Lifting The Lid On Her Fashion Box With Founder, Kath Purkis

I caught up with Sydney-based fashion entrepreneur Kath Purkis, the force behind subscription-based retailing concept Her Fashion Box and clothing e-tailer, Le Black Book. If you’ve missed it on social media, HFB is an exciting concept that delivers an ever-changing box of goodies (cosmetics, jewellery and accessories) to your door every month. With an almost cult-like following on Instagram, and big plans in the pipeline, HFB and Kath are exciting “ones to watch”!

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BWA: You’re the boss lady at two very exciting fashion e-businesses (Le Black Book and Her Fashion Box.) Could you give us a little more detail about what both businesses are all about?

KATH: Le Black Book was my first online fashion business which I started at 21 years old. LBB focuses on fast fashion for the time-poor girl on the go. We also stock a range of Australian Designer brands. My latest business which takes up 100% of my time is Her Fashion Box, a global fashion subscription service which ships thousands of boxes out each month. HFB is an exciting business as we put together a monthly fashion box filled with on-trend fashion accessories & beauty goodies we love. We also make a monthly HFB magazine which features in the box & do a editorial shoot with the accessories.

BWA: How did you become a fashion entrepreneur? Was it always on your to-do list?

KATH: Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to have my own business, starting my first business at 21 years old. I was working for an Australian Fashion Designer at 18 years old & always passionate about fashion. Something stronger than my passion for fashion is my love of technology particularly anything related to online retail. With HFB I do the fashion buying each month with the team & have always had my own style & an eye for what other women will love.

BWA: How do you manage your workload, running two rather large businesses in such a fast-moving industry?

KATH: I have an amazing team who I work with & they have become more like family. Being in the start-up phase of a business in the first year is really tough & it’s rewarding seeing the team grow as the business grows. Having a great team means I can focus on what I’m great at & know that they are also kicking goals at the same time.

BWA: Who constitutes your main customer across both businesses?

KATH: Our customers are young women 18-40 who LOVE fashion & beauty. We’ve found our Her Fashion Box customer loves the monthly subscription box surprise & something to look forward to each month. We take out the guesswork of accessorizing each month & become your own secret stylist.

BWA: What is your motto in life?

KATH: Be passionate about what you do & enjoy each day! I’m a strong believer that if you follow your passions, you will be incredibly successful.

BWA: Who, and or what are your major inspirations?

KATH: I take inspiration from everyone around me & I’m a sucker for a great calligraphy inspirational start-up quote. My partner also inspires me every day in more ways than I thought was possible.

BWA: What would be your perfect day?

KATH: Driving to Palm Beach for the day & having breakfast at The Boathouse overlooking the peaceful water followed by a walk to the lighthouse & paddle boarding in the afternoon. I enjoy the little things & love to unwind when I can.

BWA: What do you see as being the biggest challenge in your industry or sector?

KATH: There are always challenges in any business but I’ve found that staying ahead of the pack is really important. We love to innovate here at HFB & create something unique for our subscribers. We’ve also just expanded into a monthly fashion collection of on-trend dresses, blazers, shorts & tops fashion to complement our HFB box accessories.

MORE: BWA CHATS TO KATIE PRATT, ELLIATT

BWA: Where do you see Her Fashion Box going in 2015 and beyond?

KATH: We want to scale out our monthly fashion subscription box & fashion collection globally to a larger audience. We have other box verticals in the works behind the scenes & want to grow our fashion e-tail offering to a monthly fashion collection of 400 styles.

BWA: Where do you see fashion e-tailing going in 2015 and beyond?

KATH: Subscription fashion is my bet right now combined with a strong fashion e-tail site! If you can excite, inspire & make your customers happy then you are onto a winner. That’s our ultimate goal here at HFB.

BWA: 10 things you cannot live without

KATH: My iPhone, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, the HFB team, Hom Yoga, My Macbook Air, Skinphysics Light Lamp, Instagram, Gelato Messina, The Beauty Chef Glow Powder & my HFB accessories!

Make sure you check out Kath’s websites here: Her Fashion Box and here: Le Black Book 

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14 Comments

  • Reply Rochelle Thursday 19th May, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    Kath Purkis is only good at self promotion. Her companies are a scam. She has no idea how to run a company. You can read all about it here: http://www.productreview.com.au/p/her-fashion-box.html

  • Reply tessabella Tuesday 9th February, 2016 at 10:24 pm

    HER FASHION BOX – BEWARE

    Late last year I subscribed to a Her Fashion Box subscription fashion box service – for $39.95 per month I was promised to receive a monthly box of fashion accessories and beauty products. And that’s where the fun began.

    No boxes turned up. Contact to the company is either ignored or a generic “your box is currently being packed and will be posted at the end of this week” email- it was never posted. I cancelled my subscription and still got charged. Enquiries to their facebook page are hidden or deleted.

    I’m still trying to get my money back, but more importantly I don’t want anyone else to fall prey to their unscrupulous business practices. As such I have set up the facebook page below. If you have had any dealings with Her Fashion Box please go to the page and comment.

    https://www.facebook.com/herfashionboxdonotsubscribe/

    Had problems with Her Fashion Box? Not received paid for boxes? Charged for a subscription that you cancelled? Have your enquiries to the company been ignore or you have received the “your boxes are being packed and will be sent at the end of the week” line? Have your comments been deleted or hidden? Please go to https://www.facebook.com/herfashionboxdonotsubscribe/ a page that we have set up to collate all the issues that customers have had with HFB, to pass on to the ACCC and Consumer Affairs to prevent future customers losing money also.

  • Reply xlilda Friday 7th November, 2014 at 8:56 am

    Was fortunate to win a box to try! Loved it. It was very good value. It’s just a bit tough to fork out $40 a month for a student. This is a very inspiring lady though. I really enjoyed this article!

  • Reply Isabeau Monday 3rd November, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    Ooh I love the look of that box!

  • Reply lovelyloves Monday 3rd November, 2014 at 7:58 am

    My only problem with signing up to these subscriptions is that I can already see I won’t be using at least half of the products so it’s really a waste

  • Reply pascaline Saturday 1st November, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    Need to try it, I heard about it a while ago and forgot all about it until now. #maison Blanche

  • Reply thevet Saturday 1st November, 2014 at 8:30 pm

    Can I be her! ? Love the floral dress pictured.

  • Reply Sparkles17 Friday 31st October, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    What a fun job!

  • Reply lovelyloves Friday 31st October, 2014 at 11:31 am

    I’m checking out her websites!
    And I agree with Messina! Yummy!!

  • Reply fashiongrill Friday 31st October, 2014 at 10:40 am

    Her Fashion Box is amazing! Getting introduced to new products is amazing – they have such great variety as well.

    Would love to win a Maison Candle as well … really feeling the nectarine + mint 🙂

    xx Raquel

    http://www.fashiongrillblog.com

  • Reply amanda6393 Friday 31st October, 2014 at 10:05 am

    Sounds like one smart lady!

  • Reply Whatthe Thursday 30th October, 2014 at 1:36 pm

    Makes me want to join up to HFB!

  • Reply candicelee22 Wednesday 29th October, 2014 at 1:37 pm

    Very sweet

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