Any Australian members?? How do you feel about Australia's fashion?

[purplethistle]

Department stores are David Jones and Myers. When I was younger I think there was a third one that went under, can't remember the reason though. All I remember of that place was the shoes section and the fact that privates schools could sell their uniforms there which I always thought was strange. Then there are large malls like westfield. DJ's and Myers carry brands like Prada, Clavin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, A|X, Armani, Diesel, Escada etc. and some Australian designers. Your city and location in city affects what your actually able to get brand and variety wise. In larger cities there may be a 'boutique' setting for a brand otherwise each brand probably gets approximately 8 square meters including walking space (well that's how it feels). Westfield some times has DJ's and Myers but they also carry chain stores like Sports girl, country road, witchery, Cue etc.

 

[mrsjamesdean]

^The third one was Grace Brothers which Myers took over or something. Most Westfields I've been to either has DJs or Myers or even both but yes your location will determine availability.

Zara prices are fairly reasonable, in general most things are between 25-250. I thought the mark up would be much, much higher and the prices are def better than Witchery and Country Road etc. Actually their pricing is similar to sportsgirl or portmans (I think I don't really shop there but I do browse) only a little bit higher which isn't bad because they're not local. Plus I don't know what will happen if Zara goes on sale or not?

If you want to get a feel for prices I've brought a knit top for 26, scarf/shawl for 35, not pants but not tights either for 70, leather flats for 80. There's this coat I wanted to get that's 210 and some heels that are 100-120 .IMO I think its reasonable comparing to other brands.

You can get Topshop clothes in Incu but the prices are just ridiculous so I wonder what will happen if they open the stores here...

 

[misspistol]

I'm kind of psyched that Forever 21 is opening here, I got hooked when I was in the UAE.

 

[lucy92]

wow, it is really amazing how seemingly "fast fashion" really isnt so readily available in austalia.

i wonder what the holdup is..what was blocking their expansion down there?

 

[Lela London]

Gravitas, darling!

That said - Vogue AUS has had my favourite international covers for the past 6 months for sure.

 

[fivehundred]

The issue with the price-points are key I think. If I was going for fast fashion - Sportsgirl, General Pants, Bardot, Forever New etc, I'd definitely rather buy from ASOS or Nastygal since they have way more variety, are cheaper and the quality is pretty much the same. And as for designer items - I've never bought anything from a retail store here (I live in Brisbane) basically it's either unavailable / it's last season and the prices are ridiculous. So I end up going to Shopbop, even for contemporary stuff like Marc by Marc, Acne, Rag & Bone...whoever's in Syd and Melb definitely have it slightly better.

Just curious, where do the rest of you Aussies shop online?

Oh I grew up in Brisbane! I moved to Sydney a year ago. I think Blonde Venus and Violent Green boutiques are basically the only places I would shop. They've done great things bringing in variety. The other boutiques are just the same things over and over... and all super pricey.

Since moving to Sydney I rarely shop in store though. I think the variety it still pretty lacking.

I shop online.. maximillia, net-a-porter, ASOS.

 

[purplethistle]

Recently they're mentioning many times on the news how retail outlets are now struggling to compete with online shopping. Just tonight they mentioned an Australian sportswear brand, 2XU, that sells online in London at half the price in shops in Australia with free shipping. Its a no brainer on what consumers are going to do. Part of the problem is that employing SA's is expensive as is the rent where the out lets are. Apparently Sydney is the third most expensive after NY and HK. Also there is the consensus that with AU$ value going up the prices of things should go down but instead they keep going up.

So you may still see the same number of people physically at the shops, but increasing numbers are making the purchases at home probably shipping something from the other side of the world.

 

[bunburyist]

re: the possibility of Uniqlo in Aus: yesssss

also it's worth mentioning for those curious that fashion isn't the only part of retail that suffers from marked up, unfairly high prices. There's also entertainment (books, DVDs, videogames - in the case of books, Borders in Australia has recently gone into administration), electronics, things like that.

 

[*Bianca*]

Topshop by Christmas?

Despite operating in over 20 countries, including right on the country's doorstep in Indonesia, there are currently no standalone Topshop stores in Australia. 2011 is the year that will change that.
Fashionising.com has learned through sources involved in the development project that Topshop is looking to take advantage of a perfect storm of opportunities to enter the Australian marketplace.
Aiming to open this year, Topshop is currently negotiating for retail locations in both Sydney and Melbourne in a move that would see the fashion retailer both establish a foot hold in the Australian market and prevent the outright dominance of chief competitor Zara.
Fashionising.com has been reliably told that Topshop has two desires of their initial Sydney and Melbourne stores:

1. that each competes indirectly with Zara's own stores, and thus are located in different parts of Melbourne, Victoria and Sydney, New South Wales. This will allow them to capitalise on Zara's slow expansion throughout the country and to minimise direct shopper competition in an underdeveloped market.
2. that each allows them street access in order for the stores to offer trading hours that would see the stores open later than their competitors.

These two requirements mean that Topshop's plans to open stores in Australia in 2011 are currently weighted to retail locations outside both Melbourne's and Sydney's city centres.

Topshop's first Melbourne store location

While it is believed that the short list of Sydney locations include the outer-suburb Chatswood Chase shopping centre, Fashionising.com has learned that the most likely location for the first Topshop store in Melbourne is on the Chapel Street high street. Requiring a large retail space for their flagship store, Topshop are currently negotiating a rental contract for store space within Chapel Street's Jam Factory complex. Should the deal reach fruition it would see Topshop have access to the close-on 2,800 square metres of retail space recently made available by the bankruptcy and closure of book retailer Borders.
While it would be impossible for the whole property to be dedicated to floor and shelf space, at 2,800 square metres the single storey Topshop store would be larger than Zara's Melbourne store, which totals to 1,700 square metres spread across three levels.
With Australians already the third largest consumers of Topshops goods via their online store, Topshop's opening in the country is a move certain to cement their position in the market.
Topshop is currently aiming to open in time for Christmas 2011. As such their first season of stock would sit inline with their spring / summer 2011 / 2012 collection, the European equivalent of which you can see by clicking on the thumbnails below.

fashionising