The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Passion for tennis led to sports ‘athleisure’ brand
CLOTHING: Stefani Grosse, founder of Monreal London, to deliver speech at Gleneagles summit
German-born fashion designer Stefani Grosse will give an insight into the increasing pace of globalisation when she speaks at next month’s Entrepreneurial Scotland summit in Gleneagles.
After working for fashion firms such as Calvin Klein, French Connection, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan, Ms Grosse founded the high end athletic clothing brand Monreal London in 2012.
The brand was started after the keen tennis player struggling to find sports clothing she wanted to wear.
“I started my own business after thinking all my life that there was nothing I wanted to wear while playing tennis or doing sports and how sad the world of sports clothing was compared to fashion,” she said.
“I always knew I had a vision of what I thought clothes should look like that I’d want to do sports in.
“At the time the word ‘athleisure’ didn’t exist – now it’s a trend that’s taken off. All the big designers have a range.”
Her initial range of women’s tennis clothes were featured in Vogue and stocked in Harrods.
She quickly expanded the range with more general fitness products like leggings, jackets and sports bras.
Ms Grosse said her clothing was stocked worldwide and sought after by the same type of customer
“There isn’t such a huge difference between an affluent woman in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong as Sydney and Los Angeles – they look at the same imagery and influencers online,” she said.
“They have a similar lifestyle – they are people who look good, want to feel good and are into health and fitness, style.
“One of the things that I have witnessed in the last few years is the incredible pace of globalisation.
“It’s always been there but it’s really speeded up in the last five years.
“When there is a new trend it’s immediately present around the globe.”
She said that as a result her business is increasingly focused on e-commerce and building a brand online.
“If I could start again my business approach would be different,” she said.
“I would first focus on digital and e-commerce business and then try to get into the big wholesalers from there, when the brand has some kind of awareness and visibility.
“Everything is now online which is a great advantage for young brands.”
The Entrepreneurial Scotland summit will be held at Gleneagles on April 25 and focus on key issues for high growth organisations in Scotland.
Other speakers include Shortlist founder Mike Soutar, Charlie MacGregor, chief executive of The Student Hotel, Iain Anderson of Cicero Group and Green and Blacks founder Jo Fairley.