It was Justin Watson’s eight-year relationship with whimsical Californian label French Kitty that birthed his 18-month-old baby: Brick and Mortar Brands, or BAM Brands.
The tall and lanky brand manager first got his hands on French Kitty in 2003 when the label’s parent company, Mighty Fine, released the brand into the Australian market.
When Watson later relocated to California, he worked with Mighty Fine as its marketing manager, overseeing a host of men’s, women’s and kidswear brands including French Kitty, Disney Couture and Trash & Luxury. When Watson felt the Yarra calling him back home, Mighty Fine still did not wish to part ways.
“[They] wanted to keep working with me,” Watson recalls. “I’d been working on French Kitty for over eight years. They wanted to keep the continuity and they asked, ‘Can you manage our international business for our other brands as well?’”
His answer was yes, and from a base in Carlton, Victoria, Watson now oversees the international brand management of French Kitty and Trash & Luxury, including international licensing for the former. But the two labels weren’t enough to keep him clothed, fed and occupied.
“Obviously I couldn’t just do their brands so I decided to set up my own brand management company,” Watson says. “And we did it!”
Launched in the final weeks of 2008, BAM Brands is a fashion brand management company with three essential services. “One is we work with designers to help them expand internationally,” Watson says. “The second is working with international labels coming into Australia. The third is media and communications.”
Of the first service, Watson reveals he is currently working with local labels including Sosume and Oscar Mimosa to help them tap export markets such as the US. The third service, essentially a public relations arm, is also well utilised by clients including Sosume and LA-based footwear brands Stampd’ LA and Study Footwear.
But it is the inclusion of the hefty second arm of the business – brand development and licensing, including for international names – which sets BAM apart from many other Australian firms.
BAM’s brand development and licensing service incorporates everything from finding local manufacturing partners for international labels, to tweaking colour palettes to suit different markets, to scouring for local agents and licensing partners. Watson details his management of French Kitty as an example.
“It’s 100 per cent licensed. Every season we develop style guides for our partners [licensees] to use so they can develop their collections. We work on developing themes, the colour palettes and the key silhouettes and then each of those partners, when they design their collections, they need to submit them to us for approval.
“We work with them on the development as well, making sure we see it along the way so when they do show us what it looks like, it’s not a surprise.”
Only rarely does an international fashion company import a brand to Australia to subsequently enjoy watching it take off like wildfire, Watson says. More often brand importers need to think of the move as a long term investment.
“Sometimes the Australian market can be fickle with some things. Or maybe the Australian market hasn’t picked up on a specific trend or brand yet. It’s a bit of a timing issue ... maybe you need to do some ground work within the market first. Really educate people about it and generate the interest.”
When it comes to managing licensing deals, Watson keeps his eye out for certain attributes. “[We’re] looking for brands that have a good story to tell,” he says.
“It might be just a bit of a brand story, but generally they would also have a good story to tell in terms of retail, distribution, they would have generated press, or maybe their product is somewhat unique.
“We would look for brands that are going to be able to support the brand with artwork and style guide direction and marketing support and those kinds of things, to make sure they’re just as committed as we are. It’s a partnership.”
In the end, whether he’s promoting international labels or local start-ups, Watson says brand management essentially boils down to one salient element.
“I think you need to focus on the details. The details are really important and that’s what helps tell a great brand story. Things like labelling and fabrications, how the garment’s finished, consistency, what the message is for the brand and visually what it looks like.
“How does the brand expand past just the product? What does it look like outside of just the core product? If it’s an apparel brand, what does the brand look like as a store and what does it look like really thinking big picture?”
Answer those questions and you’re en route to brand management success.