Small Business: Fashion focused with Kelly Coe of Augustine

Kelly Coe, designer and director of Augustine. Photo / Carmen Bird

Kelly Coe is the designer and director of Augustine.

Can you tell me a bit about your business?

We started nearly six years ago with just a wholesale business. We sold to about 10 stores around New Zealand and had just two ranges a year. We then opened our own store in Mt Maunganui a year later, then another year later opened two Auckland stores. So we're now wholesaling Augustine to 40 stores, and have three of our own.

Last year we also started a daywear label called Charlo and that's now wholesaled to 53 stores around New Zealand. In terms of staff, I have an on-road sales rep that sells to my wholesalers, 12 retail staff, myself and my husband plus an accounts lady. Then the rest of my team is offshore in China.

What factors have helped as you've been growing your business?

We dropped our prices about two years ago, which was a turning point for us in terms of growth. We also divided our seasonal drops into three deliveries per season instead of just one, which made it easier for retailers to keep up with payments, but also meant we had new stock monthly so could keep up with the fresh stock levels of chain stores, while still keeping our styles exclusive and unique with small runs.

Also Facebook has been huge for the growth of the business. It's a direct line of communication between us and our customers and they can see what's new and happening in our business on a daily basis. This has really helped spread the word about our label relatively quickly. It's been invaluable.

Are there any factors that have held back your growth?

There isn't much really because we've kept growing every year. I think the higher price point at the start held some customers back, but now most of our styles are well under $200 and this is what sells. I think something has to be pretty special to be over $200 in this market.

What role do online sales play in the business?

It is a part of our business, but not as big as our wholesale and retail sides. We don't push our online store too much because we don't want to take sales away from our wholesalers around the country.

We're now looking at optimising the site over in Aussie, though, as I think there's a lot of potential in that market, and that growth wouldn't affect our current retailers. We also make sure we have the same recommended retail price as all our stockists and don't go into sale any earlier than they do. In that way we put them first and use the online store as a second tier to our stores. It's a great way to clear old stock as well.

What's next in terms of growing the company?

We're really focused on growing our new daywear label, Charlo. It's only in its second season, but I think it has so much potential for growth, both at a wholesale and retail level. We'll also be looking to work with an SEO company to grow our online business in Aussie.

Coming up in Small Business: How do you figure out what to pay yourself as the owner of a business? What are some of the different guidelines you've used and why? If you've got a story to tell on the topic, drop me a note: nzhsmallbusiness@gmail.com.