As I roamed around Surf Expo, I asked a few female buyers what caught their eye. Maaji seemed to be a brand at the top of the list.
I sat down with Kelly Ellingson, the VP Sales and Marketing for Maaji North America to talk about the brand’s growth and new developments, including Maaji’s new lingerie line.
Maaji braletteA Maaji bralette, which works well as a layering piece
Before we talked about business, Kelly reminded me of the brand’s history and how she came on board. Manuela and Amalia Sierra, both from Colombia, started Maaji in 2002 in their home country. The sisters grew up in an entrepreneurial family and both traveled and studied abroad.
When they came back to Colombia they launched Maaji in Medellin, Colombia, which is where the headquarters are today. The brand started with just swimwear, all made in Columbia, not in China, with most designed with two-ply Lycra. The suits have a handcrafted feel.
Kelly joined Maaji last September of 2012. She was formerly in charge of West Coast sales for Quiksilver women, then went on to become a VP of Sales and Marketing at VIX Swimwear. She met the ladies behind Maaji at a trade show and admired their work. Kelly brought on a full team for North America including Jen Rannie who sells Maaji in Canada, Tandi South who covers the West Coast, and she also hired a rep in Hawaii, the Midwest, the southeast, and in Puerto Rico.
Surf Expo ineThe Maaji lingerie line at Surf Expo
Maaji sells in 45 countries and in 300 plus locations, including South Africa and Russia. Since last year, Kelly said Maaji has tripled sales in North America. The suits sell to shops like Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Hansen’s, Sundance, Hobie Surf Shop, Diane’s Beachwear, Von Maur, Splash, Local Motion, Maui Girl in Hawaii, Whalebone, Nic Del Mar and The Orchid Boutique in the Southeast.
They also sell to accounts in Canada like Bikini Village and Offshores Swim and Sunwear, and they sell their kids’ swim line to Barney’s in the U.S.
See Page 2 for more about Maaji, including price points, more
Tell us about the new lingerie line? What’s the price point? Where is it selling? What sets it apart?
Maaji displayKelly: Lingerie is kind of a funny word. I think it drums up visions of structured bras and push up pads. Our lingerie is more about layering. We have easy, playful pieces that peak out from under a V-neck, a T-shirt or a button down woven. It’s way more lighthearted than it is uber sexy. The bralettes retail for $33 and the undies for $26.
The difference is in the details, velvet trims, and lace T- back. We also offer a variety of bodies like front “eye n hook” corsets with mix matched prints, underwire demis and playful shirred (kind of like ruching) bottoms that follow the same DNA as our swimwear.
Where is it selling?
We launched the line last spring, and this is the first time we had our own booth for lingerie at Surf Expo. Right now the lingerie sells to Athropologie, Nordstrom, a boutique called the Love Shack in Florida, Surf or City in St. Petersburg Florida, and The Shore in Sarasota. We even sell to stores like Hobie Surf Shop in Laguna and Lilikoi in Newport.
That’s interesting that you are selling to some core shops.
We don’t really target the lingerie market. We are targeting core and boutique type stores. Think about a brand like Hanky Panky. They just put out bowls of cute panties at little boutiques and it’s done really well.
Once you say “lingerie” to some retailers they step back because they don’t think they can carry lingerie. Since we call them layering pieces and when we show them what we are and give them ideas on how to display it, retailers completely turn around and become interested.
See Page 3 for more about Maaji’s fresh take on swim and lingerie
Are you displaying the lingerie is bowls too?
Maaji kids swimKids swim from Maaji
No. When we sell it, we send each piece with this cute little ruffled pouch. So instead of hanging lingerie, which takes up space and makes it look like your shop is focused on lingerie, we tell retailers to house the pieces on a table in the pouches and lay one of each style on top, or hang them from a hook so the pieces drape down. Some even put them into an antique dresser so it doesn’t look like lingerie is all over the store. People don’t always expect lingerie in a surf shop so once we give them these ideas, they really like it.
We are doing a great promotion for Valentine’s Day where we are sending retailers who buy the line a few display props to their store along with a great GWP, which is this cute lingerie travel bag.
Is the lingerie made in Colombia as well?
It’s all made in Medellin. We source most of our lingerie fabrics in Colombia and a small amount comes from Europe. Again, nothing comes from China. There’s lots of lace, lots of detail, and adjustable velvet straps.
What was the response you received at Surf Expo?
The response has been really incredible. Most of our accounts are specialty and are searching to find that something “special” to set them apart. We had a ton of leads and met with a lot of core accounts like Local Motion, Salty Girls, Curl in Florida, and so many more.
What’s the best selling item you carry right now in the entire range?
For swimwear, underwire bodies, corset styles and the whole mixed up whimsical nature of the prints. We approach the market differently in that we begin by creating a magical story for each collection and then all the prints and bodies are inspired by that story. It’s what keeps the line fresh and new every season, which is a key selling feature in itself.
Anything else?
Kelly Ellingson and Tandi SouthKelly Ellingson and Tandi South of Maaji
I had the privilege of going out to Colombia last March to plant trees as part of a “give back” program we do, and it was amazing. This year we are bringing some of our reps and buyers to help us plant trees again.
We started the give back program last year with a special collection where for every suit of the collection a consumer purchased, Maaji’s Swimwear planted a tree in an area about an hour in the mountains outside of Medellin in honor of that customer. Consumers can register on www.maajiswimwear.com and track the tree that was planted in their name. The planting is monitored and audited so that we are held accountable.
We continue to plant a tree for every suit sold. We have surpassed the original goal and have planted over 50,000 trees and spent over $100,000 dollars on the program so far. Pretty bloody amazing! We are doing it again this year with another collection called the Woodland Solstice collection.
