There’s no doubt you have heard of Black Pink and BTS but did you know that the K Pop phenomenon extends beyond music into fashion? Korean fashion is known for its quality and accessibility, but there aren’t many stores offering Korean styles in Australia — If they do, it’s at a premium price point.
Tom’s Project curates collections of trending and unique Korean fashion – inspired by K Pop. Since opening, they have expanded into 11 locations across Sydney and Melbourne. We recently caught up with owner Tom, to chat about how they have rapidly grown their business using Square.
SQ: How and why did Tom’s Project start?
T: When Tom’s Project was established, there weren’t many Korean clothing shops available in Sydney. I saw a gap in the market for quality Korean-style clothing with more accessible prices for consumers. And I luckily had great connections with suppliers from previous work back in Korea.
SQ: Tell us more about K Pop and Korean Fashion, how it has evolved in Australia?
T: Korean fashion is known for being on-trend and high quality. Koreans love fashion, so there are many Korean brands that offer high-quality clothing for low prices which are not available and unknown in Australia. At Tom’s Project, we provide these styles for Australian consumers.
We have noticed that as K Pop becomes more of a global hit, thanks to idol groups like BTS and Black Pink, more and more people are looking for Korean fashion and styles in Australia.
SQ: What do you think has helped make Tom’s Project so successful?
T: One of the factors that helped make Tom’s Project successful was that we have a variety of Korean fashion styles. We also have a wide range of price points for everyone. From $10 and $20 ranges, to $100 ranges. This provides more options for our customers to choose from.
SQ: How has Square helped you grow Tom’s Project?
T: We used to handwrite every order in our account book, so there were constant errors and inventory issues before we switched to Square.
Now that we have a team and a reliable POS system, we are planning to expand our stores not only in Sydney but across Australia. Our first Melbourne store was very successful, so that is our starting point to expand further across Australia.
Aside from taking payments, reporting is our most used feature. It helps us to keep track of sales and transactions for each store easily.
SQ: Can you share any future plans for Tom’s Project?
T: We are now open for franchising for Tom’s Project and we are excited to see more Tom’s Project franchises around Australia!
