How Avara grew from a small Dallas fashion startup to an Inc. 5000 e-commerce powerhouse » Dallas Innovation

In late August, Avara, the Dallas-based women's e-commerce retailer, announced that it is planning a fall 2023 launch by inviting fashion and lifestyle influencers to tour its swanky Victory Park outpost, The Henry. announced a clothing collection.

While enjoying light bites and a curated cocktail menu, guests met Avara's affiliate influencer partners Macy Blackwell (1 million followers), NashvilleTash (167,000 followers), and Tanya Foster (108,000 followers). Arm-to-shoulder, they posed for a selfie in outfits from the Avara fall line. The goal was to generate buzz and light up Instagram. This is just part of Avara's business strategy that has shaped her five years of growth.

To add to the excitement, Avala will be offering goody bags featuring products from other Dallas local businesses such as The Juice Bar, Ascension Coffee, The Kenzie Collective, Clairella Studio, Gemelli Jewelry, and Nicki – Smith Designs bracelets and chains were presented to participants. The event also featured additional vendors such as Maria Andre Boutique Her Bakery and Something Pretty Her Floral.

Do you want to oversee all the action? CEO Emily Wickard – He founded Avara in 2018 and was still basking in the glow of his big Inc. 5000 accomplishment.

#1 fastest growing e-commerce business in the US in 2023

A scene from Avara's fall 2023 line launch. [Photo: Avara]

In early August, Avara was ranked No. 1 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing e-commerce companies. With three-year revenue growth of 1,089% and making the list for the second year in a row, Avara is the fourth fastest-growing women's retailer in the nation and the 20th fastest-growing company overall in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was also ranked as a growing company. .

That's very rapid growth. So how did Avara do it? The company offers an in-person shopping experience to local customers at its Dallas location at 4239 W. Lovers Lane, but it also has We are focusing on our online store and digital strategy by partnering with Encer to promote the Avara brand. Expanding its footprint and building what it calls the “Avaraista” community.

But when Wickard launched all of this in 2018, she started with the smallest step an entrepreneur could take.

She looked something up on Google.

“When we started Avara, we didn’t have a grand business plan with five-year goals,” Wickard told Dallas Innovates. “I have worked in corporate finance for 20 years and was looking for a change in lifestyle and career. I have always loved clothes, so I decided to open an online boutique. It was a very grassroots approach. , to be honest, I Googled how to start an online clothing boutique and went from there.”

Filling a gap in the market with stylish clothing 'for women of all ages'

[Photo: Avara]

As a mother in her 40s, one thing was clear to her from the beginning.

“I wanted to source and sell clothing that filled a gap in the market,” she said. “After shopping around and never finding what I was looking for, I decided I wanted to sell clothes that my friends and myself would want to wear. It’s a niche that we still fill today.”

Today, about a third of Avara's products are the company's own private label designs, Wickard said.

“So if we can’t find the style a customer wants, we design it ourselves,” she said.

In addition to finding a niche market that “no one was paying attention to,” Wickard focused on: Social media is a key element to Avara's growth.

She started by selling her work on Facebook

“I first started Avara on Facebook and invested in some pieces to sell directly on the site,” Wickard said. “As we have grown and evolved, we have strengthened our social strategy with a successful influencer program that includes partnerships with approximately 20 fashion influencers and over 150 brand ambassadors across the country.”

Wickard said these ambassadors spread the Avara brand “to hundreds of thousands of followers.”

Aligning Avara's e-commerce technology was another important step in enabling the company's rapid growth, she says.

“Investing early in the right order processing software was a huge differentiator for us. Automating order processing was important to us, perhaps even before we really needed it. Because it allows us to scale our business faster, optimize our processes, and meet customer needs faster and more accurately.”

Her first showroom? Her dining room.

Emily Wickard stands in front of many eyes. [Photo: Avara]

Because Wickard started small, she says she didn't need any seed capital. Her “very grassroots” approach included “setting up a showroom in my dining room and approaching her friends and family as an initial customer base.”

“Our success proves that you can start small and succeed.”
—Emily Wickard of Avala

As the startup grew, Wickard reinvested in the business to hire key talent, build and enhance the Avara website, and fund technology upgrades.

“The first major investment I made early in our evolution was in our order processing software,” she said, adding that it allowed Avara to “scale quickly and help differentiate us further in the market.” I did.

But while she was scaling, Wickard was listening.

“Customer feedback has been, and continues to be, critical to our success,” she said. “Being close to them and listening to their needs, feedback, and even ideas for improvement is essential for new products, processes, and innovation.”

Listen to your customers and drill down with data and analytics

To leverage these customer insights, Avara has built a proprietary data and analytics system that “helps predict product selection and white label design, set pricing, and make inventory management decisions. ” said Wickard.

Listening to customers has helped Avara build an authentic community.

“Authenticity has been built into the Avara brand from the beginning,” Wickard said. “I started Avara in my dining room and people would come over to my house to look at the selection and try on clothes. Of course, that all changed. People started trying on clothes in my bathroom. Although it is no longer used as a room, we believe our customers still feel genuine personal care and a fun, relaxed atmosphere when shopping online.”

Get closer to your customers

[Photo: Avara]

Wickard said Avara remains focused on being close to its customers—both in person at its Dallas store and those connected online—and that differentiated customer experiences are helping her business grow. He says he believes there are.

“That allowed us to launch our own leased line, which now accounts for 30% of our total revenue,” Wickard said.

“We also continue to upgrade our website based on continually seeking and listening to the needs of our customers,” she added. “By responding to feedback in a tangible and actionable way, our customers now feel like valued members of our community.”

And all those influencers? It's not just about following your followers. It's about Avala women finding other women they can relate to, so the “Avalaista” community continues to grow.

“Our influencer strategy also aims to share the Avala brand experience more broadly with women across the country,” Wickard said. “We have built partnerships with around 20 influencers and over 150 brand ambassadors who have also helped build a community for our customers. I believe Avara is for everyone. We want it to be a welcoming place, and whether it's on our website, on Instagram, or in our Dallas store, we want Avaraistas to feel a sense of belonging, and we want it to be fun, personal, and memorable. We want people to have a great shopping experience.”

Lovers Lane store in Dallas generates 15% of revenue.

Avala's store is located at 4239 W. Lovers Lane in Dallas. [Photo: Avara]

As someone once sang, “Nothing resembles the real thing.” Beyond the Instagram posts, goodie bags, likes, and online feedback, the physical Avala store at Lovers' His Lane in Dallas provides an actual, living, brick-and-mortar store for the brand.

Although most of Avara's business comes from e-commerce, the Dallas store accounts for nearly 15% of the company's total revenue, Wickard said.

But it also contributes to other things.

“This allows our customers to experience Avara first-hand, and we hear from these customers that Avara stores are their destination when visiting the region,” Wickard said. Ta. “We use brick-and-mortar stores for testing and learning, and the direct feedback we get is invaluable.”

The store also carries products from other local women-owned businesses to support business travel in the Dallas area.

“Our partnerships with these women-owned businesses have helped build a strong community of women entrepreneurs in Dallas, which is important to me personally,” Wickard said.

Avara team “a critical part of our growth”

Avara Team Celebrates Ranking on Inc. 5000 in 2023 E-Commerce Rankings [Photo: Avara]

Her team is a community of its own, which Wickard believes is a big factor in the company's growth.

“Our ability to grow our business while maintaining a strong brand identity is exciting and is due to the passion and dedication of our employees,” she said. “Our in-house team is a critical part of our growth. We are very interested in how we are different.”

“Just like our customers, our employees are empowered every day to make important decisions, come up with great ideas and make a difference in our business,” Wickard added.

Next steps to keep your fast-growing business growing

So how will Avara go about continuing to grow after making the 2023 Inc. 5000 list a big hit?

“The influencer program has been key to our success in building the Avara brand and extending the Avara customer experience to more women across the country, and we look forward to continuing to expand our influencer program.” Mr Card said.

“We also plan to double our private label designs. We receive a very positive response to the work we design in-house, often in response to customer requests and to fill gaps in the market. We are committed to continuing to provide that quality to our customers.”

If Avara continues to grow as it has in recent years, one thing is for sure: Wickard's dining room may actually be repurposed.

For example, dining.