Jen Kluger and Suzie Orol founded Foxy Originals jewellery in 1998 based on the belief that fashion should be fun, bright and affordable.
The pair met while studying at the University of Western Ontario and set out to build a company with a vision: to make high-style fashion jewellery accessible to everyone. At first, they sold a modest line of jewellery on campus, and in the summer at outdoor festivals and concerts.
Foxy Originals experienced its breakthrough in the summer of 2006. “We found out Paris Hilton was going to be in Toronto, and we had a friend working in the green room at MuchMusic give her a package, not knowing if she'd ever get it,” Ms. Orol says.
A week later, their e-mail inbox was flooded with reports from Foxy customers that a photograph of Ms. Hilton in the U.S. celebrity gossip magazine In Touch showed her wearing their “Lilith” earrings.
Since 2003, the pair have been pursuing their passion for jewellery full time.
When they are not busy designing a new line, Ms. Kluger and Ms. Orol focus on promoting Foxy in new markets. Today, Foxy is sold in hundreds of stores across Canada and the United Sates and is quickly expanding beyond North America.
Ms. Kluger and Ms. Orol joined us to discuss their breakthrough.
Dianne Nice: Jen and Suzie, thank you for joining us today. You've had great success getting your jewellery into the media spotlight and onto the earlobes of a variety of celebrities, which has in turn led to even greater exposure for your product. If you could choose any celebrity to endorse your jewellery, who would it be and why?
Jen Kluger: Hi Dianne. It's a pleasure to be the subject of today's discussion. A celebrity that we would love to see sporting Foxy is Leslie Feist, the voice of the band Feist and an awesome member of Broken Social Scene. Feist is an iconic Canadian female. We like her style, her voice and we are so impressed with the global heights to which she has taken her career. It would be ideal to see Feist wearing Foxy while performing in Japan or Paris.
Dianne Nice: How and where have you advertised your product?
Jen Kluger: Our strategy in this area has always been focused on public relations rather than advertising. We started meeting with magazine editors to show them our jewellery collections from the very beginning. We are now in a very fortunate situation where many Canadian style editors come to us when they are in need of a spread that includes jewellery. Also, we have a publicist in New York who represents our line. Through this relationship, our jewellery has received placements in many of the top U.S. fashion publications. Just recently, we have started to advertise in trade publications that target store owners. This has been quite successful. We track our wholesale inquiries and can determine the number of buyers that order because of the advertisements. Instead of placing small ads often, we place full-page ads occasionally as we believe a full-page ad has much more impact and gives us a better ability to represent our product line.
C Taylor from Montreal writes: Hi there. How important are trade shows to your success? Do you participate in both Canada and the United States? What other forms of networking do you suggest for someone who makes accessory items in Canada? Best wishes from Montreal.
Suzie Orol: Hi, C Taylor. Thank you for your questions. Trade Shows are extremely important to our business. We launched our very first full collection of jewellery at a Toronto based Trade Show in 2003. Since then, we have been exhibiting at trade shows in both Canada and the U.S. on a regular basis. Before we decided to exhibit in any new trade show, we always walked the shows and made sure that it was the right market for us. There is a huge variety of accessory trade shows in the U.S. and you want to make sure that you are investing in the right show to market and sell your accessories. Another form of selling your accessories would be through sales reps. We have a team of sales reps in the U.S. who are able to visit our retailers and exhibit at shows on behalf of Foxy. Sales reps are great because they only make commission on actual orders. If they make a sale, they get a commission. They also are usually located closer to their sales territories than you, so you are making it easier for them to provide good customer service to your accounts. Hope this answers your questions! Good luck with your business!
