LIMITED EDITION APPEAL WORKS
CREATING limited edition products has been the key to online retailer Black Sheep’s dramatic global growth.
Co-founder John Polson said the Brisbane-based cycling clothing business had expanded over the past 18 months, with average growth of 30 per cent each quarter.
“We’re distributing to the US and Europe, and Asia has become a huge market for us since the beginning of last year,” Mr Polson said.
“We’re focused on our limited release model. We release a new collection quarterly which has been a new thing for the market. We can sell out of the ranges within six hours.”
The growth meant Black Sheep had relocated from the Gold Coast to new premises in Teneriffe, with plans for a store on the site.
Sales of recreational goods was one of the few bright spots in yesterday’s retail trade figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Seasonally adjusted sales for July were flat at $26.1 billion as the strain of low wages growth and higher power bills weighed on household budgets.
Economists had expected a 0.2 per cent rise in sales.
Sales of recreational goods, including sports equipment and toys, rose 2.5 per cent.
Spending on food retailing rose by 0.7 per cent, and spending at cafes, restaurants and takeaways were up
0.2 per cent.
Sales in Queensland rose by 0.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.