Calgary-based fashion retailer SophieGrace recently received an unexpected personal endorsement from Hollywood star Eva Longoria.
The celebrity posted a short video on her social media describing her purchase of clothing from the Calgary brand, which was officially launched in 2020 by Emma May.
And the endorsement couldn’t have come at a better time as May looks to expand the brand into the U.S. market.
“It’s just this incredible reinforcement of what we’re doing. What was cool about it is she bought from an Instagram ad. We did not approach her. We had no contact with her. She saw our products online. And she bought it. And when she received it, she liked it and she decided to make a post about it,” said May.
“We weren’t expecting it. We didn’t know it was going to happen. And then you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is so cool’. We saw her order come through.”
The brand has showrooms in Calgary and Vancouver but May said the focus and strategy from day one has been online.
“I knew that my customer was sort of a type of woman as opposed to regional. Whether she’s living in Atlanta, Georgia, or Calgary, or Toronto, or New York, she’s someone who’s professional and needs to look pulled together for the office,” said May.
“Basically, we are a brand that caters to professional women and we give them mix and match really comfortable separates that create easy solutions for suiting. We really focus a lot on monochromatics so that our colour palettes match really perfectly all the time so you can pull together something that’s really easy and comfortable. All of our products right now are machine washable. So even the blazers and the pants, everything is like super comfortable, stretchy. You feel good in it, but it looks really elevated and elegant.”
The brand is worn by a few CNN anchors, such as Abby Phillip, as well as commentator Rachael Segal and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
“Our customer list is actually pretty impressive,” said May.
“What we found is that about 20 per cent of our customers are in the American market and they’re all over the U.S. It’s Alabama, Mississippi, New York, LA, San Francisco, Seattle. You name it. So we don’t really have a specific geographic location we cater to but it’s definitely a type of woman.
“She’s usually sort of like 40 and over. She’s got a professional workplace thing and she wants stuff that lets her feel super comfortable and pulled together in the flash of an eye. The plan is really for us to expand into the U.S. market because what we’re finding is that our U.S. customer spends a lot more money and she is coming back to us at the same rate as our other customers.
“So we’ve got about a 40 to 45 per cent repeat customer rate. Our customers come back to us on repeat and then we’ve got about five per cent of our customers who basically have bought the entire collection, everything that we do. We have a repeat customer stat that’s actually akin to menswear. It’s not something that’s actually found a ton in the womenswear space. So we’re really lucky in terms of that, but I think it’s because we’re really catering to a very specific demo.”
May said the brand’s opportunity in the U. S. is huge.
“It’s important for Canadian exporters to get down here to get a handle on this market to understand what’s going on. Americans love Canadian brands. They love lululemon. They love Aritzia. They love Canada Goose. We have a very successful track record in the US and there’s no reason why our company can’t follow that path.”
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