FashionCapital Interview: CEO of British label Rare!

It was then that the Talwar family, who continue to the run the business today, decided the opportunity existed for their company to invent its own fashion label that would be committed to offering cutting edge fashion for the trend conscious consumer. 

 

Rare has become synonymous with bringing individuality to the high street and since its first concession in Lewis’ in Liverpool 2001 it now operates out of 35 Topshop stores throughout the UK and features in all Bank Fashion outlets. Rare’s own retail website was then launched in 2005 and its online presence now spans across asos.com, Topshop.com and Littlewoods Direct.

Since its conception in 1999, Rare’s business model of ‘fast-fashion’ – bringing on-trend lines to the market before anybody else – has proved a massive success in the UK and Scandinavia, enabling it to grow from a small, family-run business into an international brand with a current turnover of £9.5 million (10.6 million Euros) and a market share of 28% in their sector.

 

Rare is now looking at breaking into the German Market and FashionCapital caught up with CEO John Quinn to find out more.

What are the plans to establish the British fashion brand Rare in the German market?

‘As we speak we are currently here at the Bread and Butter exhibition in Germany conducting market research. Our research shows that the German consumer prefers to buy from someone they know, for this reason we are hoping to develop relationships with distributors who sell to boutiques and key independents as well as with the bigger retailers such as TALLY WEIJL and Peek & Kloppenburg

Why Germany?

 “Germany is an attractive investment opportunity as it is the largest clothing market in Europe, and on a global scale, is only second to the US. For the UK clothing industry, Germany is the second largest export market in Europe. Key industry events such as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and Bread & Butter, which we are hoping to exhibit at in summer 2010, add to the appeal. 

 

How can you translate the UK’s ‘fast fashion’ concept to meet the German consumer tastes?

“We are confident we can tailor our product to meet the needs of the German market. Our ability to do this has already been demonstrated by our success in Scandinavia. The business, which has been developed through our partnership with top fashion e-tailer, Nelly.com, is already seeing turnover of more than £4 million.

Rare offers cutting edge fashion for the trend conscious, and is synonymous with bringing individuality to the consumer who demands to be different.  The brand is unique, directional and most of all accessible. The Spring / Summer 2010 range has been tailored to meet German tastes and help consumers to develop a more individual style.”

It was fantastic to speak to John and find out more about the fast fashion phenomenon that is Rare. Its unique model means that it is able to react quickly to emerging trends and tastes and having already proved a massive success in the UK and Scandinavian market could we soon see global domination for this British label? Watch this space!