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It’s a challenging time to be an independent fashion brand: several have folded their businesses in recent weeks amid “upheaval” in the wholesale market. Against this backdrop, Vanguards Group — owner of Nanushka, Sunnei and Aeron — has entered a strategic partnership to outsource the global wholesale distribution of Nanushka to brand development platform Tomorrow Ltd. Nanushka is also planning to return to the fashion calendar with a show in September.
“In the current wholesale landscape, change and consolidation is inevitable,” says Peter Baldaszti, CEO of Vanguards, which he and his partner Sandra Sandor co-founded in 2020 (they are also the co-founders of Nanushka). “We decided to find a trusted partner to establish, develop and grow our wholesale business in the most efficient way possible; to ensure that Nanushka is presented at the right stockists, in the right way, with the right brand adjacencies. Wholesale has to be managed much more strategically now than it was before.”
Nanushka’s sales are split 40 per cent wholesale and 60 per cent direct-to-consumer (DTC). It has 200 stockists worldwide including Harrods, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Galeries Lafayette and Net-a-Porter. Tomorrow will manage the relationships with all of these accounts going forwards. Vanguards will continue to run the brand’s DTC operations, including its stores in London, New York and China, as well as overseeing the design, manufacturing and marketing.
It’s a notable move from two companies that are, on the surface of it, rivals. Both specialise in brand incubation and development, though Vanguards is focused on its portfolio of three brands, all of which it owns outright. Through financial investment and brand management and distribution services, Tomorrow backs brands like Coperni, Martine Rose, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Colville, artist Daniel Arsham’s apparel project Objects IV Life and London retailer Machine-A. In February, it acquired A-Cold-Wall from founder Samuel Ross.
“It is a fundamental change of attitude between what could be seen as competitors,” says Stefano Martinetto, CEO of Tomorrow. “It is the acknowledgement that the industry needs consolidation, at least when it comes to services. Companies that are reasonably small in size, like Vanguards and Tomorrow — neither of us are over £100 million in turnover — need to specialise. Attempting to service all the touchpoints and needs of individual brands is far-fetched.” The strategic partnership is expected to extend to Sunnei in due course.
The move comes as many independent fashion brands face an uncertain future. Last week, Mara Hoffman, The Vampire’s Wife and Calvin Luo all announced they were shuttering, while Dion Lee said his Australian business had entered voluntary administration. The week prior, Roksanda was bought by new brand development platform The Brand Group, shortly after filing notice of intention to appoint administrators.
Baldaszti says Nanushka, too, has faced its share of struggles since the pandemic. “Nanushka is in an incredibly good place from a DTC perspective, but from a wholesale perspective, it’s been a bumpy two years. What I see with our wholesale partners is everybody’s struggling with inventory and liquidity is difficult across the board,” he says.
He also admits that Nanushka’s wholesale strategy has, in the past, been more focused on volume than quality. “To build a brand with longevity, you have to think about how each and every customer touchpoint reflects your strategy and positioning.” Nanushka has been going through an elevation journey, he says, which is focused on improving the customer experience across channels (rather than raising prices).
As the industry consolidates, key to success for wholesale brands will be a focus on specialty stores that offer something different for a particular community, says Martinetto. “They are the future of wholesale.”
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