Turning the export dream into reality

Although the possibility of building a profitable export business is rated as remote by most Australian clothing companies, the Jason Brunsdon label stands as testament that it can be done, as Fraser McEwing reports.

Aaron Elias, director of sales and marketing for Jason Brunsdon, told an interesting tale when he spoke at a Sydney fashion export workshop on November 8, organised by the New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development.
Elias said only 15 per cent of his company's production currently went to Australian retailers. The rest went to the US where a local distributor looked after sales, shipments, stock control and market guidance. The brand, which has been in business for around three and a half years, devotes around 10 per cent of its turnover to promotion, believing that keeping the label before the media and public is essential.
Again contrary to popular practice, the label has maintained local production for all its garments, thus being able to truly claim that they are made in Australia, not just designed here. Elias believes that Australian make is part of the attraction, especially among US buyers. He advises would-be exporters to show a minimum of 40 samples in a collection and to expect orders on about 10 of them. He regards 500 per style as a good result from US department stores.
Most of the workshop participants were at a much earlier stage of becoming exporters than Jason Brunsdon, and it was largely for them that the department had staged the half day event in co-operation with Austrade. There were those in the throes of fine tuning their fledgling exports while others were still contemplating the possibilities.
The workshop was conducted by export consultant David Higginbottom who covered a considerable amount of ground in a humorous and always practical style.
He favours obtaining leads from exhibiting at trade shows - but reminded his audience that the best shows have long waiting lists which have to be surmounted first. He gave a lot of advice on the preparation of stands, selling and being willing to devote time to out-of-hours activity in market assessment and selling over meals.
One of the desirable outcomes of a trade show, or even private enquiries, is the appointing an agent or distributor. But rather than look for a representative to cover a whole country, or even a major city, the new exporter should establish a beach-head in a town or region and grow from there. Too much business can be a ruinous as no business; both lead to failure as an exporter.
While successive federal and state governments have reduced import protection on local clothing and in doing so have decimating Australian manufacturing, they are still keen to promote export. Both the NSW Department of State and Regional Development, and Austrade (federal), offer assistance and grants to apparel exporters trying to make a start.
Higginbottom told his audience to do thorough research first. He advised: "take a big list of questions and get the answers from talking to overseas retailers, wholesales and visiting stores before thinking about selling anything. You should know the demographics of the prospective market and its cultural constraints. All this is to evolve a realistic target for your product. There is no sense in firing with a shot gun hoping you're going to hit something. You must ask yourself, is the market viable, accessible and sustainable?
And for those who do secure an order, follow your first shipment to be at the other end when it arrives. From there you should watch how your goods are treated from the port of arrival to the final consumer. In the development stage, an exporter should be prepared to visit his market three times a year."
Higginbottom observed that fledgling exporters often fell into the trap of talking too much and not listening enough, and of presenting their product at the expense of presenting their organisation. Many of them overlooked the need to draw up licensing agreements, register trade marks and internet domain names.
As part of the workshop the department gave participants a disc summarising the proceedings along with what it termed an 'export diagnostic'. This is an extensive series of questions, with yes or no answers, to measure whether a clothing company is equipped to embark upon a successful export drive.