Australian designer Kym Ellery has closed the local arm of her highly successful fashion brand, Ellery, citing the high cost of manufacturing Down Under.
The company on Tuesday announced it closed its two Sydney stores on April 16 and will be closing its Sydney-based production facility, Elleryland this week. Twenty-two staff were made redundant on April 18.
The luxury womenswear brand has been manufacturing in Australia since it was founded by Kym Ellery in 2007, but a combination of poor strategic decisions and cost have made local operations commercially unsustainable.
“[W]e have been left with no choice but to close Elleryland, our production facility and Australian operations company,” the founder and creative director said in a statement.
“I have always championed Australian manufacturing, and this decision was incredibly difficult to make. I am deeply grateful for the dedication and support of everyone involved.”
The local company appointed liquidators on April 18, according to a document lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Ellery Group’s other companies, including the trademark and Paris-based design company, will continue.
Ellery said it is in the final negotiations of appointing a new global distributor for the brand, which will also consolidate production in Europe, provided longer term stability.
“One of our great success stories”
Eva Galambos, director of Parlour X, a luxury fashion boutique in Sydney that stocks Ellery, said the decision makes sense, given the size of the brand’s international business, compared to its domestic business.
“It makes sense that she focuses on her international operations as most of her major accounts exist in the northern hemisphere,” Galambos told Inside Retail.
She added that Parlour X will continue to stock Ellery, which she said sits well with the boutique’s other international collections, including Loewe, Balenciaga, Celine and Chloe, and that the brand will still have strong representation in the Australian market.
“Kym is one of our great, proud international success stories and we need to focus on celebrating her achievements,” Galambos said.
Ellery gained international recognition after taking the collection to Paris in 2012, and is now stocked in prestigious department stores and specialty boutiques, including Selfridges, Lane Crawford, Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa, Matches, Galeries Lafayett and Harrolds.
The brand, which is known for its voluminous shapes, masculine tailoring and innovative fabrications, has been worn by celebrities including Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Rihanna and Emma Watson.
