This is one buyer who refuses to quit - Joy Hysteric founder Mel Tan is preparing a meteoric comeback.
Mel Tan of Joy HystericWhat is the background to Joy Hysteric?Joy Hysteric was founded back in 2004. I had been studying communications and working in various boutiques as a buyer and retail manager. I wanted to open my own fashion boutique on the Gold Coast and bring to my hometown high-end designer brands that weren't available otherwise.What have been some of the milestones in your career as a boutique owner?I was the first to introduce a lot of high end designer brands to the Gold Coast and even Queensland back then. I always strived to be at the forefront of the market up there. I introduced eCommerce to the business in 2007 and was one of very few bricks and mortar retailers embracing online. I was utilising social media to promote the boutique on MySpace, way before Instagram came about.What have been some of the challenges?The global financial crisis pretty much killed my business. A lot of my clientele made their money through property development, being the Gold Coast, and almost overnight they disappeared. This came about at a time I had also signed a lease at a major shopping centre development - off the plan. This was by far the biggest mistake and challenge of my career. The developers never came through with their promises. Everyone in that centre went bankrupt or the national retailers moved out. This left basically me and a couple of other independents struggling to pay exorbitant rent with no neighbours or foot traffic. Our online sales saved us.What was another hurdle?Another challenge was my location; I always felt that my buying was a little bit outside of my Gold Coast customer base. Apart from my longstanding regulars, a majority of our sales came from Sydney and Melbourne or even overseas. The locals didn't quite get it. It either wasn't 'resort' enough or 'tight' enough. When I would try to compromise my buying to suit, it showed. I personally wasn't into it and our offering became confused and conflicted. Hence why online surpassed in store sales over the years.When my mother passed away two years ago, that cemented my decision to close the last bricks and mortar store almost immediately. I was no longer inspired and felt trapped on the Gold Coast, particularly it was difficult to imagine operating the store without my biggest support as good staff (another challenge) was always difficult to find.What makes a successful boutique?Keeping up with the ever-changing market and embracing it rather than fearing it. Also enforcing your own direction so that you are unique and not just another boutique doing a carbon copy of the next. Obviously great customer service has always been key. But unfortunately these days everyone's a keyboard warrior with social media. Sometimes no matter how nice or helpful or flexible you are with a disgruntled customer, their personal opinion or misunderstanding of your policies can mean some nasty stuff gets put online about your business. So in saying that, I would ensure you be on your A game when it comes to social media feedback and community management.What is the biggest change you've made to your business?I am now purely online and content focused. The new e-store will revolve around my personal style, blog and creative content. I am selling what is 100% me and my style rather than trying to buy for what I think my customers want. The format for the site lends itself to that. I didn't want it to look like another eCommerce site which is just buy buy buy. I have created the new website with a lookbook feel that mixes my original creative content and the eCommerce products. They are all woven together seamlessly in order to be a one stop source of inspiration - not just for stuff to buy. I am also working very closely with each of the designers/brands that I showcase. It's not just a buy/sell relationship now but more of an ongoing collaboration with them.What brands will you stock?A tight edit of whatever I am loving and wearing at the time. I plan to rotate the offering and not lock myself in with any particular label. For the launch I will be showcasing my favourite pieces from Dyspnea, I.AM.GIA, Kaliver, Isabelle Quinn, Third Form and Frio.What do you look for when you're buying?I can't really pinpoint this as it often changes. I usually look for something a bit different to the norm. I don't plan to stock basics unless it's with a twist. I don't particularly want anything that's in the majors. I generally just don't want the same offering that any other boutique is doing. I'm looking for key statement pieces.What is your plan for the platform over the long-term?To continue growing it slowly and organically and introduce more services and products which aren't necessarily fashion items. I can't say any more at this stage but I have a lot of things in the pipeline for Joy Hysteric.You have a significant social media following. What tips would you give boutiques on raising their profile?Create your own content. There's only so much re-posting you can do before your business looks like a mirror or culmination of everyone else's.What tips would you give to designers for attracting the attention of a buyer?Shoot your products clearly and don't scrimp on the shoot. Hire a stylist who understands commercial viability and can translate this for a lookbook. This is what I do as a stylist; after so many years in retail and buying and seeing countless brands, ranges and lookbooks; I now produce lookbooks and campaigns for brands knowing best how to sell their product.Also, please do your research. The number of emails I receive telling me about a 'great brand for my Brisbane store' is a bit insulting. I never was a Brisbane store and haven't been buying for the Queensland market in two years so that actually puts me off straight away.
How digital can drive sales into stores
When a retail legend Solomon Lew describes the market as being the worst he has ever seen, you have to wonder what hope there is for the smaller independents. Topshop has failed in Australia. Strip malls have been ravaged by online and consumer uncertainty remains the prevailing sentiment a decade after the GFC first darkened the global economy. This uncertainty has kept purse strings tight. So the question remains, how do we inspire customers into spending again?Instagram & Facebook have proven very successful for some brands and retailers, however many brands and retailers still aren’t getting it right. Some of the most successful brands have built a strong following through visual content that inspires and excites the customer. This isn’t theory. Customers can be inspired by creating a narrative. Country Road’s digital campaign of 2015 is a perfect example and remains the benchmark.The Country Road campaign’s creative assets told the story of a modern Australian summertime road trip with family and friends. Visual assets highlighted full lifestyle product edits, positioning Country Road as a one-stop destination for holiday gifting and fashion for women, men, child and home. The full suite of products. The Facebook digital strategy was so successful that for every $1 spent in Facebook advertising, Country Road generated an additional $18.20 in revenue, of which $15.40 was attributed to bricks and mortar stores, according to Ad News.Facebook Australia head of retail Kate Box attributes the success to reaching real people with the right message and leverage moments throughout the day.While this may be mind boggling for smaller independents and brands with a much smaller budget than Country Road, there is hope for any retailer and brands willing to tell their story in a unique way. Lifestyle content is a key player to digital retail success in driving sales. For Country Road, it wasn’t simply wasn’t just spruiking their wares via a series of product shots, but curating them to inspire the customer which related to a particular lifestyle. And they aren’t the only ones with Tony Bianco and 2XU also following suit and are finding it pays dividends through Facebook & Instagram advertising.Tony Bianco digital marketing manager Beth Auty agrees simple product images don’t resonate, however informational content, such as ‘how to’s’ and styling images do, she revealed in article in Ragtrader.“The posts that work are absolutely lifestyle imagery. You know products that are in the moment, that are on the person or flat-lay imagery, which works more for us. It is definitely that just flat plain product shot, that doesn’t sell the product. It has to be something that is styled and is on the foot, with an outfit that goes with the shoe. That certainly works better. We find that just as someone is scrolling through the feed, it looks like it a part of his or her feed it. It doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb; it is something that actually looks native to their feed itself.
While digital content remains an important tool for retailers, there is one company that is also inspiring shoppers to go back to strip shops through imagery and quality content through another digital outlet.I recently spoke with Renee Lodens, founder of Travelshopa, at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia of her passion to bring back the shopping strips as key destinations and to promote brands and regional shopping strips to the world. Not just another shopping destination guide, Travelshopa plans to partner with major corporate players and is passionate about retail.Tell me about Travelshopa and what you were wanting to achieve when launching it?Travelshopa was born from my love of travel and shopping. I wanted to help shoppers have better shopping experiences. I identified a gap in the market for a go-to guide for local shopping around the world. For me there was a clear opportunity to help shoppers find out where, when and what to shop, and to help local designers and retailers to promote their businesses. Four years in and Travelshopa is a curated guide for local shopping around the world. I love bringing together style conscious shoppers, emerging designers and independent retailers as well as industry professionals across Asia, the Americas and Australia.With Instagram full of travel content and aspiration, many brands and retailers still fail to excite their customer through content. How would you work with them?Many of the brands are amazing at what they do but when it comes to promoting themselves it can be a challenge. Great content goes beyond a nice picture. Travelshopa started out with a blog and city shopping guides. I took great interest in profiling lesser-known brands and I wanted to give these brands a voice. The content was delivered in my personal style, which seemed to be well received by shoppers and brands alike. From there things grew organically and we systemised and started to rollout the approach. The blog has now turned into a global online platform that creates unique guides and exclusive interviews. Today it promotes brand profiles and shopping experiences to a global audience. This content is unique and focused on telling their brand story first and foremost. We love championing these brands and telling their story in their own unique way.How would this work for independent retailers who aren’t that technically advanced but need to get more visitors?Travelshopa is all about helping shoppers have better shopping experiences. That means making it easy for brands to connect in a simple, informative and effective way with shoppers. For brands, it is about offering them access to a platform that enables them to create and manage their online profile as well as speak directly to shoppers. The registration process is very easy, much like setting up a Facebook profile page. There is minimal technical know how required and it’s really fast to create a basic profile.Down the track would you like to have Travelshopa making retail strips great again with more destination shopping?My love for strip shopping was one of the reasons I started Travelshopa. I’m probably even more motivated now with the retail industry undergoing dramatic shift: in-store foot traffic is down and online shopping is up. Shoppers now also want more information and customised experiences during their shopping journey. Digital is a powerful way to connect shoppers with stores. Travelshopa is in a strong position to help bridge the divide between shoppers and stores. We are already seeing more brands embrace Omni-channel strategies, in-store experiences, curated shopping precincts and multi-label popup stores. However, the experience economy, coupled with rising retail rents, social media algorithms and online competition, presents a greater opportunity for brands to come up with accelerated ways to entice shoppers back into retail stores. I’d like to see more brands, shopping strips and destinations focus on customer experience and bridging the gap between digital and bricks-and-mortar.What are the advantages brands and retailers can experience with Travelshopa?Travelshopa is a unique platform as it focuses purely on local shopping experiences. In connecting style-conscious shoppers, emerging designers and independent retailers as well as industry professionals, Travelshopa is the fastest growing directory of local brands across fashion, furniture and homewares. We know that shoppers are more inspired to visit a store after finding out information such as brand story, store location and hours or pricing. Travelshopa is free and a great place for potential shoppers to discover brands. Our online information can propel shoppers to shop in-store or online.Tell us about the strategic partnerships you have with major companies?While the global retail landscape is currently undergoing enormous change, and consumer expectations are also shifting, more than ever before travellers are looking to have bespoke, memorable experiences. This presents us with a unique opportunity to help promote local shopping experiences and ensure that shoppers can access curated local knowledge on where, when and what to shop. We work with key verticals such as financial services, travel and tourism, hospitality and media to amplify the distribution of our content and knowledge about local shopping.
You are rolling out individual locations including rural areas in Australia, how do you plan to do this?There is a lot of research that goes into each destination before we start planning and curating brands. I analyse industry reports and our own website data as well as seek feedback from our readers and brands on where to next. From 2015 to 2016, the Australian tourism industry grew by 9% total visitor spend (and domestic travel grew by 6.4% total visitor spend. These numbers show that now is the right time to launch Travelshopa in Australia. Travelshopa presents the best of the best of each destination so shoppers have the best possible shopping experiences. We have started researching tourist regions in NSW such as the South Coast, the Southern Highlands, the Hunter and Byron Bay, as well as some country NSW destinations such as Orange, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga. We are looking for the best local brands in each destination and will reach out to designers and retailers across fashion, furniture and homewares to be part of Travelshopa. I find trade shows, industry events, walking the streets and word of mouth are a great starting point. We also welcome brands that represent the local shopping scene to proactively reach out to us. Having said that, if we get great interest and demand for a specific destination, we can prioritise its launch.Can you offer services to help retailers get great content to inspire shopping again?The goal is to ensure our audience can find local brands on Travelshopa and then takes action like visiting in-store or online. The first step is to create a great brand profile that is complete. Brands can also add editorial and product images to appear in our product search tool. We use these images in our editorial and marketing. Brands can also promote new collections, sales, offers and in-store events in our new experiences area. Our in-house editorial team published original content every week, set to a specific theme with a unique point of view. We share this content across our social channel, in search and our newsletter. We also offer brands with the opportunity to work with us to create bespoke content that drive brand awareness.How many countries are on board and how many cities and areas?Travelshopa currently covers 18 destinations in Asia, the Americas and Australia. We have world-class shopping destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as more tourist destinations like Bali, Bangkok, Phuket and Ho Chi Minh. In Australia, we are starting with Sydney and Melbourne. We will then expand into country/regional destinations, before expanding into other capital cites.What are the packages offered?While Travelshopa is free for brands to join, we have a tiered subscription model with pay-per-click functionality. We also work with brands on bespoke content, advertising and partnership opportunities. We have worked with regionals partners such as MasterCard and PayPal to amplify our content to shoppers. We also work closely with industry leaders to develop bespoke shopping content to enhance their current content offering.Is your intention for Travelshopa to drive sales for retailers and brands?It is important how a brand is presented on Travelshopa. The better presentation, the more coverage and hence the more traffic and sales it drives for brands. The premium tiers can access a detailed dashboard and monitor their success on Travelshopa, as well as access exclusive features that boost their promotion and sales. For example, we have a weekly shopping edit that mixes editorial with ecommerce. Each edit has the look and feel of a digital magazine with dynamic content that helps brands sell more products.Visit http://www.travelshopa.com/About the Author, Phoebes Garland
Phoebes Garland is the Co-founder & Co-owner of Garland & Garland Fashion, a fashion & consultancy agency based in Sydney, and founder of Fashion Initiative. Between the two of them, Phoebes & Robert Garland have over 60 years’ sales experience in fashion, publishing and advertising. Phoebes is an industry mentor to designers with Australian fashion industry body, Australian Fashion Chamber and is on the Advisory Board for Fashion Design Studio (TAFE NSW). Phoebes Garland is also an ambassador to Shake it up Australia Foundation and contributes articles to Australian Fashion industry magazine, Ragtrader.
Learn How to Grow Your Digital Footprint
Are you keeping ahead or just keeping up?Growing Your Digital Footprint Every business in our Industry is facing the challenge to be present and highly effective in the digital space.We are extremely fortunate to be experiencing a time in business where our customers have never been more accessible.Through the University of Google and at basically no cost, you can teach yourself how to set up an Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, You tube and Snap Chat account, all in a fairly short period of time.This means as a business owner, whether you are a designer, retailer, wholesaler, buyer, stylist, or blogger, you have multiple tools in your hand to immediately start locating and engaging your target market and building your brand community.It's not totally for free though as you must invest your time and often other resources and you must develop quality brand assets, quality creative, interesting content and you must have a strategy. You may need to incentivise a fashion influencer or two to embrace, wear and post your product or service. You may also need to enter into key collaborations with complementary brands, so that you can scale your message and continually reach markets that historically would not have been accessible to you as a business owner without spending thousands of dollars on traditional media. There is a lot to be learnt, but believe me it's doable.So if you really wanted to be, you too could essentially be “insta" famous!..and you could create a digital footprint that leads to brand greatness.If you are a business in our industry today who is not utilising the digital tools available including e-commerce to build your business and create direct engagement with your consumer then unfortunately your competition is most likely already way ahead of the game you are playing.For those who do not have a strong digital presence right now this is equal to a bricks and mortar store being located down a dimly lit back laneway with no signage hoping for the best. Poor visibility of a brand equals poor trading.In our market there are major Australian retailers, small business owners and numerous other fashion industry sectors that are still playing catch up in this space today.Don’t let this be you!Attend Fashion Equipped's next event, Fashion Business Masterclass on Saturday 10th October. 
About the Author:Elizabeth Formosa
Fashion Business ConsultantSupporting Startups, Emerging Designers and Small Business.
Fashion Equipped is a consultancy agency, founded by Elizabeth Formosa, an industry professional with over 20 years of experience. Elizabeth is adedicated, driven individual, passionate about supporting those in business. With extensive experience in various areas of the apparel and fashion industries, and a love of all aspects of the business, Elizabeth is committed to sharing with others her knowledge acquired over a long-term career.
Contact:Elizabeth Formosam: 0402 850 430e: elizabeth@fashionequipped.com.aufb: www.facebook.com/fashionequppedfashionequipped.com.au
How to remain competitive in fashion
By Phoebes Garland - Garland and Garland & Fashion Initiative Speak to most designers in confidence and it won’t take long for two problems to dominate the conversation about their business: manufacturing woes and lack of money for production. Not only have these issues inhibited growth for many fashion brands, but also through lack of resources that has seen the demise of many.The problem starts with the lack of volume.
Most high-end brands are paying high unit costs for manufacturing and quite often, high fabric costs, which can make their retail price uncompetitive, resulting in poor volume sales and it makes expansion difficult. Low sales also means the company misses out on economies of scale at manufacturing so their unit price remains high. It’s a classic catch-22.Since the GFC, consumers have become more price conscious and value aware. The price consumers are prepared to pay for garments have fallen dramatically, coinciding with the influx of ‘fast fashion’ chains arriving on our shores, which has also driven down retail price points.While the consumer has become price and value conscious, manufacturing prices have not decreased. If anything they’ve increased with the drastic fall of the Australian Dollar affecting the make price and the fabric price. High trend fashion brands at high price points remain at risk of not being able to compete with the fast-to-market chain stores that offer the high-end look for less. And in many cases a lot less.So without sales volume and a comfortable margin, the inability to secure low-cost manufacturing becomes difficult for labels. While fashion has become price pointed, make no mistake it’s not all about being cheap, it’s about offering value for money.The fashion labels that have become successful in Australia understand the importance of volume. They have competitive price points and design to match the global platform. Having understood, their savvy customers are now researching and comparing local products with the best the world can offer.Some of the higher priced brands which are still having enormous success, such as Scanlan Theodore, Mela Purdie, Camilla and Carla Zampatti to name a few, are not only highly established ‘brands’, but also have a wide and diverse following of age groups from as young as 25 right through to over 60 year olds with their designs also having an element of longevity to them.
These brands tend to have key fashion pieces whilst keeping a signature look with a strong knowledge of their customer. Loyal customers keep coming back for more to add to their devoted collection in their wardrobes of the brand.
Phoebes Garland is a Feature Writer for Fashion Exposed Online & co-owns Garland & Garland Fashion with Robert Garland, a leading fashion agency based in Sydney. Phoebes also owns Fashion Initiative, an online fashion destination covering business of fashion, luxury and events who has been described as a” Power Agent” by Ragtrader Magazine. Between the two of them, Phoebes & Robert Garland have over 50 years sales experience in fashion, publishing and advertising. Phoebes is on the Advisory Board for Fashion Design Studio (Sydney Tafe) in 2014 and is an industry mentor to designers with industry body Australian Fashion Chamber.Garland & Garland Fashion are a respected leading boutique fashion agency based in Sydney and they are regularly sought for comment from various media and the fashion industry on business fashion topics, fashion and issue.garlandsandgarlands.com.auFollow: Phoebes Garland on the following Social MediaTwitterFacebookPinterestInstagram