Fashion duo on track for $12m sales target

Label Leina & Fleur expects to hit the $12m mark for its inclusive range that runs from size 8 through 24 and is ‘about simplicity for professional women’.

Leina Broughton and Fleur Richardson are the founders of Leina & Fleur, an inclusive-size fashion business. ‘We’ve got a really quick response time to market, being locally manufactured.’ Picture: Luke Marsden

In Fleur Richardson’s words, Leina Broughton is “the Ted Lasso of the fashion industry”.

Broughton concedes she is glass half full “almost to an annoying point”.

However you look at it, something is certainly going the way of the pair and their label, Leina & Fleur.

The fashion brand was first a one-woman show for Broughton, launching under her own name in 2010 with savings of $13,000 and credit card of $14,000. Richardson began consulting for her, and in 2013 it became a joint venture under both of their names.

This year, they expect to hit the $12m mark for the inclusive range of clothing that runs from size 8 through 24.

“It was really about simplicity for professional women,” Broughton tells The Australian.

“I had a lot of very successful friends who worked in different areas. They knew they wanted to look great, but with a lot of things in the market you had to be a stylist to know how to wear them.

“And woven fabrics require pressing and dry cleaning. I’m not sure who the woman is who wants to do that. The friends I know want quick, fast solutions.”

The brand immediately made a mark with all-form-flattering jersey dresses, still a top seller, closely followed by what Broughton calls their “amazing pants”.

The designer had industry experience designing for Country Road and was part of the launch team of its offshoot, Trenery.

“The product aspect of my background is a very technical one,” she says.

“I know fit. I know sizing, that is my super zone of genius. We real­ly understand and embrace women’s bodies as a whole. We very proudly offer sizes 8 to 24.

“And the fit is there along every size. It’s not like a bulk-rollout fit that gets graded.”

The company first started as a wholesale model and briefly tried on retail in 2014 with a store on the Gold Coast, where the company is based, before deciding “it wasn’t true to who we were”.

But it always had an e-commerce presence, and that has become the basis of the business.

It has experienced 40 per cent growth year on year for the past three, even with Covid.

“We’ve had great growth year on year, but with everything that’s happening we’ve really identified the strengths of the business and doubled down on that as well,” says Richardson.

“We’ve got a really quick response time to market, being locally manufactured and not doing mass production, so we can be a lot more responsive to what’s happening in market.

“It’s part of our business model but it’s come into its own strengths in the last 18 months.”

Broughton says for customers it’s about “connection, connection, connection”. That includes engaging with them via live­streamed videos twice a week to discuss styling and show the next offerings, while allowing customers to offer feedback on everything from styles to fit.

“Since 2015 we have done a live every Tuesday at 12pm (EST), and now we do every Friday night at 5pm. In 6½ years we have not ever missed a video,” Broughton says. “We’re live, we’re there, we’re connecting, we’re educating, but we’re also having a bit of fun.”