Launa Inman, a seasoned retail leader, is once again at the helm of transformation, this time reshaping the Melbourne Fashion Festival. Her journey to this point has been one of perseverance and strategic insight, marked by significant achievements in the retail sector. Inman’s career began with a challenging move to Australia, where she navigated the complexities of immigration and employment.
“It was so stressful,” Inman recalls of her early days in Australia. “In those days they didn’t really have work visas. You had to be a permanent resident, and to become a permanent resident you had to have a job, but you couldn’t get a job without residency.” This catch-22 situation did not deter her. After a series of interviews, she joined Big W, diving into the world of big-box retail.
From Big W to Target: A Retail Revolution
Inman describes her time at Big W as a “baptism of fire,” where she learned the intricacies of price and volume-driven retail. “It’s all about price, all about volume, and that circularity, that the more you sell, the more you can produce and you can lower the price,” she explains. Despite her initial reservations about discount retail, Inman walked away with invaluable lessons that she later applied throughout her career.
Her next major role was at Target, where she was brought in during a turbulent period for the company. “Walking around Target’s stores at the time, I saw they were overstocked,” Inman says, noting that the business was not making necessary markdowns to preserve profit. Her strategic interventions helped turn Target around from a $32 million loss to a $54 million profit in just 18 months, a transformation she describes as “incredible.”
Leadership at Officeworks and Return to Target
Inman’s career trajectory continued upward as she took on the role of chief executive at Officeworks, where she spearheaded a significant shift into technology sales. Her return to Target as chief executive marked another chapter of transformation, with a renewed focus on children’s wear, a key traffic driver for the business. “It didn’t matter whether you earned $50,000 a year or $120,000 a year, you came to Target for children’s wear,” she notes.
Inman’s philosophy of gradual change and focus on core strengths was evident during her time at Target. “You can’t change a business at one time, you have to work at it,” she says. “An elephant, no matter how big they are, they can still only take one mouthful at a time.” Her strategy included introducing collaborations with renowned fashion designers like Stella McCartney and Dion Lee, making fashion accessible to all.
Challenges and Opportunities at the Melbourne Fashion Festival
Now, as chair of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, Inman faces a new set of challenges. The festival recently reported a loss of $711,390, with revenue dropping from $5.75 million to $4.57 million for the 2024 financial year. “I took over as chair during COVID,” Inman explains. “That was also challenging. I always get these challenging situations.” Despite these hurdles, she is proud that the festival continued to put on a show each year, even during the pandemic.
Looking forward, Inman is excited about the festival’s 30th anniversary and the opportunity to host Nepalese-American fashion designer Prabal Gurung. She emphasizes the economic significance of the fashion industry, noting that in Victoria alone, it turns over about $8.5 billion annually. “That’s a lot of money,” she says. “We export more fashion and textiles than we do beer and wine.”
Critique of Fast Fashion and Future Vision
Inman is outspoken about the impact of fast fashion on the industry, criticizing companies like Temu and Shein for their lack of transparency and contribution to the local economy. “They bring in planeloads every single night,” she says, pointing out the absence of duties and taxes that these giants pay in other countries like the United States. “Any other retailer has to have very clear criteria of no slavery, strong quality control, no children working under an agreed age. They don’t have any of those criteria.”
For Inman, promoting fashion is not just about aesthetics but also about business acumen and purpose. “You can’t just say it’s beautiful fashion,” she asserts. “There has to be a purpose, an end game to it.” As the Melbourne Fashion Festival continues until February 28, Inman’s leadership promises a blend of style and strategic foresight, setting the stage for a revitalized future in Australian fashion.
