US-based luxury fashion e-tailer Everlane is now shipping directly to Australia, after Aussie consumers placed the most orders in a recent global competition.
Everlane have some of the lowest mark-ups in the industry and its androgynous cuts, uncomplicated fabrics and neutral colours count the likes of Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba and Emma Watson as fans.
Speaking to Inside Retail, the brand’s CEO and founder, Michael Preysman said the move to offer direct shipping towards Australia was spurred by the huge demand for its proposition.
“We decided to test temporary international shipping three times before launching permanently in Australia,” he said.
“This allowed us to see where there was the most demand so we could enter a new market carefully. Not only did the tests reveal a huge demand in Australia, but the low duties, a shared language and overall ease of shipping enabled us to provide a much better shopping experience overall.”
Preysman said the targeted demographic for the burgeoning fashion brand is young, urban, educated, and conscious consumerd.
“We’re seeing similar patterns in big cities like Sydney and Melbourne. They appreciate pared-down and minimal design and pay attention to where things come from and how long they’ll last. People are tired of large corporations and looking for an honest alternative — that’s true both in the United States and places like Australia.”
When asked how Everlane has some of the lowest mark-ups in the industry, Preysman said it came down to cutting out the middleman.
“In traditional retail, a designer t-shirt costs about $7.50 to make, but sells for $50,” he said.
“We realised we could take the $50 t-shirt and sell it for $15 by working closely with our factories and suppliers and selling directly online without discounts. By selling directly to the consumer online, we effectively cut out the middleman and pass the savings along to our customers.”
With consumers increasingly focused on sustainability and transparency in fashion, Preysman simply said the traditional model is not honest when it comes to mark-ups and costs.
“Transparency is important because it holds us accountable for our entire supply chain—including the well being of our factory workers, the quality of our materials, and the cost of production.
“Our goal is that, by providing more visibility into our processes, we’re not only building trust with our customers but we’re giving them tools to make more informed choices.
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