Cult-favourite women’s fashion brand Ganni is set to open its first standalone bricks-and-mortar stores in the APAC region following a new partnership agreement with Australian retailer Incu. The first locations are expected to be in Sydney in Melbourne, representing a significant expansion for the Danish brand, which operates mostly via third-party retailers outside of Europe and North America. “It’s got such a strong brand DNA. It’s so unique,” Douglas Low, Incu’s CEO, told Inside
Cult-favourite women’s fashion brand Ganni is set to open its first standalone bricks-and-mortar stores in the APAC region following a new partnership agreement with Australian retailer Incu. The first locations are expected to be in Sydney in Melbourne, representing a significant expansion for the Danish brand, which operates mostly via third-party retailers outside of Europe and North America. “It’s got such a strong brand DNA. It’s so unique,” Douglas Low, Incu’s CEO, told Inside Retail. “They brought the whole Scandinavian style back in.”Founded in Copenhagen in 2000, Ganni is known for its cool aesthetic, responsible business practices and accessible prices, which have helped it attract a legion of loyal followers around the world, as well as multi-brand retailers like Incu, which has stocked the designer label for the past few years. “When we first picked it up, we realised it was the perfect brand for Incu because it was great quality, it had that element of fun, it had that sustainability side, and it had that community side,” Low said. Rather than using traditional marketing, the brand taps into real customers who share their outfits under the #gannigirls hashtag on social media. “If you look at the way they do #gannigirls – they could pick girls with the biggest following, the most subscribers on Instagram, but they don’t do that. They pick people who fit with their aesthetic,” he said.“The girls in Australia range from people in fashion, to scientists, to musicians, and that’s what makes Ganni so unique. It’s a community, and it’s very much a two-way community. That’s why people fall in love with the brand.”According to Low, the brand appeals to a wide range of demographics, from the ‘eastern suburbs’ customer in Sydney, to younger shoppers buying more of the graphic prints. It also is gaining traction with Asian customers.“Brand awareness is quite strong in Australia. It’s in the top 10 brands for us at Incu,” he said.Sydney and Melbourne to startLow is currently assessing the best locations for Ganni’s first bricks-and-mortar stores in Sydney and Melbourne. Because it straddles the line between luxury — L Catterton bought a majority stake in 2017 — and mainstream retail, there are a lot of possibilities.“It can sit next to a lot of Australian designers, but it can also sit next to more of a high-street area as well,” he said.Wherever the stores are located, they will look and feel very much like the brand’s other locations around the world, with a lot of Scandinavian furniture, recycled materials and bright pops of colour.“It’s got to feel like Ganni,” Low said. “They’re firm that every store should have the same elements. For instance, all the furniture gets produced out of two or three places around the world. It’s manufactured so that it literally feels and looks the same.”However, the product offering will be tailored to the Australian market. With a wide range of products from dresses and denim, to footwear and bucket hats, not to mention collaborations with well-known brands like Levi’s, the hardest part will be deciding what to stock, Low said.“Australians don’t take themselves too seriously in the way that they dress, it’s very lifestyle, and that’s what Ganni brings in, that lifestyle element. It really overlaps with how we would dress,” he said.Ganni will continue to manage its e-commerce presence in Australia, and Low said that Incu will work closely with the brand to create a seamless omnichannel experience.