Shhh Silk is an Australian brand that quickly grew in popularity among celebrities like Gisele Bündchen and Kim Kardashian West.
Shhh Silk has just received a $1.8 million order from a very large brand in the US, and CEO Olivia Carr’s projections is for this to be a $50 million business in five years’ time.
Although Shhh Silk already had a successful online operation, the start-up blew up when it struck a wholesale deal with the Beverly Hills Hotel.
So far, Shhh Silk has made about 7000 pieces of silk sleepwear for the hotel to the stars.
A former Pacific Brands executive, Carr flew to Los Angeles in January 2017 with her two children to stay at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
The luxurious collection features the iconic hotel’s classic palm tree print in an updated millennial pink and leafy green combo, and is available in different sizes and styles.
In the hotel there was a hotel store which housed a beautiful collection of brands and Olivia went up and knocked on the door and introduced herself.
Olivia made a deal with the manager, who agreed to sleep on a pillowslip for a night and if she loved sleeping on it, she would meet with her the following day.
The very next morning Olivia received an email saying ‘I’m obsessed. We have to meet.’ And yes, they did meet that day.
However she said that she didn’t want her to supply just product, she wanted to provide a special moment for the hotel.
Launching a niche brand can be tricky even for the most experienced in business.
So trying to penetrate the fickle fashion, beauty and lifestyle sector with zero social-marketing spend on a global scale should be considered impossible.
Olivia Carr has done it.
Understanding the power of a celebrity endorsement, but without the money to pay for one to be the face of her brand, she trusted in the quality of her 100% silk pillow cases to do the talking.
Her business flourished when she flew to LA and delivered luxurious pillow slips to Kim Kardashian.
Her current fan girls now include Gisele Bündchen and The Jenners.
Even though two ‘incredibly long security cameras were staring’, Olivia explained that she stayed waiting outside for a while, before a UPS truck arrived delivering a box for the Kardashians.
“I quickly jumped out of the car, and followed the UPS delivery man over the tape (yes I climbed over the tape), and delivered my parcel.”
The Melbourne-based entrepreneur and mum-of two knows exactly what it takes to launch a prestige brand, and more importantly, how to make it thrive in the ever-competitive eCommerce realm.
Shhh Silk has proven to be the perfect start-up for Olivia as it pulls together all the best aspects of her previous roles and highlights her signature strengths.
Everyday she is able to express her creativity, harness her entrepreneurial spirit but also show her philanthropic side, a characteristic that was nurtured while working at The National Breast Cancer Foundation.
A team of nine now work in the business and Carr, is about to complete her second range for the hotel. Shhh Silk also has an online business and sells to 40 countries.
