, original and affordable but in reality, Sportsgirl who has an impressive outreach within Australia, cannot compete with international retailers such as Zara backed by Inditex, the largest retailer in the world, who reported the Australian market as their most profitable. Sure, you can argue that many will buy Australian brands over international but when push comes to shove consumers will always be concerned with the two factors of affordability and availability over anything else - the two factors which are the most basic fundamentals of retailers such as Zara and H&M. Yet this is not the only monopoly international retailers hold over Australian retailers. Zara has an international following which equates to an international reputation. Sportsgirl has a small Australian following, reputation and it's target demographic is also extremely limited when compared to Zara's. Therefore as Australian consumers choose international over domestic, don't be so surprised when you see a decrease in the amount of Australian retailers continuing to operate successfully within the market.
Whilst the number of international brands have continued to successfully emerge in the Australian market, it has forced many designers to either sell out or leave the fashion industry altogether. In this past year alone, the Australian fashion industry has seen designers Lisa Ho and Kirrily Johnston being forced into administration. Lisa Ho's brand went under administration after having recorded a loss of $2.4 million and a debt of up to $11 million and less than a month after Johnston announced her decision to place her business in the hands of administrators. Johnston reportedly blamed a mixture of the GFC and manufacturing bad luck for the closure of her business. However, this was only the beginning of the demise of Australian fashion designers as Alannah Hill, Kit Willow and Collette Dinnigan all left their brands and consequently the industry. Although Dinnigan's official reason for leaving the fashion industry was to "free up time" to spend with her child and had no debt, it is a shame as she was the first Australian designer to ever show at Paris Fashion Week. Willow and Hill however have not stated reasons for leaving their eponymous brands. All the while, co-founders of Sass & Bide, Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton resigned as directors of their brand after Myer purchased the remaining 35% of shares, making Myer the sole shareholders of Sass & Bide. Thus, Sass & Bide, is now more than ever, becoming a commercially viable high-end brand. As the number of successful Australian designers and brands continues to diminish the question becomes if the Australian fashion industry will be able to sustain itself and it's consequent domestic retail market.
The retail landscape in Australia is changing and it's becoming more international than ever before. And the international takeover is far from complete as more international brands and retailers continue to profit from their investment in the Australian retail market, more retailers and brands will soon follow. Thus forcing Australian retailers to either move over or compete with international retail standards of affordability and accessibility. It's a shame but the reality is that it's happening and consumers should all watch this space as it marks the start of a completely new retail industry for Australia.
2014 will be a Big year for Fashion in Australia. Especially in Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteThe big retailers such as H&M & Uniqlo will open their first shop in Melbourne and for the High end shop, The latest gossip is that Marais is opening the first stand women's boutique in June. Melbourne is the capital of fashion of Australia.