What inspired you to start the business?
My co-founders Alex Tipene Matua, Emma Henderson and I are all old school friends. We came to the idea one day when we were all playing a round of golf in London. We were having a drink in the course’s clubhouse, and after looking around we just thought why don’t we give women’s golf clothing a crack?
The issue was that there was nothing very considered for women. Obviously there are the big brands like TaylorMade and Calloway, but they all started as men’s brands and have gone into women’s clothing, but they’re not built to be women’s brands.
The other issue is that all of the colours are quite loud. We wanted a more considered palette, and gear that made women feel comfortable and confident when they were playing.
Fox & Birdie’s focus is on sustainable materials and is designed using combinations of merino wool and organic cotton.
How did you develop the brand and designs?
The conversation first started with a contact we had in the wool industry, when we decided we wanted to create merino garments.
They put us in contact with a manufacturer who specialises in knitwear, so we began conversations with them about producing clothing that focused on using merino yarn. The company we work with has consultants based in London, and works directly with the manufacturer, who is based offshore.
They then did all of the technical aspects with the factory, which worked very well for us. Because of the consultants’ expertise, expert advice and attention to detail, we ended up with a really high-quality product. I believe this relationship has been integral to our success and excellent feedback from customers on our product to date.
How do you plan on building out the product range?
We’re going to look to round out the current range with a skirt, and that will solidify our current offering. I think our main thing at the moment is to refine the sizing. I know that some of the challenges we’re having in the New Zealand market is that the average size of a woman is a lot different to what we had currently ordered.
One of our challenges is looking to overcome that, but there’s a long lead time on ordering products, so we’re trying to forecast stock and manufacturing timelines. When you consider we want to expand into other markets in the next 12 to 18 months, there’s a lot to do.
Fox & Birdie’s focus is on sustainable materials, and garments are designed using combinations of merino wool and organic cotton.
This is your first business, what’s been the biggest challenge so far?
We’re self-funded and launched in August last year, and it has been quite a challenge as all three of us have fulltime day jobs. I think the main challenge would be just around prioritising. Obviously with a start-up there’s a lot of different things you can do.
We learned that e-commerce is a bit of a beast, and we also want to get into pro shops so people can see and feel the garments. But at the same time, we’re really trying to hone in on all of the Meta and Google Ads side along with our customer journey through the website.
There’s also the challenge of building relationships with retailers. They’re buying almost 18 months in advance for different seasons. You might think you want to be in somewhere by the end of the year, but you’ve got to do a lot of warm leads and follow-ups to get anywhere.
What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business?
Give it a go, but don’t try to be perfect at the start. The scope is constantly changing for everything, so just aim to keep moving somehow and somewhere, even if it’s sideways. Any direction is better than nothing.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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