Dotti's online revolution

6 April 2010

High street fashion brand Dotti has joined the online revolution with plans to launch a new interactive website. Set to go live on April 14 at www.dotti.com.au, the site will feature Facebook Connect, Dotti Nation, Design-a-Bits, an editorial section, blogs and a revamped product section.

A Dotti spokesperson described the site as a'fashion Mecca all about clothes' and a thriving fashion community.The Facebook Connect feature would encourage Dotti fans to comment on and interact with various sections of the overall website, while Dotti Nation would allow them to upload images of themselves and their friends in their own style of clothing.  With fans then encouraged to vote and comment on the images through Facebook Connect, there would be regular prize winners in this section.  Select Dotti stores would also offer in store iPhones so Dotti fans could upload images to the website while shopping.

Meanwhile, created to encourage and nurture design talent, the Design-a-bits section allowed fledgling designers to upload their concepts to the website in any medium, including sketches, photography or collage, with designs then voted on by Dotti fans and the top selection judged by a panel at Dotti HQ for the overall winner.  Winning designs would then be produced and sold in stores.

The Dotti Bloggers Daily would see guest bloggers creating new content daily, while an editorial section would provide magazine style content for the site. An online store was also planned for launch later this year.

The new site promises to give Dotti a brand boost just weeks after parent company Premier Investments announced mixed results for its Just Group fashion group, which includes Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Jay Jays, Dotti and Smiggle. On March 22 Premier posted a 13.7 per cent drop in first-half profit to $42 million for the 27 weeks to January 30, as revenue rose 6.3 per cent to $484 million.

Just Group recorded a 7.7 per cent rise in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to $60.3 million, with pre-tax profit up 12.3 per cent to $56.3 million. Like-for-like sales at Portmans dropped 18.5 per cent against a fall of 13.4 per cent in the first half of 2009. A tough womenswear market and a decline in consumer sentiment also hit Jacqui E, with a 6.9 per cent drop in sales. Combined, the two brands account for more than 20 per cent of Just Group's 1002 stores and 20 per cent of its first-half sales.

 

 

Have your say