she tried to minimise the fitout so the cottage stands out. “Even our St Frock signs we remove every night so the cottage goes back to normal in a way,” Makejev said. The decor has also been kept simple to ensure the clothing is the focus of the store. A novel inclusion is a ‘boyfriend chair’ to keep shopper’s male companions occupied. “I always think that if a girl is going to come shopping with a man, he is going to rush her, so if I give him a comfortable, beautiful chair to sit on with the most recent men’s magazines and we give them a complimentary beer on the weekend, by the time they drink one beer, the customer can view three outfits and try them,” she said. The store services women in the 23 to 40 years age group, and has grown sales by 40 per cent year on year. There is a different demographic, however, for customers online. The core group is 20 to 30 year olds. Being a best friend or girl next door who gives great fashion advice is the brand message which is also communicated through the staff. “We have really friendly girls who are stylists, artists in their own time, and they just love being in the store and get to talk to loads of girls and help them pick out clothes.” St Frock aims to stay relevant to clients through lifestyle changes, so most clothing is available in sizes six to 16, with the intention of growing with its customers. “Our customer is either busy with children or busy having a career, she just wants clothes that will make her feel good. Not ones that show off loads of cleavage and back or are low cut and short. She wants clothes she can wear in her daily life. “At the end of the day, a girl just wants to be able to wear a bra, look good in the clothes, and have something she can wear nice to work. “We get loads of compliments for our clothes; customers are quite happy to tell their friends that they shop at St Frock – that’s how we built our whole customer base, through word of mouth, because we were so busy that we didn’t have time to even think about any other forms of advertising.” Strategy switch In 2013 St Frocks changed its strategy, including spending money on advertising on Facebook, doubling sales in a month, and then doubling them again the following months. By December 2013 monthly sales were $1 million, spiking 2400 per cent in 10 months. McLaren joined the business 18 months ago, introducing other revenue streams such as email marketing, display advertising, search, SEO, and using Instagram as a shoppable platform. Next on the agenda is Fashion Dog Sydney, a soon to launch online store stocking clothing and accessories for dogs, centred around Makejev’s pet chihuahua, Nau Nau. Said McLaren: “This is another way for us to convey that lightheartedness to St Frock fans, so that Nau Nau can sell dog clothing to people around the world. Next is menswear.”