Start Small, Stand Tall

Rouge Living has been around for just three years but thanks to a strong vision and dynamic team, it’s making a big impression, writes Rebecca Spicer

They’ve got one of the best stands at GHA’s trade fairs (and have the awards to prove it), yet Rouge Living is a relative newcomer to the gift and homewares industry.

The company officially launched its brand at the 2004 September Trade Fair, and so impressive was their stand, people kept asking the founders if they’d bought the distribution rights of another company. This was the response they wanted. "We got a stand-builder and launched with a custom-built stand. We didn’t want to look like we were new, we wanted to look like an established business," explains co-founder Tara Jarrett.

Tara and Evelyn Bourel actually started the business in 2003, but spent most of the first year researching the market, travelling to Europe to source product and suppliers, as well as establishing the brand.

"The main thing we wanted was a brand that had a European feel," says Tara. Hence the name Rouge. "We wanted a French word that Australians could actually pronounce, which had a luxurious sound to it as well. And we love the colour red, so it’s our signature colour.

"We also wanted a range of products that had an elegant feel, a European feel and a really beautiful, luxurious feel, but not over-the-top expensive. One of our catchcries is ‘affordable elegance’ which we feel we do really well."

When researching the market Tara and Evelyn were disappointed in the lack of variety, and believed sourcing quality product from Europe would give them a point of difference.

Prior to the launch of Rouge, Evelyn travelled extensively through Europe and lived in Paris for some time, so the contacts she made while there, especially in France and Greece, were a good starting point. "So we already had contacts through Evelyn, and basically we just expanded on those," says Tara. "We just went overseas and sought product we liked and then figured out how we could do it, and how we could keep it affordable."

The duo wanted Rouge to appeal to a broad range of consumers, so are constantly expanding the product range, which now includes everything from gift-wrapping to homewares, soft furnishings and lighting. Tara and Evelyn also design a lot of their own products, and either have them made overseas or import the fabrics for final manufacture in Australia.

"Our customer is everything from a florist through to a children’s store, through to the bigger stores such as Myer and Adairs, so it really is quite diverse," says Tara. The goal was to offer a range of products that would appeal to almost anyone. "So that for everyone who walks passed our stand, there is something for them to actually look at, something they could be interested in.

"One of the things we do pride ourselves on is we do supply everyone from Mrs Smith that puts in a $300 order to someone who puts in an order for tens of thousands of dollars."

The key to consistency, then, is in the branding, Tara explains. Rather than import other brands, the essential component of the business model was to create a brand, not just to sell product, "and to build a business that one day was going to be worth a lot of money and be a nationally and internationally recognised brand.

"Everything has to have the same feel, whether it’s our website or catalogue, we’re really conscious of being really true to the branding and it always has to have that same sort of elegant and luxurious feel no matter what we’re presenting. Even if it’s a small brochure or a card inviting people to the trade fair, it’s still always got that same Rouge Living feel."

Team Rouge

Tara and Evelyn come from vastly different backgrounds so their skill-set is diverse and the pair complements each other in the business. Evelyn is a professional photographer by trade—the friends actually met when Evelyn took the photos at Tara’s wedding—and Tara operated her own business in the fitness industry for 12 years, while also dabbling in property development and designing renovation projects with her husband.

"We’ve both got strong design ideas, which are very similar, but our strengths in terms of the business are very different," explains Tara. "I’m probably more involved in the business strategy aspect of it and Evelyn is more involved in direct sales and the creative aspects. We don’t cross over, we both have our specific roles in the business and it works really nicely. And we get along well, too, which helps," she laughs.

Another major advantage to the business has been Evelyn’s ability to speak both French and Greek, which has helped in fostering good relationships with overseas suppliers. "It isn’t essential we speak their language but it certainly helps, especially with the Greek suppliers, they seem happier to deal with us because Evelyn speaks their language."

But the road to making Rouge a success hasn’t all been smooth sailing and winning awards. "We’ve certainly learned along the way, we’ve made a lot of mistakes as well as had a lot of successes," admits Tara. "If people think it’ll be all very glamorous to start an importing and wholesaling business, they’ve really got to do their homework.

"I think the hardest thing for us to learn was to get our price points right. Working out exactly what product people are after. What we think will work and what really works is often a bit of a hit and miss, and we’ve developed that a lot better as time goes on. It’s probably taken us three years to work out exactly what the market wants."