Online retailers debut on Young Rich List

Internet Retailing

24th Oct 2017

Online fashion powerhouses Jane Lu and Julie Stevanja are among the 100 young Australians on this year’s ‘Young Rich’ list, which will be published in The Australian Financial Review this Friday.

The CEOs of Showpo and Stylerunner, respectively, have turned their startups into $32 million and $30 million businesses in a handful of years.

While Stylerunner specialises in fashion-forward athletic and athleisure wear, and Showpo in women’s clothing, shoes and accessories, both have leveraged the power of social media to build and convert loyal followers.

The two e-commerce businesses employ dozens of staff and ship orders to customers not just in Australia, but around the world.

Speaking to the AFR, Lu said data has played an important role in Showpo’s rapid growth.

“Even in our production and design team, understanding what’s selling and what’s worked in the past, as well as predicting the future, is really important,” she said.

Showpo has recently taken a more proactive approach to its overseas growth, retaining a US-based PR team, securing a US warehouse and tasking a buyer to split time between Sydney and Los Angeles.

The company held an official launch party in Hollywood in September.