aussieBum
Winner, Small to Medium Manufacturer
Initially rejected by local retailers, aussieBum turned to the internet to promote its men’s swimwear and underwear lines to a global market. It now has over 200,000 consumers ordering direct via its custom built e-commerce site (translated in eleven languages) and supplies many of the world's leading department stores.
The company’s sales during the global financial crisis have grown, as a direct result of its innovative product developments and its marketing strategy. It’s this successful and extremely innovative marketing approach that drew considerable praise from the Australian Export Award judges. aussieBum uses the Australian lifestyle as a point of differentiation and has run successful joint promotions with Queensland tourism.
The company is recognised globally for its product innovation including the use of Micro Modal beechwood and bamboo fibre-based fabrics for some underwear styles.
The judges also noted how aussieBum had used a minimum of resources, and a very simple business model, to create an impressive revenue stream. The company has been extremely strategic in developing its infrastructure – the company’s philosophy is to try and do everything in-house, up-skilling existing staff in order to evolve.
aussieBum also has a very cautious financial management approach – avoiding debt and owning all assets outright.
aussieBum also stood out for its impressive ‘design to shelves’ capability: it can design and release a product within seven days. This allows the company to respond to market changes almost immediately – typically, competitors take up to six months to release a new product.
The company’s philosophy is to try and do everything in-house, up-skilling existing staff in order to evolve.
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