GC girl conquers retail world with her PJ’s

A Gold Coast woman has turned a business that started with just six homemade lace robes into a global multimillion-dollar operation. Here’s how she did it.

HOMEBODII founder Ingrid Bonnor likens her business success to an Aussie actor tasting fame overseas before being known on home shores.

Her luxe lace bridal robes, designed for a bride-to-be to wear while she’s getting ready to walk down the aisle, were picked up in the US by retailer Anthropologie not long after she started the business in 2012.

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Homebodii founder Ingrid Bonnor at her new Pacific Fair store in Broadbeach. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

“Within the first six months of the business, Anthropologie picked up one of our robes which is still one of our best-selling robes and it went “boom” from there and it went onto be the number one pinned bridal robe (on Pinterest) ever,” she said.

“That was the start and then from there we expanded into sleepwear, intimates, personalisation (custom monogramming) which is huge for us – but essentially the brand is based around experiences from wedding day to gifting to something nice to wear in hospital after you‘ve had a baby.”

Homebodii store opening

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Ms Bonnor, who has two children of her own, said attention from luxury department store Nordstrom soon followed with other retailers clamouring to stock Homebodii’s range

“Every retailer has come to us, we’ve had a lot of organic growth from them seeing us on Pinterest or seeing us on other retailer’s websites,” she said.

Gold Coast company Homebodii fashion shoot on Miami Beach, following successful meeting with Bloomingdales who now stock their range.

“We were picked up in the US before we got hometown recognition, kind of like an actor and then David Jones came knocking and they rolled us out nationwide and we’re one of their top-selling sleepwear brands.”

Bloomingdales are the latest, with the iconic NY-based department store chain fast-tracking Homebodii’s products into their stores to capitalise on pre-Christmas sales.

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But being a born and bred Gold Coast girl, Ms Bonnor said she’s excited to have her first permanent store, which opened on Thursday night at Pacific Fair.

“We’ve done some pop-ups in conjunction with David Jones which were really successful, but we thought we’d step out on our own and really give our customers that hands-on, face-to-face experience and having the personalisation station in-store will make it easy for customers,” she said.

Homebodii founder Ingrid Bonnor at her new Pacific Fair store in Broadbeach. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Ms Bonnor said it has been a whirlwind since creating the business, which she had toyed with for many years after working as a bridal model in her early 20s.

“I’d be backstage at all these bridal shows and I’d see these most exquisite gowns and then had thought to myself when I was getting married, because I got married quite young at 24 that there wasn’t anything available for me to get ready in.

“You want to wake up and take that feeling right through the day, so you’re feeling beautiful while you get your hair and make-up done and I was lucky enough to know these designers and I asked them where they got their laces from and toyed with the idea for a while.”

Working in PR for a French beauty company helped her learn the basics of marketing and branding, and a milestone birthday was the catalyst for Homebodii’s creation.

“I turned 30, I thought it was time to do what I loved and that “a-ha” moment came back and I made six lace robes, built a website and thought ‘I’m going to have a go.’”

While Ms Bonnor is coy on the company’s revenue, she said they had been growing 200 per cent year-on-year selling more than 10,000 pairs of pyjamas this year alone, and had just doubled the space of their head office, moving into new premises in Arundel two weeks ago.

Gold Coast company Homebodii fashion shoot on Miami Beach, following successful meeting with Bloomingdales who now stock their range.

“The growth is exciting, but it’s managing that growth and not overextending yourself,” she said.

“We have been around seven years and we are a family company, so everything we make goes back into the business, it has grown quickly but with the help of accountants, consultants we’ve managed that growth.

“We turn away a lot of retailers because we want to give the best service. We don’t want to underdeliver and we also want to keep the brand exclusive.”

Ms Bonnor said the UK and Europe was the next frontier and the company was currently in negotiation with a number of retailers.

“The beauty of the brand is that it is a unique product, we design our own prints, we have illustrators that work with us, we print our own fabrics, we design our own laces,” she said.

“Our fabrics are non-crush and we’ve just brought out a sustainable range and we’re going down that path with our packaging. We’re very conscious of making sure what we do is sustainable.

“We’re not fast-fashion, we’re slow fashion as we want our customers to love and cherish our garments for a long time.”