Ragtrader hosted the latest instalment of its Breakfast of Big Ideas series in Sydney this week. Taking place at The Eveleigh just south of Sydney CBD, eight entrepreneurs and leaders across Australian fashion took to the stage in Q&A sessions, with one very special guest joining live from Athens on the big screen.
In this event round-up, we list the top lessons from each of our guest speakers.
Lorna Jane Clarkson, Lorna Jane founder
Why competition can be good
“In the beginning, we had no competition. Because I wasn't just building the brand, I was trying to build a category. So I actually welcomed the competition. There is no way I could have built activewear - although I do like to take the credit for it - to the size that it is today. The great thing was that other brands took it on and helped the category grow and evolve. So I think competition can be good. It can actually help you and what you're trying to achieve have more visibility, especially in other countries around the world."
Linda Penn, Lowes owner
How to evolve a brand
“People come to Lowes from the age of five because they're buying their school wear at Lowes. They're there till they're 18. After that, we lose them because who wants to go to a store that you've been growing up and buying your school wear from? So we lose them from about the age of 18 to 35 and then they get married, they have kids, and then the men are last on the pecking order. So that's when they come back to Lowes when the wives are shopping for them. And so, we introduced industrial wear some time ago, and industrial wear meant that the tradies are going to come to us. That's how we've evolved. We're very much looking for new niches. We're constantly looking for things that would appeal to our customers."
Kristina Karlsson, Kikki.K and Dream Life founder
How to go global
“The only reason we could go global in terms of retail was that we systematised absolutely everything. And it came out of necessity, because when I worked 24/7 in my retail stores, I was used to doing everything myself. When I started to employ people, I just assumed that they thought like me. But of course, that's not the case. So even things like vacuuming the floors. I just assumed that everyone would see when it was necessary, but that was never the case. So systemise everything. And even every mistake. I made plenty over the 20 years that I was with Kikki.K, and we systemised every single learning.”
Amanda Rettig, Mimco and A-ESQUE founder
How to pivot for success
“The only reason I opened my first retail store in Richmond was because I had a lot of stock. And only having wholesale meant it was really hard to clear. I didn't want to flood the market with discounting, and I didn't want any of my retail partners to discount the product. Also, having a self-funded business, it was putting a strain on the cash flow. So I decided to open what I had envisioned as being like a clearance store. I had baskets, and I had all the products stacked – because there was a lot of it – and it was in Richmond. It was about 60 square metres. That was my first retail store. And I was like, This is really good. And that was the beginning of Mimco retail.”
Erin Deering, Triangl founder
Why going viral is hard work
“Going viral is so challenging because you just become totally focused on keeping that momentum going, and basically everything else has to stop. We went viral so early that we had no infrastructure in place, no processes, no systems. It was my business partner and I, and that was it. We had nothing set up. We were also worried, because I think virality ends as well. So we were just running and running and running to keep the virality going, and we weren't setting anything up. The only thing we did set up, which was really good, was that we kept focus on our supply chain. We made sure that they were keeping up with demand. We made sure they were keeping costs down. We made sure that they were still running really, really well.”
Deborah Symond O’Neil, Mode Sportif founder
How to maintain profitability
“The relationships with the brands that we work with are so important. Making sure that the terms are great, that it's mutually beneficial for everyone, especially when you're working with 50 different brands, very different businesses. It's a lot about the balance of that. Also, introducing new brands is something that takes a lot of time. We buy six months out before we get the products. So it takes a lot of groundwork before they even hit the stores. For us, it was all about building the relationships with our brands as well as our customers, but really building those business relationships and making sure that the terms would work really well for everyone.”
Craig King, Ksubi CEO
How to be cool
“You can only be the new kid on the block for a certain period of time, and then you start to age out. A lot of our American audience - and I'm speaking about that because it's where the focus has been the last few years - they thought Ksubi started when [US rapper] Travis Scott performed at our store opening in New York in 2017. They knew nothing about rats down and runway or anything like that… We've gotta keep feeding that newness. We've gotta keep doing things with the coolest people that we can get our hands on. Constantly finding who's the new emerging go-to person, and how we can build a relationship with them and do something.”
Paula Mackenzie, former Sass & Bide, Marcs and David Lawrence MD
How to reset a brand
“You cannot change a brand overnight. It has to be incremental, not monumental. Otherwise, the customer that you currently have will walk into the store and go, I don't understand this brand anymore, and walk out. And the customer that you want is not coming in, and you will find your revenue drops very fast. And I have seen it happen over and over again. The rule of thumb is normally about 30 per cent change per range, so it takes about 12 to 18 months. But if you're an older brand and you want to move to becoming a younger brand and chase that Gen Z customer that everyone wants, that's going to take longer, and it is going to take more money. I think everyone needs to be aware of that and the process, and just understand: protect the sales you've got while you're moving to grow that other base and do it incrementally.”
Eloise Monaghan, Honey Birdette founder
How to strike gold in fashion
“The key to scaling the Honey Birdette business was we really focused on the product. You can have the best brand, and the best influencers, and the best social marketing, and the best merch planners, and the best people that can manage the ‘tail of sale’... But without an exceptional product, you're nothing.”