Saturday, 10 January 2009

Evelyn Miles to be rebranded - 09/01/09

High end multi-marque retail brand Evelyn Miles, stockist of luxury shoe brands such as Prada, miu miu, Jimmy Choo, Sergio Rossi, Giuseppe Zanotti and Robert Clergerie, ... As well as showcasing handbags and accessories of these designers in some of their five stores, is reportedly to be re-branded under the Figgins Holding other retail brand, Midas. Evelyn Miles has five stores, three in Sydney and two in Melbourne.

The annnouncement was reported yesterday in the Herald Sun with the closing of Figgins other mass market retail brand Shoobiz, 43 stores are said to close. A time of consolidation for the Figgins Group and an interesting observation in that they are choosing to close their extreme ends of the retail spectrum, the high end Evelyn Miles brand and the more mass market Shoobiz and maintain the more commercial Midas brand. It is very often the reverse with the commercial brands falling off the perch first whilst the market tends to divide consumers into the upper and lower ends.

Figgins launched the Evelyn Miles brand over 27 years ago and it was named after Mr Don Figgins' elegant and stylish mother. They were the pioneers of interesting and fashion forward designer premium end footwear. The market has become more competitive over the years with Miss Louise, Cosmopolitan and Jean Brown Gallery more recently to name just a few. What is interesting is that they have only recently upgraded all their Evelyn Miles stores to a new modern contemporary designer concept and relocated their Double Bay store.

A sign of the times and a sad moment for a great retail concept.

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Melinda O’Rourke is the founder and Director of MO Luxury, a dynamic, Sydney-based management firm specialising in luxury brands and services. Melinda and her associates at MO work with local and international brands across prestige retail, fashion, fine jewellery, timepieces and specialised services. Melinda is well-connected, well-read, and well-versed in the demands of the luxury market and its client base. Her advice is firmly based in objectivity and ultimately, accountability. Melinda offers constructive counsel and both strategic and creative thinking and is able to draw upon a strong network of specialised talent to compliment the MO Luxury team as needed. Melinda enjoys excellent industry relationships and is regularly quoted in the business and fashion media. Read more about MO Luxury, www.moluxury.com.au