What's important for any clothing brand is ensuring that their online presence, including their store, reflects or in some way adds value to the in-store experience.
Sportsgirl appear to be doing this well ... Though it's essentially similar to the Amazon(ian) "Customers who bought Item X, also bought ..." the 'Style Me Up' cue with accessories that can be coordinated to create an entire outfit works well. Add to this the bright vibrant colours in the background and the easy to use interface and it begins to feel like an enjoyable experience for the consumer -- one where even if they don't buy anything initially, they're likely to spend time clicking around and either eventually/later buy something OR actually go into the store later. All of those are positives. I don't think General Pants do this as well. Clicking on an item does little more than bring up a big version with little further options. People might just close the window then and a potential sale or at least greater time spent at the site may be lost.
To get back to Country Road and Trenery - in my opinion it's important that the online store interfaces have a point of difference. Given that Country Road aims to target a younger demographic now, an online store which reflects this in some way is important. Similarly, I think that Trenery could value-add by having a greater focus on the premium nature of the materials they (assumedly) use. If they need inspiration, they could just copy J Crew's "Suit Shop" idea for menswear as it appears on the web. By placing little departments and giving some areas a more wholesome user experience, I think it'll help the brands remain together yet forge their own individual identities for the consumer. Right now, they just seem too much the same.
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