By Susan Edmunds of RNZ

Women’s clothing brand Augustine’s decision to pull back from bigger sizes is a sensible compromise to find efficiencies, one retail expert says.

Founder Kelly Coe told her followers she will only offer sizes 8 to 16 in future.

She said over the 18 years she had been in the retail industry she had designed and produced thousands of styles “and over the years have tried to cater to everyone”.

“I wanted to be here for every single NZ woman who loves clothes, and I gave that a damn good shot. But the truth is, I am just one designer, who owns a small NZ business and I can’t please everyone and I can’t cater to all of you. So it has come to a point where we decided not to.”

The brand previously offered Stella Royal, a range that went to size 22. It ended that line and extended its other items to size 20 but recent collections have only run to size 16.

“We tried for years to dress our curvy babes and in the end we just get left with so much stock that ends up in our outlet store, it’s just not sustainable,” Coe wrote.

Retail expert Chris Wilkinson said the decision helps prevent profit leakages and maintain sustainability. Photo / 123rf

“I know sometimes online it looks like the larger sizes have sold out but usually that’s because we only had a few to start with in that size. Also when we order seven or eight sizes instead of five, our minimums to our factory double, [it is] creating way too much of one style. Our bestselling sizes are 8 to 16 so as a business decision we have decided to only do these sizes.”

It has been a topic of discussion among Augustine fans online.

“This is genuinely upsetting and disappointing. It’s not about expecting you to please everyone, but about the sadness of no longer feeling included after being loyal customers for so long,” one wrote.

“I have been trying hard to continue supporting NZ businesses, which makes this feel even harder.”

Another said she wore Augustine clothes almost every day.

“It helped me feel safe after breast cancer and treatment, confident in new jobs and blessed me with new friends. That’s pretty amazing thing for ‘just’ a piece of clothing to do, and I am so grateful to you for that. And while I completely accept and understand your business decision, I feel a sense of grief for what I have lost.”

Retail expert Chris Wilkinson said the decision makes sense.

“This is a situation that plays out for all clothing brands in terms of needing to find efficiencies and stop profit leakages to remain sustainable. It’s probably been more visible in Augustine’s case because the brand does have such a strong following, some of their loyal customers will be upset that they won’t be able to continue buying the product.

“Augustine’s bright colourways and contemporary styles have a distinct following and there are few comparatives, meaning the faithful outside of the core size ranges will have to consider options not necessarily with the same vibrancy and styling that they have loved.

“While understandably challenging for some people, it’s better they make this move now before slow moving lines compromise its ability to continue supporting the needs of the majority of its customers.”

He said making a range of sizes could be more expensive.

“It adds complexity as suppliers need to set up for each size and will likely have minimum order requirements. If they don’t reach those, then the products will be more expensive, which the supplier either has to absorb or charge extra for – a situation that would surely compromise goodwill.”

Some customers questioned what they should do with gift vouchers if there were not likely to be any new garments in their size.

Consumer NZ said they would not have many options.

“They may be able to sell their vouchers to someone else or see if the business is willing to provide a refund.”

Plus-size writer and influencer Meagan Kerr said the retail environment was tough for many brands.

She said there seemed to be a wider shift away from earlier efforts by brands in New Zealand and around the world to be more inclusive.

Kerr said if the most popular sizes were 8 to 16, it could be because of how they were marketed.

“There will be a lot of people who are really sad because people who like their brand really like their brand. They’ve got a lot of people who are brand advocates so if they make clothes that are your style and you don’t know where to find an alternative now that they’re not making them, I can understand why people would be upset about that.”

Augustine has been approached for comment.

– RNZ