Glassons attracts US star power
When singer Olivia Rodrigo posed in a Glassons corset on Instagram, it gave some New Zealanders reason to pause. A US celebrity . . . in something from Glassons?
The chain store, which has been clothing New Zealand women for decades, has recently begun to expand its online reach into America, with a US-specific website to serve what it told the NZX was its ‘‘growing US customer base’’.
The brand, which was started in Christchurch by John Hooper Glasson in the early 1900s, operates more than 130 stores, with 36 stores in Australia, and has a growing online presence. But Australian chief executive, and Glasson’s greatgrandson, James Glasson said that despite its foray into the US market, it was still small and the focus remained closer to home.
‘‘It has not been a concerted, throw everything at it,’’ he said.
‘‘We don’t even really buy for it – we only buy for the Australian and New Zealand markets.’’
US orders have previously been filled from Australia and New Zealand but more recently that shifted solely to Australia.
‘‘Australia and New Zealand are still our core and predominantly significant market. It is tiny in comparison,’’ New Zealand chief executive April Ward said.
In 1985, the company merged with men’s clothing store Hallenstein Brothers to create Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, before moving into the Australian market in the late 1990s.
The brand, which has a target market of 18 to 30-year-olds, had mixed success across the Tasman in the first 10 to 15 years. But in the past five years sales have doubled.
In the year to August 1, sales in New Zealand were $119.91 million, up 16.88 per cent on the year before. In Australia, they were $133.65m, up 38.23 per cent.
A number of items and colours in Glassons’ new activewear launch a week ago were released only to Australian and American customers. Kiwi customers took to Glassons’ Instagram, questioning why specific items advertised on social media were not available to them. But Glasson said that was because American products were shipped from Australia – so they saw what the Australian customer saw. ‘‘And sometimes what we release in Australia is not seasonally appropriate in this country,’’ Ward said. ‘‘We don’t necessarily focus on the US, it is more we understand our customer has a global lens.’’
The seasonal difference also meant some products were not as relevant for the American customer, Glasson said.
The brand has had some of America’s biggest names, such as TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and pop sensation Rodrigo, wearing their products. As well as growing the brand’s reach, Glassons also made the push to become a more sustainable fashion brand and received an A in Tearfund’s Ethical Fashion report.
‘‘We really want to make sustainable fashion accessible for everyone,’’ Glasson said.
For now, Glasson and Ward were hoping to continue their growth in the Australian market, while navigating running a global company during a pandemic.