Their secret? Keeping their offering simple, classic and customer-focused
In a crowded market like fashion, you might imagine that every niche has already been discovered and filled. Not so, as mother-and-daughter duo Yolande Ellis and Elle Pugh discovered.
“Seven years ago, you couldn’t find a good selection of cashmere garments anywhere in New Zealand or Australia, and certainly not year-round,” recalls Pugh, who had previously worked for global luxury brands in London.
“We realised that with our changing climate and more people travelling to cooler climates throughout the year, there was a need for cashmere more regularly than just peak winter.”
That was 2016, and, having spotted a gap in the market, the pair decided to make the leap and launch Elle + Riley from their garage.
At first Ellis, who had previously worked as a stylist and make-up artist, and Pugh assumed that the business would be purely direct-to-consumer e-commerce. But they quickly realised that as a luxurious, tactile product, cashmere was better suited to a bricks-and-mortar experience. “People needed to feel it and try it to fall in love with it, so we tried a pop-up store,” says Pugh.
That store was so successful that the pair signed a lease on a permanent location just a few months later – and haven’t looked back.
Six years later, Elle + Riley sells cashmere garments in six (soon to be seven) stores around NZ. They have 22 employees, a seven-figure turnover and 10,000 loyal customers, many of whom return to buy the same piece every season, in multiple colours.
Ellis and Pugh source their cashmere from Mongolia and garments are manufactured across Italy, Nepal and China.
Pugh describes the typical Elle + Riley customer as someone who is more focused on quality classics rather than trend-driven silhouettes.
“They’re discerning, travel a lot, are slightly more mature and can afford to invest in quality, given our basic sweaters start at $500. They’ll come in and buy their cashmere wardrobe set for their trip to Aspen or New York,” says Pugh.
When Pugh and Ellis realised their business needed to have bricks-and-mortar stores in order to win over new customers, they didn’t hesitate.
“We’ve been quite brave in terms of how fast we’ve expanded – six stores in six years.
“That’s been an expensive and risky move and we’ve had to close some stores along the way, but it’s definitely helped us grow a lot faster and reach customers we otherwise might not have been able to,” says Pugh. “We haven’t been shy about being aggressive with our growth strategy.”
“We’ve been quite brave in terms of how fast we’ve expanded – six stores in six years."
For the first four years, Pugh and Ellis spent most of their time on the shop floor, which helped them better understand their customers.
“We’d work with the customers and listen – to what colours they wanted, what styles, what wasn’t fitting right… This allowed us to adapt and change things for them, making sure we were giving them what they wanted.”
Pugh says that it quickly became apparent that Elle + Riley’s customers were more interested in classics than directional pieces. “What they really want is high-quality, classic garments in timeless shades like oatmeal and grey marle that they will get a lot of wear out of, so that has always remained our focus.
“Delivering what our customers want has actually given us freedom in that we don’t have to follow the seasonal fashion calendar or keep up with trends or go on sale the same time as everyone else.”
Never has this saying been so apt… Pugh says that sticking to selling only cashmere garments means that their business proposition is crystal clear for customers.
“We really stand by having one product and doing it well. We started with coffee table books and homeware in-store as well, but we ended up selling so much cashmere that we realised we needed to move those other items out,” she says.
“It just comes back to us remembering to stick to our niche of what’s missing in the market, and for us that’s quality cashmere clothing.”
When Shanghai went into lockdown for four weeks, so did Elle + Riley’s stock. Thankfully they could lean on another of their suppliers in Nepal to fill those gaps, but it reminded them of an important lesson: partnering with the right suppliers – and having more than one – is vital.
“We’ve worked with some of our suppliers right from day one, however, we never want to put all our eggs in one basket,” she explains. “Having a few different suppliers, and ideally in different countries, has been important to us to mitigate risk.”
Afterpay has been a key commercial partner, says Pugh, who recognised its value early on. “I thought it was an awesome opportunity, especially for our price point. I like the fact that the customer doesn’t need to come into store to pay it off and that they can take their purchase straightaway, which is exciting for them, and we don’t have to store it.”
Pugh adds that Afterpay has introduced younger customers to Elle + Riley, by allowing them to spread their payments in instalments. Afterpay events, such as Support Small, have also delivered new customers and sales. This year, the brand saw an 1890 per cent uplift in Afterpay sales thanks to Support Small.
“Results like that are obviously brilliant for us, so off the back of that we’re doing Afterpay Day. I think it’s good to provide your customers with another way to be able to purchase from your business, and the tech behind Afterpay is really, really good.”
Photos by Holly Burgess
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