You might not have heard of Gabby Allen. For fast-fashion brand Quiz, that doesn’t matter. Its board of directors, led by JD Sports chairman Peter Cowgill, is counting on most of its customers being more in tune with the ITV reality show Love Island.
Allen, a pint-sized blonde, was unveiled as the new face of the Glasgow-based retailer after appearing in the series last year. With more than 1m followers on Instagram, the 26-year-old is an attractive marketing tool.
Quiz says that by encouraging social media “influencers” such as Allen to wear its clothes, it is turning Instagram followers into sales. The strategy is working. Quiz posted sales of £116.4m last year, and analysts expect the figure to exceed £150m in 2019. The firm is