Introducing Sean Ashby, our first Australian Entrepreneur interview! We contacted Sean because of some noise we heard regarding aussieBum, the company he founded in 2001. aussieBum is an Australian men’s swimwear company, which also sells other clothing including, leisurewear, underwear, sportswear and loungewear. The noise we heard about aussieBum was pretty fascinating and it still is. aussieBum recently released a new underwear. What is amazing about this underwear is that it is made with Banana fibres. That’s right – made from bananas! The company offers many environmentally friendly fabric solutions and is constantly come up with creative ways to be more sustainable.

In this interview, find out how and why Sean started aussieBum, what makes people want to buy aussieBum so much, where the idea to use banana fibre came from, the message aussieBum is sending, and what is in the works over at aussieBum.

Enjoy!

You entered a market that some people may have believed to be saturated, how did you come up with the idea and what opportunity did you see in pursuing aussieBum?

aussieBum was originally just a men’s swimwear label.  The popularity of the brand grew so much that customers were asking what we would produce for the winter months when swimwear could not be worn.  It was a natural progression for the company and with due respect I was not aware the men’s underwear category was so competitive.  At that stage I saw the opportunity to be survival for the brand as the companies origins were based on me being able to give myself a job and to pay my rent. A great motivator for a new business owner.

The way I came up with the idea was quite simple also.  Since a child I had grown up wearing a particular style of swimwear – this style has become symbolic of Australia’s culture as it was worn by Australia’s Surf Life Savers.  In 2001, I went to purchase this style of swimwear from my local clothing store to discover this style was deleted because the company that produced it had become more focused on the global market and sales for this particular style was not high enough to sustain.  At that time I was unemployed and struggled to gain employment in my chosen profession.  I had saved $20,000 dollars for a deposit on the great Australian dream – buying a home.  Realizing this dream was no longer possible and the fact I was running out of money fast I decided to take my savings and produce the swimwear style I and many Australian’s enjoyed wearing.  The reason why the company is called aussieBum is because I am an Australian and at that time I was a beach Bum.  My idea was to produced the swimwear and sell it to my friends and those at Australia’s famous Bondi Beach.

What is it about aussieBum that makes people want it so much?

People always want what they cannot have immediately.  I believe the secret to our success is we choose to limit where we sell our brand and maintain total creative control internally.  The company’s growth has been built on passion, guts and determination.  One key attribute to our brand’s personality is we choose to show both the front-end finished results and also the ‘behind the scenes’ of what it takes to run a company like aussieBum.  Today consumers not only want the pretty pictures, they are equally interested in how those pictures were produced and what it really takes to get the final product to them.  We pride ourselves on the fact that we are very transparent to the point we openly let people know when we have ‘stuffed up’.  Our customers are very loyal. I believe it’s because we let them be part of every step we take.  When they read about our success in the media I know they realize this is also because of their support to the brand, which in turns allows them to feel that part of the company’s success is because of them.

Where did you get the idea to use Banana Fibre?

We are always looking for new ways to innovate and also to align ourselves with environmentally sustainable technologies. This has become quite an important issue worldwide as we now look for ways to sustain the environment we have taken advantage of for so many generations.

The banana fibre idea came around as a company in Northern Queensland started developing the fabric and approached us about doing a range. My first thought was – I am sure just like everyone else’s; ‘ha ha undies made from bananas,’ you have to be joking…’ But it turned out to be a great success because we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and having strong values as the core consideration in our decision making process we decided that promoting eco-friendly undies in a big way, as well Australian manufacturers, was worth the risk of being laughed at!

What message are you trying to send about aussieBum?

In the beginning the message we were trying to promote was the fact that our style of swimwear is not for everyone, though if you are confident enough you can look fantastic on the beach.  Our sales line at that time was ‘If you doubt yourself, wear something else’.  Swimwear and underwear is really all about ‘sex appeal’ and wear a style that best suits your body shape and you level of confidence.  In a world filled with so much advertising we developed campaigns that at that time were risky and somewhat controversial.  This created the added currency and brand awareness to separate itself from other brands.  aussieBum became known as the confident sexy men’s brand.  We choose to market to a niche audience rather than trying to appeal to the mainstream market in the early days.  Many believed this would work against the brand in the long run because we’re marketing specifically to the trend-setters in fashion.  This has worked in our favor as it helped grow the brand’s awareness globally via word of mouth and our online marketing activity.

What will aussieBum think of next?

We are currently in the process of developing a natural yarn that we hope will eventually replace Cotton; yet provide all the same qualities cotton has become synonymous for.  I want to try and improve on the way our company impacts the earth’s environment. We are continually looking for ways to recycle our own material and manufacture in a way that is least harmful on our environment.  For example we sublimate / heat press the majority of our printed fabrics.  It’s more expensive but it allows us not to use water and add to the contamination of our environment.  aussieBum will continue to be the ‘cheeky sexy’ one in the men’s underwear category.  I am also very excited about the concept of introducing some new innovations.  Milk Fiber underwear, Heated & Cooling fibre Undies.  But most importantly you can expect the unexpected in what we do.  I think that is what gives us the unique sales edge over our competitors.

Thanks Sean!

Check out aussieBum‘s website
Check out the underwear that will make you go bananas!
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