Looks from Mulberry’s AW18 collection.
British luxury leather goods retailer Mulberry intends to grow its presence down under, inking an exclusive distribution deal with Luxury Retail Group (LRG).
The partnership will focus on developing the brand locally through new stores in Melbourne’s Emporium and Chadstone centres and Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building.
The 224-square-metre Emporium site will open in July featuring a new store concept designed by Mulberry creative director Johnny Coca.
Mulberry has a store presence in 24 markets across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia and Mulberry CEO Thierry Andretta said he sees great potential for the brand in Australia.
“I am pleased to announce our partnership with LRG in Australia. We look forward to seeing significant growth and opportunity for Mulberry in this market,” he said.
Mulberry AW18.
Mulberry has been trading out of a single store in Westfield Sydney since 2010, which will close as part of the agreement.
According to IBISWorld, the Australian luxury retail industry has grown at a rapid rate over the past five years, largely driven by an increasing number of middle class tourists from Asia.
Sales from local customers have also increased, with younger consumers becoming more interested in the high-end fashion they are exposed to through social media. In response to this, Mulberry has shifted to a ‘see now, buy now’ model, making its catwalk collections instantly available rather than forcing customers to wait months as is traditional in high-end fashion.
LRG has benefitted from the growing interest in luxury items. The group was responsible for bringing Italian luxury brand Furla to the Australian market in 2014, which it grew to 19 stores in four years, and sold back to the Furla Group in 2017.
It also owns and operates innovative footwear business Sneakerboy and partnered with French Kering Group to open Australia’s first Balenciaga store.
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