How Cargo Crew has ridden the workwear wave with the help of Paris Hilton & Gwyneth Paltrow

0:05Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Modern Retail Podcast.

0:30also entered the zeitgeist and has a bunch of really interesting and very popular ambassadors. I don't know if ambassador is the right word, but people who like the brand, they include Paris Hilton. Correct me if I'm wrong. Gwyneth Paltrow has been known to say some nice things about Cargo Crew, celebrity chef Curtis Stone. And Cargo Crew is also based in Australia, but has been making a huge splash in the United States and elsewhere. It's in many countries. We're going to go into all of this, but I want to just talk about the growth. It's not a new company. It's over 20 years old, and it's just been doing some really interesting things over the last few years.

1:02So I want to talk about all that. But Felicity, how are you doing? I'm really good, Cale. I'm really excited to be here this morning. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. So first, let's start with you and the story, because 2002 is when Cargo Crew founded. Is that correct? That's correct. Yeah, 2002 seems like a lifetime ago. It kind of is, I guess. It's been definitely not an overnight success, but I think something that we're all really proud of is the road that we've traveled to get, you know, to get here today. Yeah, so 2002, I was living in a one bedroom flat with my boyfriend at the time, who's now my husband.

1:35And that's when I founded Cargo Crew. So yeah, stepping back a little bit further, prior to that, I had studied fashion design at RMIT in Melbourne. I have always been like a creative, always been really passionate about design and the connection with how design impacts our life, I guess. Pretty much straight from university, I started a label with a girlfriend from college. And so we had a young fashion design label. We used to wholesale to boutiques around the country. We used to participate in young designer shows. And we had, you know, a really great business and brand. However, at such a young age to start a business and also to, you know, to work in retail and wholesale, it is a really challenging industry.

2:18So people would say, you guys are doing so well. And it was like we were, but we couldn't afford to buy a coffee, like the challenges of getting paid from, you know, retailers and reinvesting that money back into the next collection. It was, you know, it was a lot of learnings that happened at a very, very young age. And I think some of those learnings I've really bought into, you know, Cargo Crew, into our existing business that really helped inform how we shaped it. And I think that does include, you know, our bootstrap story, you know, the journey to get where we are today. But yeah, definitely lots of great learning.

2:49So during that time when I had the label with my girlfriend, we used to get approached by businesses who would ask us to design and create a uniform that was modern and that they really felt represented their business. And it was through those kind of experiences that I realised I really loved the experience of working with brand managers, marketing businesses and bringing, I suppose, my design experience and helping them bring their vision to life as it related to their staff uniform. And so when we decided to wrap up the label, which was about five years later, I decided to kick off Cargo Crew, which is taking me now back to the flat in Clifton Hill, the one bedroom flat.

3:29And that's where I started from. So I guess bringing together that experience from the fashion label and bringing that into the business market, I think is something that, yeah, that I really enjoyed and, you know, and still continue to do so to today. Got it. And so when you decided to sunset the fashion label and go into cargo crew, what were the ambitions exactly? Was it that you wanted to work directly with brands? And was the hope that it would be easier to do business to business rather than relying on being a vendor, wholesale, not getting paid, all that? I think it was a mix of those things.

4:05I think what I really felt passionately about was that at the time, and probably still in many ways today, there wasn't a brand offering in the uniform market where people felt that they could actually work with a business, that they could get that experience of quality and design. It felt very generic. It felt like the businesses that kind of dominated the market were doing it based on kind of volume, generic product that would just get rebranded, you know, with logos. And I think from my perspective, I really wanted to give people choice around, you know, having something that felt more considered, more design orientated.

4:40So it was really, I think, you know, really kind of wanting to address that niche that I felt was there. But also, you know, to your point, having that experience and going direct to businesses was something that I really felt was something that I really enjoyed because it was also just developing that direct relationship with the customer and having the time to kind of really understand their needs. There was one story around, you know, in the early days when I first started, there was a precinct being built in Melbourne called Federation Square, which is now quite iconic, you know, near Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.

5:14And it was being developed and there was quite a well-known restaurateur at the time who was building three restaurants. And I read about it in the paper and I started to call other venues that they owned. And I was like, I really want to meet with Paul Mathes. I really want to talk to him about designing uniforms. and that project was delayed by about a year. And I think by the time they were actually ready to talk uniforms, he was like, okay, Felicity, just come in, let's do it because I'd chased them so much. And I think though there was that passion, like I knew that he was very design-led, he had a vision of what he wanted to create there and I really felt that at the time, like we were the right people to do it.

5:46I was the right person to do it because I kind of could bring that design, produce locally and it was very custom and bespoke. So I think that's where I started very much on custom-made bespoke ranges for people. But over the years, if you think about the journey, what I did kind of uncover from that and something that I think it was a real learning from the start is there's a lot of complexity with constantly reinventing the wheel, you know, having to custom make lead times, minimum quantities, all of those things. So it was about six years in, actually, that my sister, who previously worked in advertising, joined me in the business coming back from having worked overseas.

6:22And we really together, we put our heads together. and we're all like, let's create a range that's available from stock that people can buy with no minimum, you know, order quantity. And that's kind of how we kicked off the cargo crew range, which is, you know, what it is today. And we started that with just four denim aprons. Got it. And so I wanted to ask about the evolution of the line and also the evolution of the business. But I guess I'll, you know, this is one of those difficult interviews because we have decades to cover. But were your ambitions in the first few years that it would be Australia only?

6:56Because correct me if I'm wrong, but you're in 80 countries now. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. We've shipped to over 80 countries. Absolutely. I would have had no idea just how broad-reaching we would become. I genuinely believed in what we were doing. I genuinely believed we were disrupting the market in the sense of, I think prior to that, yeah, going back again, like the uniform industry was really kind of controlled by these large, just, you know, large companies that sold to all the distributors. So, again, coming back to the fact there was no feeling of a brand who was really declared that they were a uniform brand.

7:29There was kind of wholesalers and then a whole lot of distributors. So, I think, you know, from that perspective, it was that declaration that we're here, we're showing up as a uniform brand and we want to address these people directly. So, yeah, so I guess from that perspective, it was very clear that we were in the market to do it differently. So four years into it, you launched essentially what I understand to be D2C, like people didn't need a minimum order, they could just buy one off if they wanted. When did things begin to ramp up? And what would you say would be the most major growth milestones you've experienced in the last two decades?

8:07Okay, so definitely when we went online. So I guess back to your question when you kind of asked, would I have expected that would be shipping to over 80 countries today? And I said, no. The reason for that is because when we started, we were a very Melbourne-centric business. We were based in Melbourne. We used to produce a lot in Melbourne. We eventually did start to go offshore as things started to expand. But yeah, we were very local. We had a very local customer base. So one of the biggest things that happened was around 2012 was when we actually launched our website as an online store. So prior to that, we obviously had a website, which was a great way for us to acquire customers, but it was very localised.

8:48So I think that when we shifted to that thought around wanting to position Cargo Crew as a retail brand in a way, established the online store, opened up that kind of market that became national and then international quite quickly. Like I think it was only around three to four months from when we first launched the website. And when I say website, online store in 2012, that we got our first inquiry from Mexico, from a coffee business there. And in those early days, when we did ship internationally, it was all done offline. So people would find us and send us an email and then we would service them offline.

9:25So yeah, I guess from that perspective, when you kind of ask, would have I have imagined before having the online presence, absolutely not. But what was really interesting was the pace that gathered after having that presence online. And I think what a key to our superpower has been our incredible team that has helped us build that foundation. We have an SEO and digital strategist that's been with us since 2012 and has helped build that foundation. And I I think together as a team, we really established our online presence in a time when nobody else was really focused on doing uniforms online.

10:02And I reflect as well on that time. We have an embroiderer who we still use today, who I also used to use back when I had the label. So it's over a 20-year relationship. And I mentioned to him that we were going to be launching this online store. As an embroiderer, he does a lot of work for uniform businesses and always has. and he said to me at the time, Felicity, a lot of people have tried that. Uniforms online just doesn't work. And I was sitting there going, oh, okay. Well, here we are investing in this online store. Oh my God, it's not going to work. No, yes, it is. And so basically, again, I think what we did is we bought that real feeling of brand and design to the industry and bought that to the website, bought that to the online store and how quickly it gained pace was really exciting.

10:48um so yeah that was definitely a key milestone within our journey and so would you say i want to ask about that branding aspect because this is 2012 it's still very early on in the in the annals of e-commerce but you're thinking about brand branding did you think about it from the perspective of you are a business to business uniform maker or did or like how do you how do you go about that because it seems like those are two different types of identities even though your product is very fashionable. And that's sort of what it's became known for over the years is that, you know, people are wearing them in the streets because it's, you know, a nice uniform.

11:22But was that part of the idea when you wanted to do this branding part and SEO part? Yeah, I think it just came naturally to us. I think there was that genuine place that we came from, which was a design position that we didn't want to put rubbish out there. We wanted to put quality product out there, design first, innovation, fabrics, detailing, all of those things that we're super passionate about. So I guess when I talk about brand, I think it's not something that we're like intentionally saying, we're going to do it this way just to get noticed. It's just in our DNA. And I think it was just more so that how we did everything, all of the touch points.

11:55So the first photo shoots that we did, they looked more fashionable than a lot of the uniform websites that were around at that time. You know, we established ourselves on Instagram quite early. You know, the customer service that we offered our clients. So whilst a lot of people, purchased online, they also contacted us after finding us and we helped service them and we helped curate looks for them. We'd put together style guides. So I feel like the whole experience of working with Cargo Crew was and still is today about delivering a brand experience. And I think that's something that it's a visual thing, but it's also a service thing and it's also a feeling thing.

12:32It's the communication, it's the brand tone. And I think that's just really, as I said, in our DNA. And it's something that we're not, we're really authentic about. And I think people just understand that that feels different and it feels quality and it feels like something they're drawn into. So I think that's also been one of our key successes over the years of building that community out about people who connect with us as a brand. So, yeah. No, no, no. Keep going. We're going to say something else? Oh, yeah. No, no. I was just going to say. So as it relates to brand, I think, as I said, the importance of doing that authentically and being consistent with that, I think that comes from an authentic place for a business.

13:09You're not just trying to manufacture something. So for us, it's very genuine. Got it. So is everything still wholly done in Australia, specifically as you have, I think it said 45 ,000 teams, over 80 countries. I should let the listeners know, Felicity's a She probably got up before 7 a.m. It's 7 a.m. her time right now because we're talking over many, many oceans, thousands of miles. But is everything still produced in Australia and then shipped out to all of these other teams around the world? Yeah, no. So we don't produce in Australia our garments anymore. It was probably around 2012 or earlier when we launched the website before that we'd started to produce offshore.

13:55When I first started the business, yes, everything was done locally, custom made, pattern making, all of those things. But I think, like I mentioned to you, when I started, it was more of a bespoke offering. So everything was smaller and everything was kind of produced in small lots. At the end of the day, it's not like we're a mass produced company now, but the reality is to be able to scale and to keep that kind of quality of production and innovation. Unfortunately, in Australia, the clothing manufacturing industry is not an industry that we've continued to invest in heavily. And in fact, over the years, we do continue to do things locally here in Australia, but there hasn't been a huge change in investment and how things are done here from when I was producing locally like 22 years ago.

14:41So as a business, you know, it's really important that we continue to innovate. And having a diverse supply chain is really important to us. So we do manufacture in different regions. So we're manufacturing in Asia, in China, in India, in Indonesia, and very small parts in Australia. So I think what's really cool about our approach to manufacturing and how we've, I think, almost emulated what we did here in Australia, and that was we've developed really close relationships with our manufacturers. You know, we're very focused on ethical supply chain. And basically, I've personally visited, you know, 90 % of the factories that we've worked with, and a lot of them are family businesses, So have very like-minded values to us.

15:22And that's something that we're really proud of as well. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. Let's talk about the partnerships or the sort of buzzier people. Because when did you begin catching the eye of people like Curtis Stone? Because Paris Hilton, I think, happened this year. So that's pretty new. Yeah, pretty new. But it seems like you've been working with some bigger names over the years. Did that happen organically? Or is that something that you realize that this might be a good sort of branding propulsion if we worked with someone who's a celebrity chef, for example?

15:54Yeah, absolutely. No, I guess, well, first of all, I guess coming back to the online store, coming back to the website, you know, we always talk about how our website is our window to the world. It's amazing what can happen now in business. Like if I reflect back to when I had the label, that was actually really before online. And I think about a very local business. The reality is, I think if you're doing things well and you have an online presence, it's amazing what can happen just organically from that. And that was actually the case with Goop, which is something that I'm still so proud of to this day, because it always obviously helps when you know people and you have connections and you try and get your product in front of people.

16:31It's certainly not easy for small businesses to have those opportunities. So the Goop opportunity really came about organically. What happened was it was when they were launching their skincare range and they were doing a pop-up in New York and their agency, who was obviously organising the event, found us online and ordered 30 aprons. They actually, at the time, it was before we did international shipping. So they actually contacted us and they said, if we place an order, can we get these delivered by X date? And we're like, yep, no problem. We can get them out straight away. Got them out. They didn't tell us that it was for a Goot pop-up, but we saw it on Instagram and we saw all of these people working at the pop-up wearing our aprons.

17:09So we're like, oh my god that was amazing and um so around that time I then emailed Goop and I just thought I'll just email them and say you know we're a small business in Australia we've seen that you've worn our aprons we just want to say this is amazing um and basically they emailed back really quite quickly and said look actually um Gwyneth really loved the aprons and she would love to wear one at the launch of um our skincare brand in New York in a few weeks we've got all these influencers coming would you like to you know send us some more aprons and we'll all wear them and we're like, yes.

17:41So literally, that's how it happened. And I think it is one of our really proud moments. And it continues today that people still talk about that. And I think the power of celebrity, you know, whilst it's important here in Australia, it's even more important in the US. And I think that's continued to show that there is that kind of connection that our product delivers to people. You know, whilst we're a workwear business, I guess, coming back to what we were talking about earlier about brand and quality and I think also originality, you know, that does appeal to all sorts of people, including fashion icons like Goop.

18:16So I think that was really exciting. So as it related to Curtis Stone, that was definitely more of an intentional pursuit. So we contacted Curtis's team at one point and it was around when we started to declare internally that we wanted to start focusing more heavily on the US. And obviously, Curtis is Australian. He's obviously extremely well-known here in Australia and the US. So we thought that was a nice connection to start working with him and to start building out, establishing our chef wear range in the market. So yeah, we started working with Curtis. It was about four years ago now. And he really was actually, to be honest, part of also wear trialing our chef wear styles before we bought them to the market.

18:57So him and his team at Gwen in LA, wear trialing and giving us feedback. And so that's something also that we're really passionate about, but also leaning on our industry partners or collaborators and saying, hey, can you wear trial these products? Tell us your feedback. How can we improve it? Any suggestions? So with Curtis, it was a very, it was more of a process about building a genuine relationship, having him part of the process of wear trial in the product and then formalizing a partnership with him over the years. So that's been a really great thing. And then as you said, Paris Hilton was something that just happened recently.

19:33And that was, to be fair, again, another very organic opportunity. We'd been working with a chef influencer, Chef Bay, who has a really great presence online. One of our team members actually internally followed Chef Bay and suggested that to the marketing team that we should reach out to Chef Bay and gift her. So we did that. And then we just built a rapport with her. She loved wearing our product. We made her a custom boiler suit, which had a big Chef Bay embroidery on the back. And she contacted us then a little bit after that and said, I love my boiler suit so much in the pink. I'm doing this cooking session with Paris Hilton.

20:07Would you like to send over one for Paris? And she might wear it. So we followed the same process. We did a big Paris Hilton embroidery on the back of the boiler suit and sent that over. And sure enough, she wore it while she cooked with Chef Bay.

20:24So huge names is just a great amplification for the brand and something that I think the connection that people have with our product. What type of lift do you see when it's a sort of individual personality and not like with Curtis Stone, I imagine that restaurateurs would see it and be like, those are nice aprons, maybe I'll get them. But for Gwyneth or with Paris, do you see a DTC lift with that? Or what do you observe? Absolutely. Like I think as it relates across social and that, and even the amplification of our existing customers, people reaching out, people commenting on social, oh, wow, how did that happen?

21:01Oh, my God. But I would say at the end of the day, with the example of Paris, that wasn't a paid partnership. There was nothing done on her side that, you know, that kind of, I suppose, gave us that exposure to her audience. What it did, though, it reaffirmed for us and to our audience, you know, the kind of calibre of people who are interested in wearing cargo crew. So I think that there's, I don't really have a key example for you where we say someone of Paris Hilton's level that has done an activity on their channels where we could say that there's been this instant flow of say sales and revenue and that kind of correlation being really obvious.

21:39But we have done some activity, particularly in COVID. It was a time where a lot of businesses, we talk about how businesses pivoted. I think the biggest learning that we got through COVID. And also when we're talking today about this connection with D2C, I really believe we built that through COVID. Like I feel like before COVID, we were more of a declared B2B business. But I think when businesses, you know, slowed down, shut down, you know, and in Melbourne, in Australia, in particular, we were heavily impacted by lockdowns for like around 12 months on and off. It was really, really serious.

22:17And so I think it was that experience that actually had us operating at a high level on social media, connecting with influencers, gifting, doing online activations. And all of those things then opened up this more consumer market, which I believe has really come and been amplified through COVID. So when we kind of talk about our B2B and B2C customers that we talked to, I would say that it was that time that really kind of set that as an opportunity for us to continue. So yeah, so and today we continue to, we really continue to work with a lot of influencers, and basically continue that spirit of collaboration with that D2C market.

22:59Got it. And I imagine, even with this D2C push, B2B is still the brunt of your business, right? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, it is. and it's absolutely where we're focused because, you know, our offering is all about making businesses and brands feeling really good in uniform. Like if we think about our mission, it's actually for people to feel great in uniform. And so essentially that relates to business most of the time. But I think also, you know, if I get reflective about producing quality product and our expertise in producing quality of product that's going to last, where that can overlap to consumer, I think it's a really positive conversation because it's kind of like the thought that goes into our product, the time, the R &D to make sure that it's really built for purpose, built for work, where that can cross over to consumers and give people a product that has longevity.

23:50That's also a positive thing to really focus on. So, yeah, absolutely, the majority of our business is B2B. But I think that there is that desire for people to also want to wear something that when they're working, even in their own pursuit, so whether that's a creative pursuit, whether that's home cooking, whether that's baking, they want to wear something that is going to be practical and maybe, you know, protect their clothes, e.g. a quality apron. or it could be something that they're a stylist or they're an event manager and they want to wear a boiler suit because it's like one and done. They can also have their own personal branding.