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with the company respect that,” she says.
International retail partners now include the Brooklyn Museum in the US, the Royal Academy of Arts in the UK, the Tollman Group and LVMH. In Africa the company sells through lodge operator Singita and luxury safari company &Beyond.
When actress Jennifer Lopez was seen wearing the company’sLua earrings, it led to increased online sales in the US, says Pichulik. At home the firm will open a new V&A Waterfront store in August, and it recently launched its first “signature scent”, Obsidian.
When the pandemic hit, the company lost 90% of its revenue and had to make quick decisions. The business, which employs 22 people, did not retrenchbut began to focus on its online presence. Today half its sales are to overseasbuyers. It has also been ruthless with stockmanagement, culling merchandise lines from 250 to 80 and investing in only its top 30 products.
“We’ve significantly improved gross margins, cash flow generation and profitability,” says Chiappini-Young. “We survived, and then thrived.”
She says that with a small business thathas no large balance sheet to support it, “you relentlessly sweat your asset base all the time”.
“It almost took going out of business to refine that thinking; it’s been remarkable to see.”
The business doubled annual revenues last year, and is looking at growing by 50% this year. Gross profit margins have also improved significantly. The company operates an online store and has a dedicated atelier just off Bree Street. It waited 18 months for its opening at the V&A Waterfront to get the right position and terms.
The business sells to Europe, but the US became its main market because it wastarifffree under Agoa. “In
Europe each country has a different duty structure.
It’s difficult to navigate. Our position may change [if South Africa loses Agoa preferences] and we’re looking at it; we need to have our ducks in a row.”
The company is set to launch at New York Fashion Week in September. “We’re watching this closely. We’ve still got fantastic demand coming from [the US],” says ChiappiniYoung. “Our plan at this point is to go ahead. If we find that things get messy, we’ll have to redirect to Paris, which is very strong for us but more difficult to navigate.
“There’ssuch an extraordinary level of innovation and a lot of success stories coming out of South Africa.”
But as any business owner will remind you, a product or brand is nothing without a market.