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Singapore and there are boutiques in Japan and Korea . Our bricks-andmortar growth internationally is on hold because we don ’ t know what the new normal will be post-Covid .
But if you ' re entering a market like China , you may need some form of physical presence to support that brand awareness and that ’ s expensive . You ' ve really got to know how much you ’ re in for and the period of time that you can support the growth strategy . There are a lot of initial costs where you won ’ t get return — that comes after you ' ve set up the business , educated your new consumers and so forth .
So for small designers going overseas , it ’ s tough because a lot of them don ’ t necessarily have their backhouse in order . They struggle with margins internally , they struggle with delivering on time . If you deliver late , the penalties can wipe out whatever margin you might have . It ’ s a real challenge .
You ' ve got to have a bit of size around you , with a lot of smarts and not rush into it to make sure it ’ s done in a staged process .
IR : David , you were CEO of Cue for 12 years and Sophie , you ’ ve worked at Country Road , Sportsgirl and Witchery . What ’ s it like working at such well-loved brands with such passionate customer bases and you ’ re trying to take the business into the future ? DK : I had a long time at Cue [ 22 years ] and when I started there , it had 40 stores and when I left , it had 235 stores across a number of brands . I was there for a great growth journey . The guy who founded the business , Rod Levis , is an incredible retail entrepreneur and that era set me up to help the transformation of Oroton . Cue knew their customer and looked after them . We ’ ve had the challenge here where we ’ ve got our classic customers who have been there for the journey , but we ’ ve ventured out to secure new customers .
SH : I feel lucky , I ’ ve worked for big retailers my whole life . When I was 25 , I started at Sportsgirl , then I went to Witchery , then I started Seed , then I went to Country Road , which was a turnaround job . Then I started Trenery because we didn ’ t want to lose the older customer as we did that big turnaround at Country Road . At each of those brands , I either started them or turned them around .
People have asked me recently why I haven ’ t started my own brand , but what I find exciting is [ these brands have ] allowed me to tell so many stories . You have to think of everything from the stores to the customer and the product . I feel lucky I ’ ve had the ability to go into these big retailers with incredible support from all the CEOs who have allowed me to be brave , basically jump off a cliff and go in there hard .
I don ’ t believe you can turn around a brand in increments . The customer won ’ t let you . You have to go in , hold on and change it . I think the stronger your convictions are , the more brave you are , the more passionate you are , the more determined and resilient you are — you have to love it — the more chance you ' ve got at success .
IR : Go hard or go home ! DK : That ’ s what ’ s happening right now at Oroton . �
18 | www . insideretail . com . au May 2021