Support Local Willoughby Council event

Our owner and designer Ali Lennard recently attended the launch of Willoughby Council's Support Local campaign. This is something close to our heart, with our own Shop Small, Support Local, Buy Australian Made campaign.

Ali was a guest speaker, about being a small business owner in Willoughby, and we are sharing her words with you.

How does your business connect with the local community in Willoughby? 

Since moving to Nathan Lane two years ago, we have made a conscious effort to engage where possible with locals, and neighbouring businesses. We’ve done this in many ways. 

Initially we mail dropped a Hey Neighbour discount code for our online store, and an invite to attend our twice yearly open to the public warehouse sales. This introduced us to many locals, some of whom have now become part of the brand family. We love seeing our clothes being worn ‘out in the wild’. 

The business that we interact with the most would be Papa’s Coffee on Frenchs Road, and my team and I visit daily for our morning tea. We always recommend them and likewise they generously offered to help promote our warehouse sale with an in store poster.  

A neighbouring business I’d like to give a shout out to is UbyKate a jewellery brand located a few steps away on Willoughby Road, designed and run by Kate and her husband Adam, who are both here this evening. Knowing that a friendly face, with an understanding ear and kindred passion, is around the corner is a lovely feeling of connection that I hope all business owners find within their neighbourhood.  

With our HQ in Willoughby, manufacturing hubs across Sydney, and boutique representation across the country, we are a brand that has been able to maintain a bijou and local feel, even though we are nationally available. Australia isn’t half our name, without reason!  So, we are proud to say that we connect with local communities and businesses everywhere we are represented. 

On a slightly different tangent but worth mentioning, I have been showcasing fashion career opportunities with the students at Mercy Catholic College, where my daughter attends and I am a member of the Parent action & engagement group. I have always been passionate about my career and hope that I can inspire a next generation designer. We therefore have some students joining us for work experience in the upcoming holidays and have done this previously for Loretto students. 

Can you describe the unique characteristics of Willoughby and what makes it an ideal location for business?  

I’d say the proximity to the city without being in the centre, with the freeway and various transport links close by, means that we have a HQ that is very easy to visit. 

Historically, clothing businesses have always been based around Alexandria, as we were for more than a decade, but the area was rezoned for high rise apartments and that whole part of town now looks unrecognisable from 17 years ago from when I first moved to Sydney. 

COVID changed many things, but a true positive that came out of it was the possibility of remote working and to not need to be on the doorstep of competitors and suppliers. Therefore, the move over the bridge became an option.  

Bringing our HQ to Willoughby has been the best decision I’ve made. We have affordable rent, a great size space with room still to grow, and a lovely neighbourhood feel, rather than an industrial park one. For me personally, I get to spend the 8 hours plus a week I’m saving in commute time working for the business, rather than just getting there! 

My friend and contemporary Anita Carmody, who is also here tonight, will no doubt agree with these comments regarding her fashion label Swish, which is located on the Pacific Highway in Chatswood after moving from Mascot around the same time as us. 

As we share many suppliers and contractors, the fact that we are both near each other helps those companies too. I hope we inspire more fashion brands to ‘move over the bridge’ as well in the future. 

I’d also like to acknowledge the safe feeling I have at our HQ. We can comfortably leave our roller door open; I’m not concerned in the area after dark or being in the building alone, and my insurance premium is even cheaper! 

How do you excel in customer engagements and build up a loyal customer base? 

We always strive for kindness in every interaction and know that our customers, contractors, suppliers etc know and feel that. We treat everyone as part of the extended family, and I think that is appreciated, so our community is built on mutual values. 

I know that we excel at collaboration and that we engage in so many more ways than any of our competitor brands would. I’m constantly told that our customers love our ‘bright new marketing ideas’. 

From conversations on the day of filming with the Willoughby Council team Nikki, Landis and Circle, I did find myself wondering how we could amplify this message further. So, I’m happy to say that we have two current initiatives in play inspired by this Willoughby council promotion. Firstly, our boutique campaign which we call “Shop small, support local and buy Australian made”, and secondly our ‘social support squad’ plan. 

We always like to sprinkle kindness and pay it forward, so I chose to ripple out this feel good campaign to all our hundreds of boutiques across the nation too. 

Each week since the start of the year, we have focused on one boutique customer, telling their story and introducing them to our extensive email data base, with an interview, style quotes and store photos, which we have also been able to promote across our socials. 

Cathy, also here, is representing her boutique Jourdan Fashions in Belrose. For her upcoming spotlight, we have something a little different planned, and will be doing an in-person VIP night to introduce our label to her loyal customers, as Philosophy Australia is a relatively new label to her store’s offer. 

Being a company that has more than 70% of our revenue generated by small, wholesale independent boutiques such as theirs, it’s important for us to collaborate and assist with their own messaging of supporting local. 

The Social Support Squad is an internal marketing collaboration, once again aimed at helping all our customers. It’s a virtual cheerleader team amongst all our digital boutiques, contractors and suppliers as to follow, like, comment and share on social media comes without cost, but brings huge value to algorithms and reach, which will always boost sales. If any small business here tonight would like to be involved in that with us too, please just let me know as the more the merrier and it’s not just about fashion! 

However, all the goodwill in the world won’t create you a brand community unless your product constantly evolves, impresses and delights. Our community has taken time to develop, has benefited from an excellent reputation and word of mouth, but is constantly nurtured, and every day I take a moment to ensure our garments are the best they can be!