Princess Polly’s newly appointed CEO is to spearhead the budding fast fashion chain’s international expansion, with the brand’s initial focus to be on the US and Asia. Former international brand manager of Supre, Catherine Touak, has been appointed to steer the retailer’s new direction and she says there’s massive global opportunity for the brand. “All the internationals are coming here and grabbing a chunk of our market and we need to look at where our opportunities are globa
lly for our retail stores and for online,” Touak said.
Outside of Australia, around 10 per cent of Princess Polly’s sales are generated from New Zealand, but Touak, says the brand is now starting to gain traction online in the US and Singapore.
“There’s massive global opportunity through the online business. There’s a lot of retailers coming here, but we also need to look at going out into the world.
“It’s not so much about bricks and mortar versus online it’s about finding the best channel to sell a product.”
Princess Polly opened its first boutique in 2005 in Surfers Paradise. It has four stores in Queensland, two in Victoria, and one boutique each in NSW and Western Australia.
Online is also a core focus for the brand. The label launched its e-commerce platform in 2009, and has since built a significant online and social following, trumping the likes of Sportsgirl and online retailer, ShowPo, with almost 430,000 followers on Facebook and 190,000 followers on Instagram.
It is also planning to extend its home brand range, Polly The Label, which launched in October 2013.
Princess Polly Indooroopilly
“Our focus for 2014 is mobile, social, Polly the label, and enhancing the retail experience to be digitally connected.”
Polly The Label is a mixture of fashion items including dresses, jumpers, and playsuits, with pricepoints for the homebrand label ranging from $35 to $100.
“It’s obviously a key point of difference for our business. Whether it’s international, wholesale, or online, it’s about making sure that we are across all of those different touch points.
“Many online businesses and a lot of people have the same marketshare. We’re looking at other ways to be able to deliver unique propositioning on the brand and finding its own face, but also vertical operations to then be able to translate.
“We want to extend the offering, but at this stage we’re focused on fashion prices and directional pieces.”
This article first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 1996.
Princess Polly Indooroopilly
Princess Polly, Pitt St, Sydney
