Witchery rebrand draws mixed response from consumers

But Petropoulos promises that this doesn’t necessarily mean prices will rise. “We see ourselves as a bridge brand to Australian designers… our price points need to reflect that,” she says.

Why is there such strong opposition?

Heritage brands like Witchery have very loyal customers, so “repositioning,” as Petropoulos puts it, is a big deal.

Over the weekend, some of the new pieces from head designer Kirby Hanrahan began to appear on Instagram, and they quickly became popular. The most talked-about piece was a black bubble skirt—with comments ranging from “amazing!” to accusations of being too trendy.

Hanrahan agrees that the bubble skirt is one of the more trend-driven pieces in the new collection, but she says it was intentionally designed with an elastic waistband so it can become a wardrobe classic. “It’s a sentimental piece, but fashion is like that,” she said. “It’s a little playful and fun.”

Has the size of Witchery changed?

Not exactly. Most of the criticism of the launch has focused on the brand’s new sizing strategy, primarily the elimination of size 20, which Petropoulos said was made after “careful consideration” of sales and customer feedback. She added that a full review of the size range was conducted to ensure greater consistency between styles, as well as more “loose” sizing for sizes 10 and above.

“Inclusivity is really important – we’re one of the few brands in our category that offers a wide range of sizes in our main collection,” she says.

In response to claims that the brand was abandoning its fuller-figured customers, the company uploaded several posts on social media showing a medium-sized model and explaining the size changes.

But is it all too late?

Marian Makkar, a senior lecturer in marketing at RMIT University, said the Witchery example showed that “tease” of a major business change could sometimes backfire because it was easy for critics to point the finger at one factor.

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Makkar also questioned brands’ decision to remove social media as a tool to announce change. She said longtime customers rightfully felt brands were suddenly “ashamed of something we’ve loved our whole lives.”

“If you delete (social media), it shows you’re ashamed of it,” she said. “Rebranding is about communicating a new vision and purpose. If a brand no longer lives up to its original vision, it can be a good idea. But it can be quite risky.”

What’s next for Witchery?

Petropoulos urged customers to give the “bold awakening” time. She compared Witchery’s rebirth to that of its sister brand, Country Road, which took about four years. “We’ve been intentional about returning to our heritage, including staying current with trends,” she said.

Size controversy aside, the relaunch is resonating with customers; Petropoulos said early sales are up 41% over initial forecasts. “It takes time to make this work, the quality needs to be good, the supply chain needs to be good.”

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