With locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, Harli + Harpa has opened 18 stores and positioned itself as an intriguing competitor for market leader Lovisa.
The connections between Harli + Harpa and Lovisa extend beyond selling fashion jewellery at similar retail prices.
Harli + Harpa was founded by Shane Fallscheer, who served as CEO of Lovisa for 12 years. Cass Fuller was appointed the brand’s CEO in September and is also a former employee of Lovisa.
In an interview, Fallscheer discussed his decision to launch the brand and suggested that witnessing the success of many different brands was the overarching inspiration.
“I was just seeing all these fashion jewellery brands turning up at birthdays,” Fallscheer told the Australian Financial Review.
“As a retailer, you’re constantly looking at the brands that people are buying each other, and people were either buying semi-precious or fashion jewellery from brands that were either offshore or online. I saw the opportunity to bring that into the shopping mall.”
He added: “We have a small team, everyone is paddling hard. I haven’t actually started and ran my own business, and that’s probably something I wanted to achieve. I enjoy the conceptualisation of a brand, building out the product and bringing something to life.”
According to the report, the brand’s jewellery is sourced from China, India, Thailand, and Italy. Prices range from $20 to $200.
Fallscheer also drew attention to brands such as Mejuri, founded in 2013, and Missoma, founded in 2008, and said that while not every product has been popular, he’s pleased with the feedback received thus far.
“I deliberately opened 20 stores because I needed to get some economies of scale early, and then from here, it’s really just about the right opportunities and the right centres at the right time,” he said.
“I’d be surprised if I don’t do the same number of stores this year. But it won’t be the same with the same frenetic pace of opening them all at once.”
By way of comparison, Lovisa currently operates more than 900 stores worldwide and, in the past financial year, reported a 17 per cent increase in revenue.
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