Global underwear brand Jockey’s Australian sales have doubled in the year since Mitch Dowd took on the brand’s local licence. The licensee claimed the growth comes from returning core customers and new, younger shoppers.
Dane Totham, chief executive of Australian men's underwear brand Mitch Dowd, told Ragtrader that Jockey’s sales lifted 100 per cent year on year. The brand also recorded its biggest online sales week to date during its recent campaign period, and its season-to-date sales nearly doubled against the weekly average.
“There’s a traditional core consumer here that has been buying this product since the millennium, over 25 years,” Totham said. “She’s now got a five in front of her age, and she’s still buying that product now.”
He said a fresh tone of voice had delivered a significant tick-up in revenue from that customer. Retailer data also showed the biggest uptick among shoppers aged 35 to 44, with growth among 25-to 34-year-olds as well.
According to Totham, women’s underwear is largely a personal purchase rather than a gift. Men’s underwear skews more towards gifting. Jockey sells to both men and women in Australia via its locally dedicated online store, and through a host of retailers.
Amid the strong growth over the last year, Jockey has been marking 150 years with its Then. Now. Always. campaign since August. Totham said the campaign was developed in Australia and New Zealand rather than mandated by Jockey International.
It was led by marketing manager Giulia Di Pietro, working with the business and its agency Hook Creative. The campaign ran across video on demand, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, street posters, billboards and tram wraps. Reach stands at 4.1 million and is expected to pass 5 million by the end of the month. The business is targeting a total 20 million through next year.
Totham said he deliberately hired a marketing manager from within the brand’s target market. That market is 25- to 40-year-olds, with a core age of 32, whom the business describes as “modern traditionalists”.
“What I didn’t do was get a 50-year-old plus seasoned PowerPoint marketing executive,” he said. “I got somebody that was actually our target market.”
The campaign features AFL footballer Josh Daicos and his partner Annalise Dalins. Totham said he took his wife to meet the couple to make sure they reflected the brand’s values.
The campaign will move into a second iteration next month. Totham said the business will not “set-and-forget” its marketing beyond that point. Later phases will be shaped by learnings from both campaigns.
“We want the data; we want the consumer to tell us what we’re doing next,” he said.
Product as the lever
Totham said Jockey suited Mitch Dowd because the business had no women’s underwear offer, a category where Jockey dominates. That meant the licence brought largely incremental sales rather than cannibalising Mitch Dowd’s own range. Mitch Dowd’s men’s underwear plays in fashion and gifting, while Jockey is a functional proposition.
The business now operates four units: Jockey, Mitch Dowd, Russell Athletic and licensing arm Brand Lab.
Totham summed up the strategy as respecting the heritage, modernising the brand and creating consumer demand. He said Mitch Dowd still invests in onshore QA technicians and runs its own on-site warehouse, while many peers have shifted these functions offshore or to 3PL providers.
Recent launches for Jockey include the Endless Stretch, a seamless women’s style that Totham said reached the top 10 in the region without marketing support. There is also the Invisible Luxe – a men’s range with a bonded leg line which Totham said resonated with younger shoppers in department stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Totham said his head of product is striving to read every online review. One customer request, for lace panelling on the No Panty Line style, has been added to the summer 2027 range.
“You build a business with a brand, but you’ve got to have the right product,” Totham said.
Jockey sells through more than 250 department store doors, including Myer, David Jones, Harris Scarfe and Farmers in New Zealand, as well as The Iconic, independents and online.
Totham said the focus is on building brand equity and productivity in existing channels before expanding distribution. Further licences are not ruled out.
“Whilst you never say never, personally I like doing more with less,” he said. “If it’s compelling, we will look at it.”
Meanwhile, Mitch Dowd turns 40 next year. The business plans to celebrate the milestone in the second half of 2027, with plans to be finalised by Christmas. Totham described Mitch Dowd as probably the last Australian-born men’s underwear brand positioned in department stores. He said the business has turned down distribution expansion opportunities.