fashion

Young millionaires and thousands of missing orders: The White Fox Boutique drama explained.

White Fox Boutique has had a cult following of young women for years. 

It's the Sydney-based fashion brand so many aspire to wear, with the White Fox logo emblazoned on lots of their garments - a marker of status and relevance. Plenty of celebrities have worn their pieces too, from the likes of Kylie Jenner, Demi Lovato and Adriana Lima.

It's been around for 10 years now, started by Georgia and Daniel Contos who have become self-made millionaires thanks to their affordable fast-fashion garments. 

With millions of Instagram followers, they're by no means a small business.

The couple were smart to capitalise on the power of influencer marketing early on. Practically every content creator you can think of has worn the clothing in 'try on hauls' on their YouTube and TikTok channels. 

Daniel Contos told Forbes that their vision for the company from the very start was "to become the fashion go-to for girls all over the world".

Only now, girls all over the world are still waiting for their orders to arrive on their doorstep.

Watch: The Co-founders of White Fox Boutique speak following the controversy. Post continues below. 


Video via A Current Affair.
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Currently, White Fox Boutique is in hot water with customers. 

Now, if you were to scroll through the sea of recent TikTok videos featuring the search query 'White Fox Boutique', you won't see as many try on hauls. Instead, you'll see customer complaints - thousands still waiting for their orders from a month ago.

"I ordered something on November 28 and it still hasn't even been dispatched," one woman said in a TikTok video.

"I ordered it three weeks ago, it has not even been packed or shipped yet. It has just stayed the same. It's just processing," another said.

The brand's Instagram is business as usual though. 

The most recent posts feature glitzy dresses and Christmas unboxings, though the posts have been flooded with comments.

"Can you post my order instead of posting on Instagram."

"It has been over a month!!! No response?"

"My whole feed is your ambassadors receiving their PR packages, yet your PAYING customers are being pushed to the end of a priority list."

"During this cost-of-living crisis people have spent their hard earned money to buy Christmas presents from you and yet those gifts won't be received by Christmas, if at all!"

One of White Fox Boutique's most recent posts says: "Need a last minute Christmas gift? A White Fox gift card."

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The irony isn't lost on many.

When a customer emails White Fox Boutique, they are told that the brand is "currently experiencing a high volume period".

"Our White Fox team are working super hard to get your order out as soon as possible. Please note: shipping timeframes do not take into account dispatch timeframes," part of it reads.

The express shipping option on the website says it will take one to four business days, or for standard shipping it says it'll take up to 14 business days. Many customers say their orders are overdue beyond 14 business days. 

@grace_esma_iris Whitefox Boutique have shit the bed - - - #whitefoxboutique #whitefox #badcustomerservice #accc #skincare #beauty #beautytok #aussie #australia #skincarejunkie #haircare #contentcreator#skincareaddict ♬ original sound - Grace 🦂
@megmckelvie And just like magic, you make a video and your order appears! #whitefoxboutique #whitefox #whitefoxdrama ♬ greedy sped up - Tate McRae
@itskatma probs won’t order off them again aha #whitefoxboutique #whitefox ♬ original sound - Katma🤍

Mamamia reached out to White Fox Boutique, and received a statement from Georgia Contos, the company's Co-Director and Co-Founder. She noted they are "very apologetic" over what has occurred.

She said the delays are a result of the "overwhelming success of our Black Friday sales", and they are expecting the dispatching of orders to be completed by the end of this week.

"We did prepare for these sales, ramping up both staff in our warehouse and additional resources in customer service.
Unfortunately even with all of this preparation we still exceeded our sales targets," said Contos.

She said their team of approximately 200 people is working seven days a week and extended hours currently, as well as herself and Daniel, the brand's Co-Director and Co-Founder, "assisting in the warehouse".

"Currently we are dispatching over 20,000-25,000 orders per day and responding to over 5,000 customer inquiries per day. These are huge numbers for any Australian-based business and we are going through a huge amount of growth at the moment. This has allowed us to employ record numbers within our warehouse facilities and we continue to hire on these numbers."

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Contos confirmed White Fox Boutique will not be going ahead with their Boxing Day sales, to ensure they don't incur another backlog.

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Speaking with A Current Affair this week, the couple added: "It was a steeper hill and a bigger challenge than we probably realised at the time... We are obviously very sorry with the fact it has taken us longer than normal to get the orders out. We understand that during Christmas, emotions are higher. It is stressful for a lot of people. We are doing everything we can to get them out as quick as possible."

The disappointment from many customers is that their orders were placed with the expectation they would arrive in time for Christmas. 

As one mother told A Current Affair, she ordered something for her 17-year-old daughter on November 26. 

"I'm her mum, I should be able to give her what she wants for Christmas. I can't provide that and it makes me feel like I'm failing on my part when it's not my fault. I had to ask my dad for some money to see if he could get me out of trouble to buy her a second present," she said. "It's very frustrating."

A UK-based customer also told FEMAIL she paid for express delivery, yet she had been waiting over a month for two hoodies.

For a brand that had such a strong fan base, only time will tell whether customers will return in droves, or continue to vent their disappointment in the comment section. 

Feature Image: Instagram/Mamamia/Canva. 

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