Sydney friends behind the accessories label Peta + Jain reveal their secret to success

How does a fast-fashion brand survive the economic downturn when people have no reason to go out?

Peta + Jain fashion forward handbags

This article was created in partnership with Dell Technologies.

After slogging it out for over 20 years in the fashion game, Sydney friends Jane Da Silva and Peta Wessell saw a gap in the market and decided to have a crack. 

“We were sick of working for other companies and making them a lot of money due to our drive,” explains Ms Da Silva. “We thought, why don’t we do this for ourselves and our families?”

Jane Da Silva and Peta Wessell

Their vision was a brand offering to-the-minute on-trend handbags at an affordable price, featuring quality hardware designed to last. Almost four years on, their label Peta + Jain now employs 11 staff and is one of the top-selling handbag brands at Australia’s biggest retailers including The Iconic, Princess Polly, Beginning Boutique and White Fox. 

Unlike luxury brands which drop ‘It bags’ quarterly, Peta + Jain release fresh designs every month, which are snapped up by some of the world’s biggest social media stars and cool-girl crowd. The Sydney duo design every ‘vegan leather’ bag personally, inspired by international trends but with their own twist and embellished with the brand’s distinctive gold cross. Currently, early ‘00s-inspired fashion is all the rage.

“We’re approaching four years, and it’s amazing how much has changed over those four years. We do pinch ourselves — we really, really do,” says Ms Wessell.

This year, the brand had big plans — a huge, pop-up event at Coachella.

“A lot of our customers love our bags for festivals, so this event was going to be quite exciting. We had PR, marketing, YouTubers, photoshoots booked in and an amazing pad at Palm Springs that we were going to be based at,” explains Ms Da Silva. 

But then, of course, the world changed.

“We had a lot of festival bags ready to go, but then we realised festivals weren’t going to happen, or even next year,” says Ms Wessell. “So, we expanded our range and thought outside the box. With everyone working from home, we got into tech accessories. We designed a range of jewellery and laptop bags and hats.”

Peta + Jain fashion forward handbags

With small headquarters in an industrial estate in Sydney, the business is perfectly sized to make quick business decisions and pivot when required.

“That’s the joy of owning your own business. We don’t have to ask permission or wait for sign-off from somebody or get approval from an investor — we react quickly. If we want to take a chance and bring in a container of hats, we’ll do it,” says Ms Wessell. “Sometimes it doesn’t work, but more than often it does. You have to take a risk.”

The brand took a risk in ordering stock during the coronavirus period and improving the website of their online store. Fortunately, the brand enjoyed strong sales, even at a time when people didn’t have a reason to leave home. The sales figures shocked even them.

This month, the duo won the Dell Technologies Small Business Award, which will help support the expansion of their digital presence and upgrade their office hardware.

The duo says their success comes down to a solid understanding of who the ‘Peta + Jain girl is’ and staying true to who she is.

Peta + Jain fashion forward handbags

“We’re young at heart, so we are partly the Peta + Jain girl,” laughs Ms Da Silva. “We know our demographic so well, and we know our customers so well. In everything that myself and Peta design, we’re always so mindful about who we are designing for.

“You have to move forward with the times in this industry. You can have all the experience in the world, but you also need to listen to your customer to understand what they want, what they need and what they like.”

It’s one thing to listen, but it’s crucial also to make informed decisions. “We’re seeing so many businesses close their doors and I think maybe it’s because they’re not listening and are stuck in their old ways,” says Ms Da Silva.

Outside the disruption of the coronavirus, the duo says scaling the business to employ staff was a nail-biting moment.

“You know it’s going to be hard, but I guess you don’t realise just how hard it will be. In the early days, we wore all the hats. I mean, you’re the warehouse person, the admin person, the salesperson, the marketing manager — and it gets to a point where you say, you need to employ some people,” says Ms Da Silva. “But you need to make sure that the business is profitable enough to take that step. That was the hardest.”

After cutting their teeth working at some of Australia’s biggest fashion businesses, the duo is grateful to have been exposed to the best and worst aspects of business leadership.

“One thing you learn when you work for other companies is how you want to be with your own business,” says Ms Da Silva. “We reward our staff, and we do look after our production and suppliers. Whether it be with buyers, factories, staff or suppliers, relationships are the key to our success.”

For other small business owners, Ms Da Silva says it’s important to know when to say ‘no’.

“We get people approaching us every day because they want to stock our brand, but if it’s not a good fit for us, we have to say ‘no’, we have to stay true to our Peta + Jain girl and we have to walk away,” she says. “You’ve got to stay true to who you are and what you believe.”

To celebrate Small Business Month and the resilience, innovation and creativity of small business, Dell Technologies is proud to bring you inspiring stories of Australian businesses. We have a team of expert advisors ready to help with advice and tailored solutions to keep your small business ready for what’s next.