Tell Me No Secrets…
30-10-2015
Oh all right then, as you asked. Two gossip-friendly outrageous whoppers. And it’s all true.
Possibly the best news to come out of Luundon for simply ages has got my goose bumps somersaulting. Little White Lies, London, (LWL) has only gone across the pond and secured Bloomingdale’s as an account. Talk about ‘the British are coming.’ Well more precisely, Angie De Napoli founder finessed what is reputedly one of the hardest accounts to crack. So I hear, it is not unusual for the buying team at Bloomingdale’s to even consider taking on a new brand unless they have monitored it for three seasons first. In LWL’s case – on first showing.
It is worth pointing out that this wonderful transatlantic brand story has a positioning agent to thank. A well-connected US agent who saw the potential in the brand and could present it with conviction – crucial to a brands’ global development. Spending time cultivating agents that really do have key buying contacts can be make-or-break for brands looking to enter into a new market. I asked Angie why did she think Bloomingdale’s took to LWL so quickly?
“I think we simply offered them something fresh in the market at the right price point, and a British brand will certainly have been a factor. There’s a depth of story to communicate that they can utilize to great effect in their marketing also.”
The launch of LWL SS16 collection (with exclusive designs) in Bloomingdale’s New York is planned for January 2016. It will be fascinating to witness the reaction from the US trade media and consumers alike, to this cheeky little white fibber in their midst. I’m anticipating a store-crushing avalanche of sales fuelled by genuine excitement. It will be the Beatles at Shea Stadium all over again. ‘She loves you, yeah yeah…’
Pinch me. Blooming heck it’s really Bloomingdale’s. Totally.
These successes don’t happen overnight or even two nights. LWL has been steadily delivering great design at affordable prices by doing it the right way, the honest, smart way. Amazingly, their ‘overnight’ is only four years in arriving, another noteworthy achievement. Especially when you consider the roster of clients that includes United Arrows and the Butterfly Group in Japan; Galerie Lafayette, Beijing; La Rinascente, Italy; Zalando, Germany; Podium Market, Russia; Namshi, Dubai; Brown Thomas, Ireland; Fenwick, Newcastle, Psyche, Middlesborough and Sunday Best, UK. And in the US alongside Bloomingdale’s, Pacsun, Shopbop (online) and a number of others primed to happen. These are all massive accounts and a testament to the design appeal and pulling power of LWL.
For LWL it has been about slowly scaling their business and having a trading history and reputation that would hold up to Bloomingdale’s supplier/ distributor scrutiny. As well as having the resource bandwidth to be able to physically trade to scale. So not the iffy unprofessional – lets just get the contract and worry about how we deliver later basis. You would not get past first base with a client like Bloomingdale’s if you did not past muster operationally. Reputations easily shot with dropped P.O. news travelling fast in the buying community.
The other juicy tidbit? More of a Babette’s feast actually. This one has gilt-edged brand UK renaissance sewn into the neckline of the recently renamed, Little White Lies, London story. Its safe little British mitts delivering the burgeoning brand as it goes on its Phileas Fogg journey market by market…to announce in trumpet-blazing glory…
LWL is having a range of its designs made in the UK, in none other than the Fashion Enter factory. Go Angie. (And Jenny). With a publicity launch timed to coincide with the November 25th FTA (Fashion Technology Academy) official opening and also held at the Fashion Enter Academy premises in Haringey, it’s all the LWL British ducks in a row in time for Thanksgiving turkey stateside. Cock-a-doodle-please-do.
Jenny Holloway CEO of Fashion Enter said, “It is absolutely amazing what this brand has achieved in terms of these major global accounts, a testament to the power of British design and business acumen – and in such a short time. We are of course delighted that they are choosing Fashion Enter as the platform to launch their inaugural ‘Made in Britain’ range of garments. And proof positive it can be done here and most importantly, at the mid-tier level. Exciting times for us all. And great for Fashion Enter to fly the flag here and overseas with a British fashion brand.”
Having a genuine, 100 per cent British-made British brand is a long-held dream for Angie. “I will be so proud to support my country in so many ways and feel it will be the ultimate achievement.” You almost have to hear it in her voice to truly know how earnest and sincere she is in this aspiration. A side bet on Dame Angie-in waiting worth an Xmas punt with Ladbrokes?
What does having garments made in the UK actually mean to her business, I asked? Without hesitation she nails some significant business positives, often overshadowed by the assumption that it just can’t be done here profitably, or only at the high end where the margins are higher to absorb the typically higher costs (than manufacturing in Asia, for example). “Efficiency, communication, the fact that I can react to things. Speed.” Things forgotten in the chasing-margins delirium, where cost can dictate behaviour and mind-set. But at what price as you dovetail your production operations, distribution and (loss of) control to an alien culture in a different time zone, where the horror stories accumulate while you go to sleep? Angie puts it into context. “We need all these things. But above all, we need quality. Otherwise we don’t have anything.” That’s thirty years experience speaking. “Making our brand in the UK will give LWL a sense of authenticity, credibility, respectability and a solid grounding.”
And we are reminded of yet another value-added USP brushed aside in the rush to offshore production, that has significant residual value. Anchoring the brand wholly, authentically to a reputable manufacturing base in the UK, that just happens to have tons of world-respected legacy to draw from, if done assiduously, is a huge card to play when negotiating with buyers. Just ask Albion Knit, (who is making knitwear next door to Fashion Enter btw), the value-added that UK provenance provides their clients at the high end.
What is especially exciting about LWL is that they propose to do it as a mid-tier priced brand and maintain quality. This is a genuine brand-UK demonstration of what is possible with commitment and good old-fashioned British nouse. “For England and Angie, who’s with me!” I can almost hear the battle cry. And it’s not just B2B focused sentiment; Angie and her business partner, creative director Donna Kernan have the LWL wearer very much in mind at all times. “The customer can begin to get a sense of styling and quality from within our own country. The buyers’ get a sense of how this is endorsed globally and be impressed by how it is made here and exported. Just to show people it’s an option is a huge step forward. If we can do it – they can do it.” This makes them a vital ambassador for brand-UK, particularly at the harder mid-tier end of the market with less margin to play with.
This is no misplaced nostalgia for a bygone-era of British manufacturing; it’s a profound statement of intent that many producers may learn from. “The margins may be a little bit narrower, but the quality of the (business) cycle is so much more empowering, as it provides full control. You can literally sit in the factory every day, when it’s local. You can train machinists how to make your brand. This is extremely valuable.” And only because you made the commitment with the British factory in the first place.
If one looks for some LWL quintessential quality that somehow ‘makes it British’, it may be partly because “everyone looks to London for the next best thing,” as Angie says. But it’s as much about the attitude of mind resident in a dedicated, talented British businesswoman who unashamedly states, “I am British. My family is British. When you are abroad people are genuinely pleased to hear the brand is British. I’m hugely motivated by a revival in the future of fashion UK.”
And not a jot of jingoism in the air. Just a phenomenal value proposition: Brand UK – Little White Lies, London. Love you. Yeah yeah yeah.
By Paul Markevicius
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