Fashion brands attend first NZ online fashion workshop

With online retailing the hottest topic throughout the business world, DHL Express and Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) have brought together some of New Zealand’s most powerful and fashionable fashion brands together for a one day workshop: Online Fashion Success.

"With significant retail growth in online fashion retailing, all brands need to be looking at how to maximize their sales online, but this doesn’t come without significant challenges in logisitics, ecommerce and shipping," said Paul Blomfield, Chairman of FINZ.

"Clearly it has become essential that all fashion brands need to be selling online in some shape or form, and The Online Success Workshop is designed to give our fashion businesses expert guidance from some of the industry’s most experienced professionals," he said.

The line-up of speakers is impressive, ranging from the DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship Winner I Love Ugly, top fashion designer brand Trelise Cooper, lingerie powerhouse Bendon and childrenswear retailer Pumpkin Patch, a company that has become one of the regions most powerful online brands.
Other speakers include New Zealand Customs, Amblique and Temando.

DHL Express Country Manager Tim Baxter said that they’ve identified several key issues that make for online retail success;

"For example, companies delivering apparel in 1-3 days have a higher conversion rate and 30% lower returns rate than slower shipping options. Online shoppers also valued live tracking data available via their shop account login instead of chasing emails."

"These are the kind of things apparel brands need to take into account if they’re to succeed online," he said.

The seminar has attracted a powerful group of 40 fashion brands and retailers including:
Barkers, Bendon, Cotton On, Deadly Ponies, Deadstock, Emma Highfield, Esteem Jewellery, Glassons, Hallensteins, Huffer, I Love Ugly, Icebreaker, Ingrid Starnes, James Dunlop, Juliette Hogan, Kathryn Wilson, Katmandu, Maaike Clothing, Mardle, Meadowlark, Northbeach, Paula Ryan, Saben, Sophie Boxer, Trelise Cooper, Turet Knuefermann, Verge, Wallace Cotton, Wildpair and Zambesi.

To accommodate the overwhelming response, the venue was changed from the original smaller Mt Eden venue, to the larger Mantells on the Water, Westhaven Drive, Auckland.

Since its creation a mere 10 days ago, the Facebook page Online Fashion Success has amassed over 1,000 likes - proving that New Zealand brands and consumers are eager to for the online shopping scene to improve in the country.