Socking it to 'em

Sydney-based branded apparel specialist Jupi Corporation has grown from a cottage industry to a major player with its sights set on the international market, as Belinda Smart reports.

Jupi Corporation is a small fish well at ease with the big boys playing in the pool of apparel wholesaling and manufacturing. In the nine years the company has been running, it has garnered a reputation for producing affordable, high quality and fashion forward product for some of the biggest names in Australian apparel retailing - not least the company's largest client, retail giant the Coles Myer Group.
The company, together with its founder & director Bruno Schiavi neatly embodies the maxim that great enterprises can be borne of the humblest beginnings. For what is now an organisation with an estimated annual turnover exceeding $35 million and offices in Sydney and Los Angeles began with a humble sock. Schiavi's first fashion product was the revolutionary Pocket Sock, an inspired concept that allowed for items like loose change, cash or keys to be stored safely.
Sydney-based apparel retailer Gowings was the first to stock the Pocket Sock and within a matter of years retailers including Target, Kmart, Myer, Grace Bros and selected stores in the US and Europe had followed suit.
More recently, Schiavi and his company are re-defining the concept of branded apparel, most notably with celebrity product endorsements including renowned lingerie brand Delta by anabella - backed by acting and music sensation Delta Goodrem - that are genuine collaborations.
"I love to collaborate and I find it much more exciting to genuinely work with a celebrity on a product than just use their face to promote it," he explains.
The roots of Delta by anabella go back to August 2002 when Schiavi launched exclusive lingerie label anabella, which he describes as "an exclusive lingerie collection created with superior fabrics, excellent design and fit whilst being offered at an affordable price".
The range was then extended with the sell-out release of Delta by anabella in October 2004. Schiavi and Goodrem are currently finalising the release of the third summer collection, which will be in stores in October 2005.
Schiavi joined forces with Goodrem after a chance encounter in Melbourne and their strong working rapport has grown into a friendship.
"Delta has been through cancer and I lost my father to cancer when I was 17 and we immediately had a very strong bond. We both have the same, which is that life is short and it's really important to follow your dreams," he explains. Schiavi likes to work around a different theme for each range with the forthcoming line influenced strongly by vintage styling.
"We release three Delta by anabella ranges a year and we're always trying to do something new. There's such a lot of choice in the market that the customer always needs something fresh to keep them interested," he explains.
Unlike many celebrity-endorsed products, Delta by anabella comes with an affordable price tag - the label is available at retail exclusively through Coles Myer-owned discount department store chain Kmart at price points of between $7.99 for briefs and $24.99 for bras.
A platinum version of the range is also available in the UK and retails at between 30 and 40 pounds sterling ($A60 to $A90).
Unlike most celebrity-endorsed ranges, Delta's line goes up to 16DD cup size - a fact that has significantly enhanced the brand's popularity with consumers.
"I've had 65-year-old women write to me saying 'thank you so much for providing older, bigger women with lacy feminine underwear'," he claims.
Female consumers are not the only ones benefiting from Schiavi's philosophy of fashion-forward, comfortable and affordable product.
Sales of his men's underwear brand, MensFit - launched in 2003 through Coles Myer-owned chain Target have grown by an estimated 30 per cent in the past 12 months, largely he claims, because they are comfortable, on-trend and with prices ranging from $6.99 to $17.99, are affordable.
MensFit recently expanded its size range to take it to outsize men, with a line of MensFit underwear dubbed "Mr Big".
"I'm always looking to give customers something new, and am very interested in new fibres and fabrics," he explains, adding that he recently started working to incorporate bamboo cotton "a wonderfully comfortable fabric that always keeps its shape" into the MensFit range.
Schiavi confesses he likes to continually challenge himself, a fact evidenced by the diversity of his scope. He recently collaborated with Warner Brothers to produce a range of men's sleepwear, underwear and streetwear, to coincide with the release of feature film Batman Begins.
"I wanted to get away from a lot of movie inspired apparel, which can tend to be a bit tacky and approached the brief in terms of a very stylish, adult, retro look," he says of the range, which currently retails through discount department stores Target and Big W.
Further brand extensions for the Jupi Corporation are expected in the form of an accessories line with Jodhi Packer (currently in development) as well as a casualwear range backed by television actor Bec Cartwright - best known for her role as Hayley in renowned Aussie soap Home & Away. The range is scheduled for release in mid-2006 and according to Schiavi has received interest from the Coles Myer Group.
"The Bec Cartwright range is a casualwear range aimed at the every day girl, it's mix and match, affordable and like Bec is very relaxed," he explains, adding that Cartwright will model the collection herself.
Schiavi has a knack for creating brands and targeting them correctly to a seemingly ever receptive public. He is also becoming renowned as something of a style guru in his own right, so it would be tempting assume the launch his own eponymous label is not out of the question. But Schiavi claims no such plans are afoot.
"I'm much too busy concentrating on managing and running the brands the company operates to launch my own brand," he says.
He doesn't hide the fact his sights have always been set on conquering the international market. Schiavi supplies the Pocket Sock to Germany and is currently in discussions with German fashion houses on the creation of a new men's underwear brand exclusively for the German market.
He has also signed an agreement with two international celebrities to develop menswear, womenswear and homeware ranges, a move he claims will launch Jupi Corporation into the global market and will see the company' business expand by 2,000 per cent over the next 12 to 18 months.
While the names of the celebrities are still shrouded in secrecy, more details on the ranges should be available by October this year.
In the mean time Schiavi is working on a book based on his own experience about how to launch and run successful business.
The book - which still lacks a title - is intended to give entrepreneurial Australians a head start with useful tips on how to start a business with a minimal budget, a subject on which Schiavi -- who started with assets of $2000 - could undoubtedly shed some light.
Among other things the book promises practical insights into all aspects of launching a business, including how to research markets and implement cost-effective marketing campaigns.
It will also contain a dose of Schiavi's philosophical grit.
"I've worked hard and made sacrifices and been very determined," he says. "But one thing I would say to anyone who has a vision or a passion to start a business, is never settle for second best."

The Delta by anabella range comprises high quality, lace-based underwear at affordable prices.
Jupi Corporation founder Bruno Schiavi believes in genuine collaboration with high profile figures such as Delta Goodrem.