Healthcare uniform brand NNT is aiming to expand in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) market after recording a 70% growth in online sales since shifting its target marketing two years ago.
This includes shifting more towards wholesale, with stockists already including Totally Workwear, alongside curated ranges on Catch.com.au and Kogan.com.
At present, the brand's commercial side supplies uniforms to over 500 major healthcare providers, annually selling over 200,000 uniforms.
Speaking with Ragtrader, NNT head of marketing Madeline Cambel said the majority of NNT will always be within the uniforms space. However, she said the brand is seeing a huge amount of growth and potential in DTC.
"For most of the brand’s heritage, there has been a strong focus on delivering uniforms programs at scale to some of the biggest and most reputable healthcare providers in Australia," Cambel said. "Now the brand has turned to its wearers for inspiration, feedback and product improvements that service both larger uniforms customers and individual wearers."
The brand now presents in-market as a B2C brand, with Cambel saying individuals will always make up a large part of NNT's strategy ahead.
“They are key to building desirability and connection with the brand," she said. “We’re also looking to make NNT a recognisable brand in its own right, so that the quality apparel many workers have worn for decades is part of their consideration mindset for our wider range.”
As well as healthcare and nursing, NNT creates uniforms for hospitality, business casual, beauty and corporate, with average prices ranging from $35 for a scrub top to $100 for pants.
Cambel said the business shift came after a raft of research that revealed a gap in the market for a brand that appealed to nurses in particular.
“Previously, there hadn’t been a lot of emphasis on talking directly to our wearers,” Campbell said. “We had a clear and refined idea of product from our uniforms program and relationships with various procurement teams, but there was a chance to represent a workforce and we’re now spotlighting some of the influential faces making a difference in the healthcare sector.”
Moving forward, NNT will continue to source research and feedback from its end-wearers to service both them and major healthcare providers. This includes exploring new consumer touchpoints to create dialogue between the customer and the brand.
In a recent example, NNT launched a Dare to Wear challenge, asking various healthcare workers to wear their NNT Next-Gen Active scrubs after hours during active sessions.
“This approach has sparked an interest across various social platforms and we’re now seeing our followers wanting to drive the trend and dare to wear their scrubs outside of the ward,” Cambel said.
“It’s a real shift in the way healthcare professionals are now proudly wearing their workwear as a badge of honour in the community, and the product stands up to the test too.”
As part of its overall marketing push, Cambel said the brand now only uses genuine healthcare workers in its photography and brand campaigns.
“We have also seen a huge amount of interest in scrub apparel that allows nurses to express themselves more freely as individuals on the job,” Cambel said. “Our Christmas prints and Indigenous prints are a great example of the desire for more unique product, that end wearers get to choose and purchase for themselves.”
Speaking on the design process, Cambel said its ranges undergo various testing. This include wearer trials done by the end-wearer themselves, worn for over 1,500 hours on the ward.