Sand is becoming known around the world for sleek design and Italian fabrics

A FAVOURITE of Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, the Sand fashion label is becoming known around the world for its sleek design and Italian fabrics.

WHEREVER you travel in the world, whatever major city and high street you find yourself shopping on, you're bound to see some similar things.

Thanks to the globalisation of fashion there will be at least one Zara store, probably a Louis Vuitton store, a Chanel store, Gucci, Prada, H&M ... you get the picture. The shop windows look as they do in any other city, the clothes are the same from city to city - even the prices are similar. After a while it's all a bit dull, especially if you're looking for something different or something native to the location you find yourself in.

Of course, there are exceptions in every city but the dominance of the big global brands - and their deep pockets when it comes to securing prime retail real estate - mean that the fashion-buying traveller needs to look a bit harder to find something they can't get in any other destination. Copenhagen is no exception. Despite having a successful homegrown fashion industry, the Danes prefer to wear what everyone else around the world is wearing.

"It's unfortunately true that Danish people want to buy what everyone else wants to buy," says Soren Sand, founder, creative director and chief executive of arguably Denmark's largest fashion brand, Sand. "I don't know why. The Germans like their German brands and the Swedish like their Swedish brands but the Danes - of course they like the Danish brands, but they are quite well oriented with what is happening in the world. It's the same story here in Denmark as around the world. You don't know which town you're in because its always the same with the same shops with the same assortment."

That doesn't mean the local Danish fashion industry is suffering; it's actually doing quite well. And it is succeeding by emulating how the rest of the fashion world does business. It's hardly surprising, given Denmark's small population of just 5.5 million people, that the country's fashion designers are focused on exports. Exports account for 57 per cent of the Danish fashion industry's output and they're growing. At the conclusion of Copenhagen Fashion Week last month, Dansk Fashion and Textile, the trade association for Danish textile and clothing companies, announced that exports of Danish fashion had increased 2.6 per cent for the first five months of this year to DKK9.2 billion ($1.7 billion) and the industry body expects Denmark's fashion business to grow 3 per cent for the year, thanks in large part to government-backed export credits.

None of this is news to the founders of Sand. Sand was launched by Soren Sand and his wife Lene in Randers on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark with a menswear line in 1989; womenswear followed in 1991. The label is well known in Denmark for its mix of sleek, Danish design combined with the finest Italian fabrics. Its collections feature finely constructed tailoring and sportswear with slim silhouettes in a signature use of colours and unique fabrics. "Our inspiration is to create favourite items of clothing for people that are elegant and approachable," says Sand.

The brand offers three distinct ranges: there's the colourful Pink label, the more subdued and tailored Black label and the showier Red Carpet collection. Sand and his wife oversee every detail of the business and design all the collections from their villa on Lake Como in Italy, where they are now based to be closer to the source of their fabric suppliers. The label is a favourite of Crown Princess Mary (who is known to personally shop in the company's Copenhagen flagship store) and while Sand says it is important that the company stays true to its Danish roots, it is primarily an export business.

"It is important to us that we stay a part of the Danish fashion scene," Sand told WISH in the brand's press showroom in Copenhagen minutes after getting off a flight from one of the company's international markets. "But being present in 32 markets, all requiring our attention, it often ends up being a question of priorities. The home market is simply too small to base your business on and, if you start a new company in Denmark today, it is necessary to think globally from day one. In countries like France, England and Italy with 50 to 60 million inhabitants, you can have a much better start as there are many more potential customers and room for grand gestures."

The biggest market for Sand today, however, and one where grand gestures are not just possible but mandatory if you want to make an impact, is the US. Not only is it the biggest market for Sand, it has become so in just a few years. "We started in Canada five years ago and the US 31/2 years ago and in these 31/2 years we have developed 120 premium wholesale customers," says Sand.

Together with the 65 stockists Sand has in Canada, the company has a 185 strong roll call of North American retailers selling the Sand brand including 39 Saks Fifth Avenue stores. Sand's distributor in the US is Triluxe, which was founded by Al Israel, Dennis Sartori and Rian Gardiner in 2000 and which places the brand in good hands to steer it towards being a household name. Triluxe is known for scouting emerging brands from around the world and turning them into retail behemoths in the US; Israel is credited with growing the Valentino and Giorgio Armani businesses in Canada and the US.

"All of this means I now have to spend a lot more time in the US," says Sand. "So far the Americans love the brand and when you can tell the story about the product and the people behind the brand, where it is made, the fabrics and the details, it really makes a difference."

In Saks Fifth Avenue, Sand is displayed alongside premium, well-known brands such as Paul Smith, John Varvatos and Dolce & Gabbana.

Another important export market for Sand is Australia. The brand has been present in the Australian market for a few years but recently signed a deal with department store David Jones to roll out shops-in-shops to cater for one of the biggest growth sectors of the fashion industry, fashion-conscious men. Sand's menswear sales account for 65 per cent of the business. David Jones's general manager of menswear Deborah Foreman says, "Our Sand customer is primarily a fashion-savvy male between 25 and 40 years old who understands fashion and style." What appeals to these men, according to Foreman, is that "Sand offers a point of difference to our brand offer through its European expression of colour and a unique blend of tailoring and sportswear," she says. "Sand also offers great attention to detail with its product finish and quality ... the distinctive red carpet and cocktail range is a growing segment in our business."

"Our goal was to have a global household name with a focus on the US, Australia and Europe," says Sand. "We are not that much in the Far East and we are not much in China. Europe is a difficult market at the moment so we are concentrating on key markets such as Australia and the US where we see a lot of potential for growth. You need a strong partner in China and the problem is they also want to produce our product and it is important to us that we stay made in Europe. We are Scandinavian and it's all about design and quality in Scandinavia. Those are our roots and that will never change, but we also love the sartorial values in Italy and they way they do tailoring; we are really bringing the two worlds together."