Sportsgirl

Empowering the Next Generation of Fashion Leaders  At Sportsgirl we believe in fostering creativity, innovation, and the next generation of talent. That’s why we were proud to partner with RMIT University’s Fashion and Textile Merchandising students as an industry mentor for their business pitch project this year. Our Apparel Buying Manager, Cathie McDonald, worked closely with three student groups, guiding them through a 4-month journey of developing innovative business solutions for the fashion retail market. **We kicked off by sharing insights into Sportsgirl’s brand story, values, vision, and strategy.  **Together, we explored a real-world business opportunity and challenged the students to create solutions.  **Across the months, we offered mentorship, feedback, and encouragement as the students refined their concepts.  **In November, we had the honour of reviewing their impressive final pitches and announcing the winning group at RMIT’s presentation night. Why Mentorships Matter  This collaboration gave students hands-on experience, bridging the gap between classroom theory and industry practice. They gained insights into the complexities of fashion retail and strengthened their ideas through mentorship and feedback sessions.  We’re especially proud to share that two talented students from the winning group have already joined the Sportsgirl team – a testament to the real-world opportunities that projects like this create! Inspired by the Future  The creativity, passion, and strategic thinking of these students were nothing short of inspiring. Their fresh perspectives and innovative solutions remind us why investing in future talent is so important.  #Sportsgirl #RMIT #Mentorship #FashionFuture #Innovation #Collaboration

Sportsgirl November Expression of Purpose SS25 The festive season is upon us and what better way to reflect on the year that was than to celebrate great people, doing great things right here in our own backyard. These are the Gen SG’s who are Going Places and inspiring the rest of our community to do the same:   Akec Makur Chuot – Motivational Speaker Frankie Mazzone – Activist and Actor Gabriella Panucci – Nursing Student Mali Isabel - Arabana & Kokatha Artist Milla Ashton – Community Care Worker   Producer: Andy Henson Hair: Julie Provis Makeup Artist: Shella Martin Stylist: Simone Farrugia We’re splashing into summer – check out our November collection.   Photographer: Jim Wilde Studio: Rufus & Cooper Stylist: Daniel Paciocco Hair & Makeup: Madeleine Goldsmith Location: Hawthorn Aquatic & Leisure Centre Centre Manager: Fiona Kriaris

In keeping with The Sussan Group commitment to staying ahead of the curve with innovative, interactive and inviting store designs, Sportsgirl are excited to unveil the first of their new store concepts at Melbourne Central. Customers are at the heart of the vibrant new design created through collaboration with respected UK design agency Cardy Papa. Sportsgirl MD Leah Summers says the top priority was to provide an inclusive, safe, judgement-free environment for all Gen SG to experiment and play with the diverse collections and products. “The design reflects our fun, positive energy while celebrating the core of our brand. As the ultimate Aussie youth destination for fashion and beauty, we’ve crafted a space that merges bold, playful elements with moments of calm, offering the perfect blend of excitement and ease. Each category will stand out, showcasing the very best of our brand, all while supporting the needs of a fast-paced, volume-driven business,” she says. Design duo Alison Cardy and Christian Papa’s design philosophy is centred on developing the optimum and most inspiring customer journey. “From shopfront and windows to the various collections to service points and visual display, the customer journey needs to act almost like a pin-ball machine encouraging the customer to circulate the full space whilst seeing the breadth of the product collection.” “Each category needs its space to breathe and project; customers need strong visual merchandising moments to be inspired to shop a full look, and finally, the environment needs to support the sales team in providing excellent service, particularly around fitting rooms and cash and wrap.” In the new fitting rooms, the customer is encouraged to socialise in the adjacent lounge - a bold and uplifting instagrammable space with cool seating as well as ideas such as a messaging boards to encourage connections through the Gen SG community. As part of our collective commitment to the circular economy, Cardy Papa has retained and integrated existing architectural features that complement the new store concept. Wherever practicable, we have sourced materials locally and migrated the SG material palette towards sustainable options with EDP* certification. These include laminates, solid surfaces and plastics made from recycled paper, bio-materials and certified recycled plastic stock. All accent furniture has been sourced locally. The fitting room stools are crafted from 80% recycled post-industrial LDPE plastic, featuring a custom design that represents the iconic Sportsgirl stripes. Cutouts and leftover materials can be sent for recycling and reused. Even the new elements are ‘future-recyclable’. Leah says the team are excited to see the new store design come to life. “We believe is truly one-of-a-kind in the Australian market. There is no other brand out there like Sportsgirl—fashion with a purpose, on a mission to create better futures for the next generation.” Photography: Simon Shiff

We are #hiring! Cathie McDonald and our A-mazing Buying - Apparel team are looking for a new Buyer to join them. Based in our Cremorne head office, offering free on-site parking! Is this the Buying role you've been waiting for??! Apply now via https://lnkd.in/gugJ6RYX or reach out for a confidential discussion. #buying #fashion #GenerationSportsgirl

Our team were honoured to be able to celebrate such an incredible evening last night at the HoMie Clothing Pathway Alliance Graduation!   The HoMie Pathway Alliance Program is for young people aged 18-25 who have experienced or been affected by hardship, barriers to employment, or homelessness and are ready to kick-start their working life.  The program offers a supported, paid, 8- month retail internship which runs from March to October each year and Sportsgirl are so grateful for the opportunity to partner with HoMie Clothing in their 2024 Program.    In April, we welcomed our HoMie Interns to our Sportsgirl Eastland & Doncaster stores and they were an immediate asset to our team showcasing their creativity, positivity, teamwork and how to put together the perfect fit for our customers!!    Congratulations to all of the HoMie Pathway Alliance Grads of 2024 and a big thank you to the HoMie Clothing Team for all of the work that you do with such authenticity, and impact.

This headspace day, we want to remind young people that it can be helpful to slow down and take time to do something positive for their mental health and wellbeing. We’ll be doing this by hitting pause on our social channels for the day and taking a moment to reflect and reconnect. #GenerationSportsgirl

Did you hear? The Sussan Group (home to Sportsgirl, Sussan and Suzanne Grae) is now a Certified B Corporation™. This certification independently verifies that The Sussan Group meets high standards of performance, accountability, and transparency — not just in environmental factors, but in social and governance factors, too. As a business owned, led, and run by women, we believe in the power of fashion to uplift and inspire. B Corp Certification allows us to do just that. The "B" in B Corp stands for benefit for all. Sportsgirl is committed to providing inclusive fashion for all Australians. We're committed to extending this benefit far and wide as we continue to focus on inclusion, diversity and social impact. We're so proud to be a B Corp, and to continue our commitment to inclusive fashion for Australians ❤️

We were extremely lucky and excited to welcome Melo Calarco to head office today and take part in his ‘Staying Focused & Maximising Your Potential’ Masterclass as part of our 2024 Annual Health & Wellness week. As a certified mindfulness and performance coach, Melo has the unique ability to bring the best out of the people, and the companies he works with. His results-based work is grounded in neuroscience, mindfulness, human behaviour, and other unique tools to help people find self-awareness, clarity, focus and ultimately success. In Melo's masterclass, our teams explored various tools and techniques to help you stay focused on what matters! We each left Melo's session with at least one goal in mind to have as a non-negotiable in our own individual self care and focus on looking after ourselves and making ourselves a priority. Thanks so much Melo Calarco for your time and joining us today, we really enjoyed our session with you!

Aligning with Jean Hailes for Women's Health Health Week, our annual Health & Wellness Week was kick started this morning with smoothies for breakfast at our head office! Our teams were able to blend their own smoothies on our Medibank smoothie bikes and the early morning exercise was worth it as the smoothies were yum! This year, Jean Hailes' program is shining a spotlight on some of the biggest issues in women’s health, under the banner of ‘Your voice. Your choice’. Stay tuned to see what we have planned for tomorrow!!