Everyone loves a story - and the Patch definitely has a story worth telling. From its early days starting as a mail order catalogue and a single store in Auckland, New Zealand; to opening its first store in Los Angeles - it's been a true epic!
Pumpkin Patch was founded in 1990 by Sally Synnott, a former childrenswear buyer. She identified a gap in the market for a specialised retail brand offering design-driven kidswear - and Pumpkin Patch began, initially as a mail order business, followed…
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Everyone loves a story - and the Patch definitely has a story worth telling. From its early days starting as a mail order catalogue and a single store in Auckland, New Zealand; to opening its first store in Los Angeles - it's been a true epic!
Pumpkin Patch was founded in 1990 by Sally Synnott, a former childrenswear buyer. She identified a gap in the market for a specialised retail brand offering design-driven kidswear - and Pumpkin Patch began, initially as a mail order business, followed soon after by its first retail store.
Chrissy Conyngham and Maurice Prendergast joined the team in 1993, and remain the Design Director and Managing Director, respectively to this day. Maurice and Chrissy took over to nurture the company toward its current success.
In the mid 90s, while travelling through Australia, Maurice and Chrissy recognised there was an opportunity in Australian kids' apparel. And the expansion that rolled out from this time has been the business model that has continued the growth of the Patch around the world.
United Kingdom was next on the list - with the roll out of stores being gradual, and with careful planning, to ensure the brand grew organically. Like New Zealand and Australia, a mail order catalogue was included in the marketing mix to further grow the brand awareness. The first store opened in Bromley in 2000, and as complementary retail sites were identified, the Patch northern hemisphere team grew.
At this time, wholesale relationships were also being established with quality department stores in the United States of America; and this began the continued retail expansion across the Atlantic. The Patch opened its first US store in Los Angeles in 2005, and there are now 20 stores in the United States of America.
Pumpkin Patch employs over 3,000 people and has over 200 stores in four countries along with wholesale operations in 14 countries. The Patch brand can be found throughout Australasia, in selected countries across Asia and the Middle East; and of course in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
This sort of growth didn't just happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen unless you've got something unique to offer. We feel Pumpkin Patch is exactly that 'something wonderful and unique' and we're passionate about bringing our loyal customers the best kidswear collections we can, season after season.
