Technically there are two other brands operating separately, Goodlids and Moreporks, but they’re all wrapped into one under Outdoor Society.
What inspired you to start the business?
It all started when we launched Goodlids in 2019. We wanted to create something that didn’t exist in the market at the time, which was basically a hemp headwear business. The vision was to have hats and then make clothing that had a real consideration for the environment, but also that was quite wearable and design-led.
Hemp felt like the right choice because I thought it had a really interesting brand story, and there were very few that were leaning into it. That was seven years ago now, and it’s only grown from there. We probably have the most diverse and innovative hemp outdoor catalogue in the world.
I then acquired the Moreporks business in 2022. That business has been around since 2010, so it was a clothing brand I really cut my teeth on when I was growing up. It was part of a cool era of New Zealand streetwear. Then the Outdoor Society concept we kicked off in April last year.
Outdoors Society’s Mt Eden store acts as a retail outlet and a community hub.
Have you been surprised by the growth of the businesses?
We like to have fun and we like to stay really true to our values, and our values obviously don’t always align with relentless growth and our bottom line.
I think our main concern is building brands that we’re genuinely proud of that also represent a way of life that we champion. We want to be authentic about that, but there’s no doubt that underneath all of that is a serious commercial layer that needs to prop up that ambition.
You’ve also been able to create a unique community, how important is that for the business’ growth?
I think it’s really important. One of the things that we set out to do when we went through that conceptualisation period was create something undeniably authentic to what we champion. I’ve always been a huge fan of real-life experiences, and particularly with the way that the world is going, everything’s e-commerce.
There’s no doubt that we are who we say we are, and if we get out and bring that to the community and do it every week, we can take people on the journey with us. I just think that’s one of the most important things in this day and age. It’s an awesome thing for the team to be able to engage in all of the events and activities as well.
Goodlids began as a hemp headwear business but has since evolved into a wider apparel brand. Moreporks, meanwhile, has been around since 2010.
What plans do you have for expansion?
We’ve got Outdoors Society in Mt Eden which is great. Next up we’re going to be opening up a Moreporks flagship store in Ponsonby very soon, and we’re following up that with a dedicated Goodlids store soon after.
There are so many variables that would influence whether we’d want to open stores outside of Auckland. We’ve had three consecutive pop-ups in London over the past three years which have been really successful, but at the moment where I would love to get to is having those little operations championing the New Zealand lifestyle here and then trade hard overseas online.
We’re at a crossroads where you can see your future and you know it’s overseas, and you kind of have to make the call quite early on where you are going to put your roots down, but it’s an exciting time.
What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business?
There are a million pieces of advice you could give, but I think the hardest thing to do is making the initial leap to put yourself out there. As a New Zealander it’s inherently quite a challenging thing to do, but once you’re in it, it becomes a game of surviving and problem solving.
That No 8 wire mentality is still very much alive and well in New Zealand, and I think people would genuinely surprise themselves at how capable they are.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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