Pacific Fair’s Venus & Apollon was recently named AMP Capital Shopping Centres fashion retailer of 2009.
The Gold Coast store was announced the winner after viewers voted for their favourite retailer via phone and SMS during the Australian Fashion Design Awards telecast.
“We have been trading for the past seven years at Pacific Fair and we are very proud of our designers. But the other competitors in the event were mainly big companies and everyone knows them so I wasn’t sure how we would go,” said Venus & Apollon director Hiro Suita.
In Japan, Venus & Apollon is a thriving family business with 12 stores. Its only store in Australia, at Pacific Fair, sells a range of big-name labels in clothing, shoes and accessories.
The Fashion Retailer of the Year competition, part of the recent AMP Capital Shopping Centres’ Australian Fashion Design Festival, was run in six AMP Capital shopping centres across Australia during March 2009, with each centre announcing one winner to contest the national title.
Customers were invited to vote for their favourite retailer, with the winning retailer from each of the participating centres showcasing their garments in a retailer segment at the awards telecast.
Hiro believes the attention to detail by his wife Miya, the buyer and stylist for the business, contributed to the national win.
“She thought over and over about what would look best on the runway for the competition,” he says. “We did two short evening dress and two long dresses, using four models.”
Along with the title, the couple have won a trip for two to visit some of the world’s leading retail centres, valued at up to $15,000.