Premium Australian jeans label Outland Denim was launched in 2016, but planning for the venture stretched for six years before that, founder and CEO James Bartle said. “We worked on the social impact model and proving what it could do,” Bartle said. “The idea and the concept behind it is that we believe you can use consumerism for good.” At the heart of the consumerism for good strategy is a policy of empowering the people – mostly women in Cambodia – and paying them living wages.
ages. Outland brings people out of modern slavery and sex trafficking situations and gives them the opportunity to learn how to be seamstresses over several years.
Bartle said consumerism is viewed as a dirty word, at least in some quarters, and there is much talk of slow fashion and buying less. There’s some environmental benefit to this, but he believes it’s not looking at the whole picture.
“Our perspective is to use business so that every time you create a product, you’re benefiting both humanity and the planet.
“How do we genuinely create a circular economy so that every time someone buys one of our products, they know that the impact of buying that product was to make someone’s life better?” he continued.
Core market
Outland Denim’s target market is women aged 25-45. They care about social justice issues, they’re educated, and they understand the realities of their purchasing choices.
“So, she’s coming to us and looking for solutions, to be able to buy products that align with her values,” Bartle noted. “And that’s where our brand steps in.”
Outland Denim focuses on getting the message out about how its products are made through word of mouth. Bartle said one of the most powerful brand promotions is when people go out and talk about the product and how it’s made.
On the inside of the jeans is a message from the seamstress who made it, and the swing tags have a QR code so customers can send a message to the seamstress who constructed their jeans and let them know they appreciate their work.
Bartle said: “It’s about that educational piece where the customer is able to communicate and understand the realities of what their purchase meant for someone else.”
Looking into 2024
As the economy gets tighter, consumers will look more towards brands with purpose, he said, and noted that even fast fashion brands like Shein are starting to attach themselves to sustainability.
“If we have brands like that seeing the need to attach themselves to something that has purpose, then I think it’s really clear for brands like Outland that purpose has to be even more at the forefront.”
Retail is down across the board, and Bartle said this is something he hopes will change in 2024, but he’s also realistic about interest rates and the cost of living having a long-lasting impact.
“So, we know that communicating the impact of a purchase and people being a lot more considered about their purchases are important.”
One of Outland Denim’s strategies to take on the tight retail and spending environment is to address what Bartle said is a part of the market where “there’s less up and down”. And that means pushing towards higher price points, which is where the brand sees its opportunity to grow and insulate itself from the broader economic situation.
To do this, the company is looking at its construction and materials, as well as the trend pieces it is bringing to market.
“We’re bringing those things together to address the needs of that woman who’s looking to make good purchasing decisions and having the right product at the right price in the right demographic of people – and doing it all at the right time,” he observed.
What Outland Denim won’t be doing is competing on price, because Bartle says doing so becomes a race to the bottom, and it’s something he views as a poor strategy.
Markdown strategies are damaging in the long term, and would interfere with the social justice mission Outland Denim is trying to achieve.
Ultimately, Bartle said, navigating the economic challenges of 2024 is a matter of targeting consumers who are better insulated and have higher disposable incomes.
It also means re-evaluating the path to market, and how Outland Denim, word of mouth aside, promotes its products. Ads with Facebook and Instagram owner Meta just don’t work as well as they once did, he said. Email and SMS marketing, on the other hand, still work well as a promotional medium – with the right approach.
“If we’re going to ping inside someone’s pocket, then we need to be adding real value. We can’t just be spamming people trying to get a sale out of them.”
Outland Denim has a retail presence, and also uses wholesale as a route to market. “We’ve got our direct-to-consumer and our wholesale business and personally I am very passionate about our wholesale business,” he said.
Wholesale, with retailers like Australian department store David Jones, is the backbone of any brand, as it lets potential customers touch and feel the product and experience it before purchase. “I don’t think this will change, particularly for a brand that’s selling denim pieces.”
By targeting the high-end, Outland Denim hopes to be able to capture a market that’s socially progressive, and cares about how and where a product is made. It also wants to insulate itself from the realities of the current economic situation, where consumer spending is tight. By having a purpose, Outland Denim is looking to differentiate itself in a crowded market, one where consumers are increasingly sitting on their hands, rather than putting them into their pockets.
Further reading: VIDEO: How Outland Denim is fighting human trafficking