point. In that time, he has built a “small, close-knit team” that has helped navigate the exponential growth of Alias Mae both in Australia and overseas. Here, Alias Mae’s general manager Kendra Anastasiadis speaks to the evolution of the business, which she joined in 2017 as the customer service and wholesale manager,  how it diversified into direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce, and what is next for the business. Inside Retail: As the general manager of Alias Mae, what is your vision for the brand’s future growth and development? Kendra Anastasiadis: First and foremost, to continue to create excellent quality shoes that are unique to Alias Mae. Secondly, to continue building on our strong culture and to nurture our extremely passionate team. IR: You started as the customer service and wholesale manager, how have you witnessed the brand’s evolution in your time at the company? KA: Starting in these positions at Alias Mae has certainly given me a front-row seat in witnessing the brand’s remarkable evolution over the years.   We’ve gone from managing all our stock in-house and picking and packing every single customer/wholesale order to now being able to outsource to an external 3PL, whom we trust with our product. Systems have been streamlined over the years allowing for faster shipping times and happier customers and our stronger presence on social media means that we can truly engage with our community.   We stand out because we know what we stand for… good quality shoes. This is one thing that has never changed.  IR: Alias Mae has established a strong reputation for its unique and stylish footwear designs. How do you ensure that the brand continues to innovate?  KA: Our design team, along with the founder, travels worldwide to source inspiration and new innovative materials to constantly be ahead. We work as a collective in the office, which I believe keeps everyone feeling passionate and their creativity flowing. Ideas are always encouraged to be shared!  IR: Can you speak to the wholesale and retail partnerships strategy and how this was established and has evolved?  KA: In the beginning, our founder Tom would travel around Australia with the range in a single suitcase.  Since then, the brand has grown and evolved, and we have outsourced our boutique wholesale management to some incredible agencies around Australia that look after over 100 stockists. Our major wholesale accounts are managed in-house.  By adapting to the changing needs of the business and leveraging external expertise, Alias Mae continues to strengthen its position in the market and drive growth in wholesale distribution.  IR: How many stockists does the brand have now and will we see a DTC retail store in the future?  KA: Alias Mae now has over 100 boutique stockists around Australia and New Zealand, as well as our major retail stockists, David Jones, The Iconic, Glue and Stylerunner. We feel these stores represent Alias Mae perfectly, so no plans for DTC at this point.  IR: Customer experience is crucial in the retail industry. How does Alias Mae prioritise customer satisfaction and engagement in its business strategy?  KA: The basis of a positive customer experience starts with ensuring the high quality of our products. By consistently delivering on our promise of quality, we build trust and loyalty with our customers. Every member of the team wears different hats, and we all help in customer service when we can. Because the whole team has great knowledge about our products, we are all equipped to assist with inquiries but also learn about what the customers want, what their expectations are and how we can continue to meet their needs.  IR: How does Alias Mae approach e-commerce and digital marketing to drive sales and brand awareness? What percentage of business comes through the brand’s website? KA: Just over two years ago, Alias Mae transitioned from a custom-built website over to Shopify which ensured our platform was much more user-friendly and visually appealing. The move also allowed optimisation for use on both desktop and mobile devices.   Over the last 12 months, we have prioritised investing in monthly content photoshoots to showcase how to wear and style our range. By consistently creating and sharing high-quality content across our digital channels, including the website and our social media accounts, we provide our customers with inspiration on how to incorporate our shoes into their wardrobe, connect with our audience and drive sales and brand awareness.  Additionally, we partner with an exceptional digital marketing agency that manages our ads across Meta, Google and TikTok. We work closely with this team and this strategic partnership allows us to effectively reach our target audience and drive traffic to our website.  IR: Sustainability and ethical practices are becoming increasingly important to consumers. How does Alias Mae integrate sustainability into its operations and product offerings? KA: Alias Mae chooses to source all leather from ethical suppliers. The crust (leather that hasn’t been processed yet) is purchased from ethical cattle farms in India and Russia. It is extremely important that the crust is of a high standard, otherwise, the leather will show scars and imperfections and will not develop properly during the tanning process. Therefore, unlike other brands, we don’t need to add plastic coatings or heavy dyes to our products. The tanning procedure varies across Alias Mae’s products; however, it is always a natural tanning process using traditional methods. IR: Feedback from customers can provide valuable insights for improvement. How does Alias Mae gather and utilise customer feedback to enhance its products and services? KA: We are always engaging with our community via social media to seek ways to improve and innovate to better meet the evolving needs and expectations of our customers. By monitoring comments and direct messages, we gather valuable feedback in real-time from our customers and respond promptly to address any concerns or queries.  Our other direct customer service channels – email, LiveChat, and phone inquiries – are ways in which we gather valuable feedback from our customers. Alias Mae ensures prompt responses to inquiries and actively listens to customer feedback across these channels.  IR: In your role as general manager, what are the biggest challenges you face in managing and growing the Alias Mae brand, and how do you overcome them? KA: It can be tough working in such a competitive and fast-moving market where a trend might be in one day but out the next.  We need to stay relevant but also create unique and exciting products. This can prove challenging at times but as a team, we need to focus on what we love to do and remain inspired.  IR: Looking ahead, what are the primary goals and aspirations for Alias Mae under your leadership, and how do you plan to achieve them?  KA: Under my leadership, Alias Mae’s goals are clear: we aim to maintain customer satisfaction, deliver exceptional products, expand our global reach and build strong brand advocacy. After recently updating the website, we have made shopping easier and more enjoyable for our customers. We continue to invest in improvements to provide a seamless shopping experience. We’re working on delivering our products to more countries, allowing more customers to access and enjoy Alias Mae’s offerings. Ultimately, we want our customers to feel proud to wear Alias Mae and to become advocates for our brand.  IR: Anything else you would like to share?  KA: We’re very proud of the partnership we have with i=Change. It’s a great chance for us to give back, and we’re thrilled to be able to actively involve our customers in this fantastic initiative where $1 from every purchase made through our website goes back to one of our three nominated projects. We have raised over $150,000 and counting.