How Australian bridal brand Kyha aims to be the next Vera Wang

parates and accessories for events other than weddings.  Murphy cited the iconic US bridal brand Vera Wang as an example of what she hopes to accomplish with Kyha.  “Vera Wang has been the most successful in turning her brand into more of a lifestyle brand,” Murphy told Inside Retail. “We won’t be doing what Vera Wang did – we’re not going into homewares – but we’ll be leveraging our strength in appealing to fashion forward women.” Kyha has long blurred the line between bridal and fashion. Scott started the business in 2011 because of the lack of modern, sleek bridalwear on the market. And the brand has already dabbled in adjacent product categories, such as candles and wedding-themed T-shirts, jackets and robes.  Kyha will simply be doing this in a more intentional way going forward.   “I really believe in testing and learning and seeing what appetite the market has for new products under your brand name,” Murphy said. “Putting all of your chips in and hoping for the best is a pitfall we’re looking to avoid.” A presence in Sydney Along with the new name, Kyha has a new boutique opening in Sydney next week, its first retail store outside the brand’s home base of Melbourne. The new store reflects a more refined aesthetic and the customer experience is more digitally driven, according to Murphy.  Instead of a traditional cash register, the sales team has been equipped with iPads to record the details of each appointment, from the customer’s vision for her wedding day, to her sense of style and any measurements taken. Data is stored digitally, rather than on paper, which is helpful since customers tend to have more than one appointment before making a purchase.  “The investment is a significant one for a very emotional and special point in people’s lives,” Murphy said about Kyha’s gowns, which range from $2000 to upwards of $7000, depending on whether they’re part of the ready-to-wear range (Chosen by Kyha), or made-to-fit range (Kyha).  Appointments are held in individual pods, and if a customer decides on a gown, she can pay directly in the pod. The Sydney store has two pods dedicated to Chosen by Khya customers and one pod for Kyha customers.  More stores on the cards Murphy hasn’t ruled out the possibility of opening more boutiques in Australia, or even overseas.  “I think retail expansion is always on the cards,” she said.  At the moment, however, the plan is to continue to grow the brand’s global presence through international stockists. Kyha currently has around 30 stockists outside Australia, most of which sell the lower price point Chosen by Khya range, which launched in 2016.  Roughly half of sales come from overseas customers, with the US representing the largest market, followed by the UK, then Europe and Asia.  “We are absolutely expecting to expand internationally, but the primary focus at the moment is via wholesale,” Murphy said. “Until we understand what Covid looks like, it doesn’t feel very clever to plan a major international retail expansion.”   So far this financial year, the brand has already brought on new stockists in the US, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Singapore and Austria.  A better customer experience Online sales represent a small but growing proportion of the overall business. During Covid, the brand launched virtual consultations, where customers could chat with Khya staff on video, and a gown concierge service, where customers could order three gowns to try on at home anywhere in Australia.  “The response to that service has been really phenomenal,” Murphy said, adding that the line between e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar has become much blurrier due to Covid. “Our retail and digital teams have had to work hand in hand, so it’s quite a converged experience.” Another new service is an instalment payment plan called onedayPAY. Unlike some buy now pay later programs on the market, onedayPAY is handled in-house, so it doesn’t impact the customer’s credit.   “What that has allowed us to do is answer a customer need, which is to remove the big investment upfront. It smooths out the investment over time, and in doing so, it creates a much better customer experience as a whole,” Murphy explained.  Having worked with Kyha first as consultant and now as its CEO, it’s clear Murphy has big plans for the brand. And she believes the time is right to act on them.  “There’s some clear air now before the market hopefully goes wild in all retail categories,” she said.