In the Roundhouse responds to Kmart’s ‘copycat’ dining collection

Rather than spiralling in a dupe loop, In the Roundhouse co-founder Alyce Tran responds to the news of apparently duped designs with a glass-half-full mentality.

In the Roundhouse co-founder Alyce Tran says she had no idea that both Kmart and Aldi had dropped “dupes” of the In the Roundhouse brand until TikTok and Instagram fans blew the news wide open.

In response, Tran has called on the big brands, which appear to be drawing inspiration from her mix-and-match tableware, to collaborate with In the Roundhouse and the Australian artists she commissions for the designs.

“I’ve tried to engage with Kmart a few times on a very positive level to say, ‘Hey, we’re a small business, and I see that you’ve been inspired by our product as well as product from a number of other brands in this vertical’,” she says.

“I’ve tried to engage them to see if we can collaborate. Because wouldn’t it be amazing if, from this, we created an opportunity for us and the artists we work with to actually be paid for those designs? I’m totally open to that.”

Kmart's new line of summery dining ware.

Rather than lamenting the fact that major multinationals have been selling dupes that strongly resemble In the Roundhouse designs, Tran says she sees the situation as an opportunity to market more merchandise.

“In the Roundhouse works with a lot of Sydney-based creatives, and the biggest disappointment about these so-called dupes is that these artists are not being recognised by the multinationals that are riffing off their aesthetic, so to speak,” says Tran, who co-created In The Roundhouse with Brooke Bickmore, former editor of David Jones Magazine.

The distinctive In the Roundhouse designs.

Displaying a disposition and attitude that is as sunny and bright as In the Roundhouse designs, Tran says she’d love to be involved in selling more affordable versions of the real thing.

“I’m totally open to engaging with Kmart. It’s disappointing that Kmart didn’t get back to me, after I emailed a few times, and say, ‘Hey I received your email’,” says Tran, who was the brains behind The Daily Edited, the fashion accessories brand she has since sold.

“I understand that consumers might want to get something for $5, which we can’t necessarily facilitate. But if a major multinational can help make that happen, and they want to work with our brand, then I am open to that opportunity.”

As for whether the media attention has been good or bad for business, Tran remains torn on the matter.

“It’s difficult to say definitively whether this attention is good or bad for business, but personally, I think it’s been good,” she says. “Why? Because we’re small, and we’re not by any means a household name, and suddenly we’re getting all this attention and traffic to our site.

“I’m quite pleased that the public has recognised our brand and posted about that, and that we’ve been able to create something in this space that is so recognisable. That, for us, is a real win. It’s really nice that the aesthetic we have created through our imagery and product has been attributed to us. None of our designs have been copied and pasted by these other retailers outright; it’s more that they’ve seemingly been inspired by In the Roundhouse designs.”

Tran says she believes the tableware brand, which began in 2020, has attracted its cult following because it has filled a gap in the market.

“In the Roundhouse was created because we felt there was a gap in the market for fun, affordable homewares that spoke to a generation of consumers,” she says. “With my background in creating products for millennials and Gen-Zedd-ers, it’s been a fun exercise to bring colour and excitement to the everyday dining table.”