RB Sellars is sharpening its focus on farmers and the broader agricultural sector, with CEO Jim Gall declaring the brand is “not in the business of fashion, but in the business of agriculture”.
Speaking to Ragtrader, Gall says its new Khancoban oilskin range – named after the high-country town in the Snowy Mountains – is part of a broader strategic reset that takes the brand back to its rural roots.
Gall initially took over the reins of RB Sellars in early 2024. He says there was a time before he joined where the business began steering towards fashion-focused production, which may have driven the brand away a little from its core customer. After taking control, he and the RB Sellars team began retargeting the rural heartland of Australia again.
That began with divesting its then-sister businesses Driza-Bone and Rossi Boots to mining magnate Gina Rinehart. All three brands were housed under Propel Group at the time. RB Sellars remains under Propel, alongside equestrian brands Goodwoods and Equest Pro.
“We divested the Driza-Bone brand two years ago, which had its heritage in oilskins, but was starting to make some wax and dry wax products that were more fashion-forward,” Gall says.
With a lighter asset model, RB Sellars began the arduous process of pivoting its core ranges, which has culminated in the reimagination of oilskin products for modern farming. Oilskins are waterproof garments, generally made from heavy cotton cloth that is infused with oils or wax.
The range is engineered for motorbikes, side-by-sides and long days in unpredictable weather. This includes 100 per cent heavyweight cotton oilskin, 100 per cent wool sherpa lining, alongside considered details such as a dedicated pocket for a mobile phone or a safety tracking device, big pockets for gloves and tools, heavy-duty two-way zips, ribbed inner cuffs, studded black splits and a longer tail.
Women’s styles add a front and back cape for extra protection and a waist cord for a tailored fit.
This entire production rejig started with the RB Sellars’ cotton work shirt – its highest-selling product.
“We recalibrated our whole supply chain to use locally sourced Australian-grown cotton,” Gall says. “We did a huge project with Cotton Australia to make sure that we could track the chain of custody from the farm gate right through to the product.
“That has delivered a product that's superior in terms of its durability, breathability, comfort, and the biggest one in support of our customers, who are the people who are growing the fabric.”
Following the cotton work shirt overhaul, this core range has seen sales lift by over 30 per cent, according to Gall. Then RB Sellars targeted Merino wool, spreading its Australian-grown platform, which launched a few months ago. That includes base layer products, long sleeve and short sleeves, to be worn under work shirts.
“It's made from a unique spinning process called Nuyarn, and that enables the wool to be more durable – around eight times more durable than a normal base layer product, and five times faster drying. It’s a product fit for work, not just fit for warmth.”
And now, with the newly launched oil skin ranges under Khancoban, this range covers vests and jackets, and is expected to continue to expand across other categories for those who work on the farms, but also those in adjacent industries.
“Think about all the banks and all the agents in real estate, chemical companies, fertiliser companies. “There are so many associated industries that support agriculture that have a need for this product out in the paddock.”
This ramped-up focus on rural customers is also clearly shown across RB Sellars’ channels, which include standalone stores on high streets in country towns, including regional centres like Toowoomba in Queensland, Tamworth in Northern New South Wales to Bendigo in Northern Victoria.
RB Sellars manages around 20 stores across the East Coast of Australia, with its only metropolitan city store being in Richmond, Melbourne.
The brand also has around 60 retail partners, with strong focus in Victoria, but with some stretching as far out as Northern Western Australia, at Thorny Devils in Gap Ridge near Exmouth. Last year, the brand signed a wholesale deal with Workwear Group, to be stocked in its regional stores.
The brand also has stores in smaller rural towns – what Gall calls heartland towns – which can have a population below 10,000 people. Recently, his team opened two of these, one in Deniliquin in Southern New South Wales and another Naracoorte in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.
“They’re not huge towns,” Gall agrees. “They're only towns of six and a half thousand people. But the community really rallies around local bricks and mortar investment.”
Over the last few years, these towns have seen a few major exits, including shuttered stores following the collapse of Mosaic Brands – the collapsed company behind Millers, Katies, Noni B and Rivers.
“They've gone through a lot – banks leaving, supermarkets closing, a lot of brands exiting. A lot of these stores have left these country towns,” Gall says. “So to then invest in them, employ local people, employ local trades, and then contribute to those communities through sponsorship of sport, and community organisations really creates a different dynamic in terms of our role in that community.”
To Gall, this feels like an anchoring effect for the RB Sellars brand, which grows sales dramatically. The strategy is to follow e-commerce sales within a geography and target leases in places that could amp up the spending across all categories.
“So in-store, online, and even as we've started to expand our wholesale channel as well. We've seen significant double-digit growth across every channel,” Gall says.
“Our business is a different business. We talk about being not in the business of fashion, but in the business of agriculture. And so, when farmers are doing well, there's a great confidence in those communities because a lot of them are dependent on agriculture. When they're confident they're doing well, they then invest in our product.”
This also means avoiding the overstep into luxury, which is an area Gall doesn’t intend to move into. While price points at RB Sellars do stretch toward the premium side, with the aforementioned Khancoban oil skin range sitting above the $300 mark, Gall still considers the range affordable, given its durability and fit-for-purpose.
“The key thing is if you are physically located in a community, then there's greater loyalty,” Gall says. “There's a greater inclination to come into the store and try a product on.
“Our customers in the regions like to actually try a product on. They're wary of fit. They're also wary of postage costs, and all those other aspects. Just the convenience of being able to return or exchange to a local store, it just eliminates all of the complexity that many online retailers face.”