HOW AIDAN CLARKE GREW GLOBAL BRANDS 2XU AND SAINT BY PRIORITIZING PRODUCT. F R O WE O P SUCCESS STORY THE GREAT PRODUCT In a market saturated with quick, cheap fashion, building a high-quality, global apparel empire was not an easy feat— but in 13 short years, Aidan Clarke paved a way. It took a lot of dedication, but Clarke was determined to make a game-changing clothing company. Clarke decided early on that he doesn’t care about how his apparel looks, as much as he cares about its quality, and that commitment has paid off in a big way. His first and primary brand, 2XU, is based on the idea of making high-performance athletic wear, with a focus on unique, custom-engineered materials first. This approach and the resulting success would lead him to his second brand, Saint, which takes that same emphasis on materials and applies it to safety gear for motorcyclists. Aidan Clarke (right) with business partner Xavier Unkovich The funny thing is, by focusing on high-end users and materials, Clarke’s companies ended up creating products CLARKE DECIDED that have much broader EARLY ON THAT HE appeal than the initial target DOESN’t CARE ABOUT audiences, branching out into HOW HIS APPAREL athleisure, workwear, and potentially even streetwear for LOOKS, AS MUCH AS skateboarders. HE CARES ABOUT ITS QUALITY, AND THAT Through these two brands, COMMITMENT HAS Clarke has found a way to sell products that look PAID OFF IN good and perform well—and A BIG WAY. SUCCESS outfit consumers in over 60 STORY countries. From Door-to-Door Sales based in Melbourne. The Australian to 2 Worldwide Brands market for 2XU was also better than in New Zealand. “We spotted an Clarke got his first taste of the opportunity. New Zealand had lots clothing business at just 18. As he was of local sports brands, but Australia preparing for a school dance, he took ironically didn’t,” Clarke says. “We a second glance at the neckties he wanted to take on the big boys.” and his friends were buying. A young entrepreneur’s mind started crunching 2XU started with audacious goals. numbers and realized that the fabric Clarke and his team wanted 2XU to only cost $30 per meter, and each be uniquely performance-focused, meter could make up to seven ties. Yet so they spent the entire first year here he was shelling out almost $100 to developing fabrics for their apparel, purchase just one. “I thought, ‘Hang on, before creating their product. “You there’s a business here,’” Clarke recalls. can either buy fabric or focus on quality,” Clarke says. “We said, ‘Hey, He decided to start making his own we want to change the fabric.’” ties and selling them door-to-door to businesses in his home of Auckland, New Zealand. With millions in seed capital, they were able to spend ample time and Clarke’s entrepreneurial path didn’t resources on fabric development. continue in a perfectly linear fashion, Eventually, their warehouse became a common theme we see among so full that they had to start selling emerging founders. After graduation, their product. he went to college and started a corporate career. His pushed his Clarke and his team did wholesale entrepreneurial passions to the back of and direct sales at the same time. his mind, but not for long. While most clothing brands avoid direct sales so as to not compete “I ironically landed back in clothing,” with wholesalers, 2XU opened its Clarke says. “I’d grown up around first retail store to prove they could seamstresses and saw the value-add of sell premium, expensive sportswear clothing.” in Australia. “Selling at our own store motivated retailers to accept Clarke started his first apparel brand products,” Clarke says. “Having our 2XU in Melbourne in 2005 and moved own hero shop drove demand for his family there soon after. He spent wholesale.” the following five years on a plane, building 2XU into a multinational The team also visited both retail and business reaching more than 60 special sports stores. Selling next to countries. well-established international brands was difficult, but they pressed on. Why Melbourne? Clarke and his team Their first major sale was to a now- had received a significant amount of closed triathlon store that purchased startup funding, and their investor was the entire 2XU line for over $3,500. Another significant sale Clarke remembers was to Rebel Sport, a major retail chain in Australia and New Zealand. “Needless to say, we had a few drinks that night,” he says, laughing. Clarke’s next step for expanding 2XU was finding ambassadors and distributors. But that wasn’t always easy. “Trusting someone with your brand is like a glorified babysitter,” Clarke says. “You have to find someone with the same passion to sell your story.” e found that the best thing about distribution is how it taps into local knowledge and expertise. SUCCESS The 2XU team worked hard to find STORY passionate brand ambassadors and people to accurately represent the 2XU brand in each country. In doing so, they found mostly nontraditional distributors: athletes. “It was a big risk, but States, it’s worn by the global “slide time” standard passion is the right NBA, NFL, and even Navy for the fabric on these of way,” Clarke says. Seals. products (which defines the Over time, some amount of time that a fabric distributors scaled with In other places, 2XU should withstand sliding 2XU operations, and apparel has become an across an abrasive surface, some were replaced by athleisure staple. “You such as pavement, before commercial operations. don’t have to be a world it tears) is four seconds, champion to still want and they’re routinely tested In the following years, quality,” Clarke says. in facilities equipped with 2XU celebrated two major spinning disks of sandpaper equity events. In 2011, a After getting 2XU settled, that replicate sliding local company bought 30 Clarke pulled back and on the street. percent of the company. spent a “non-executive Next, the capital arm of year” focused on himself Louis Vuitton discovered and his health. One day, the brand and bought in at while riding bikes with his Their first fabric lasted 40 percent, a significant co-founder, he came up 3.67 seconds before valuation for 2XU. with what would become ripping—just short of the his next big idea—a new standard but still much ince then, form of safety apparel for longer than any other 2XU has motorcyclists. single-layer fabric. After scaled up continual development, and hired The idea sounded simple, Clarke’s fabric now lasts corporate but as the duo dove almost six seconds. CEOs to into R&D, they realized run the creating this type of company. “The challenge product would require a Swe face, though, is how significant commitment. This single idea helped to still act like a small “It cost us a couple million Clarke and his brand break business…an underdog,” dollars after a couple into work clothes and other Clarke says. “We used years,” Clarke says. This tough lifestyle applications. to say, ‘By athletes, for effort would go on to athletes,’ but we can’t say become Saint, Clarke’s They’ve since patented that anymore.” second global clothing their super-durable fabric, brand. which involves a unique But at the end of the material spun into the yarn. day, the 2XU product Their goal was to create “As for workwear, no one is “still sensational.” It’s a single-layer safety can do what we’ve done,” been well-received at the product—ensuring a Clarke says. “It’s nice to professional and Olympics flexible, comfortable riding have the IP protection.” level and is very much experience—that wouldn’t considered a premium rip or tear if someone fell brand. In the United off their motorcycle. The SUCCESS STORY PREMIUM PRODUCT > PRICE Both of Clarke’s businesses, Through both ventures, 2XU and Saint, lead with a Clarke aimed to develop a premium product line. And high-quality product, as he there’s a reason for that. believes that is his “greatest “People often lead with price,” value proposition and Clarke says. “That’s a lazy way to strong positioning” against sell. Product is king.” competitors. He believes that “if you have an amazing Some clothing retailers also product, you're not selling— find themselves tempted to you're just recommending.” sell their products relying on aesthetics alone, but not Clarke. Of course, selling your “Rather than being a fashion product is much easier when brand, I’d rather be an authentic other people endorse it. In motorcycle brand with tough Clarke’s eyes, strong brands products…that also look good,” start with a great product he says about Saint. or service, get their margins right so they’re profitable, and Instead of encouraging people then create demand. “People to “buy because it's cool," he think there’s a complexity to SUCCESS always wants the dialogue to business, but there’s also a STORY be, "buy because it's going to simplicity,” Clarke says. protect you." ow can you create this and built trust in 2XU demand? Clarke relates from the ground up. it to a “chicken and egg” The same can be situation. If you create done through social demand before you’re communities. ready to supply and distribute your product, Clarke claims that you risk wasting social media, in fact, resources because is a lot more directed. you’re essentially “The ability to target creating demand for and generate demand competitors.