Just eight years ago, Storm founder Deborah Caldwell identified what she saw as a huge opportunity in the New Zealand market. Her vision was a fashion brand that bridged the gap between chain store and designer. “On trend pieces, with new styles arriving every week, at prices that you don’t have to sell a kidney to afford.”
Deborah Caldwell's vision was to create a brand which
produced on trend pieces without the designer price tag.
Today, Storm is a shining light in an intermittently gloomy fashion retail sector, with same-store sales up 27% across Storm’s nine New Zealand boutiques.
This July, they are taking a leap across the ditch to open their first Australian boutique in Melbourne’s Chapel Street.
Storm’s design philosophy – on trend, with a classic longevity – ensures a broad appeal and will resonate with the Australian fashion landscape.
With so many Australian fashion brands in the New Zealand market, it seems audacious to take them on at their own game. Caldwell isn’t fazed. “There’s no point opening in Australia and wondering whether it will work. It will work – I don’t think any other way!”