Tailored Technology: The InStitchu Story | #097 - a podcast by Nathan Bush
from 2021-07-11T19:00:33
In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by James Wakefield and Robin McGowan, co-founders of InStitchu. InStitchu are changing up the suit, work and all together put together the fashion industry by offering tailored designs at a fraction of the cost of traditional bespoke designers. InStitchu are coming up to their 10th birthday. Starting with a $5K website, they now have a team of 60 including five in-house developers, 13 showrooms throughout Australia and customers all over the world. James and Robin share what they have learnt over these first ten years including how they make custom products profitable, why they built a tech stack from the ground on up and how these high school mates have remained close during the ups and downs of business.
Links from the episode:
Shopify & JB Hi Fi (sponsored)
Questions answered:
- How does InStitchu manage to make high quality custom clothing at such a competitive price?
- How do you use data to drive loyalty and repeat purchase?
- What’s your relationship like as Co-founders?
This episode was brought to you by…
Just like the quest to find the perfect pair of jeans, finding eco friendly packaging solutions that are a great fit and cost effective can be a tiresome pursuit. Eco-friendly and zero waste product brand, Ekoroo were having this exact problem. Multiple suppliers. Clunky packaging. Inefficient processes. That is until they found Signet and their adjustable cartons which allow them to adjust to the size of the shipment while remaining environmentally friendly. What a snug fit. Visit signet.net.au/blog to find out more.
Think Shopify Plus if just for ‘simple retailers’? Well let me tell you - JB Hi Fi is no simple business. But when their old site crashed for two hours during Black Friday, doing nothing was simply not an option. Shopify Plus was selected as the eCommerce partner to help facilitate the fast growing $5b retailer. However, with over 200 dispatch locations, a reliance on a web of API’s and the ability to handle tripling growth - it wasn’t an out of the box implementation. But the results spoke for themselves. JB Hi-Fi cruised through a record Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2019 without a hitch, have reduced average page load time by 15% and were even able to redeploy three techies whose job was to watch the servers to make sure they don’t go down! JB Hi FI - not just smashing prices but smashing eCommerce. To read more of B Hi-Fi’s story and see other case studies visit the customers sections on shopify.com.au/plus.
About your host: Nathan Bush from 12HIGH
Nathan Bush is the founder and lead strategist at eCommerce consultancy, 12HIGH. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email.
About your co-hosts:
James Wakefield from InStitchu
James Wakefield co-founded InStitchu with high school friend Robin McGowan in 2012. Having worked as an Associate Advisor at Macquarie Bank for four years, James was acutely aware of a gap in the corporate tailoring market: he and his colleagues struggled to build a wardrobe of quality suits ready for daily wear at affordable prices. There was, he found, always a compromise on quality, fit or range, particularly for younger generations with less disposable income. The rest is tailoring history: James left the finance industry and established InStitchu as the leading player in made-to-measure tailoring, focusing on quality, affordability and fit. Combining his business acumen with an entrepreneurial flair and excellent sales skills he has helped propel InStitchu to the forefront of Australia’s competitive tailoring industry. In his spare time, James enjoys surfing, golf and staying up-to-date on the fast-evolving global start-up scene.
You can contact James at LinkedIn
Robin McGowan from InStitchu
Robin McGowan co-founded Australia’s leading custom tailored menswear provider, InStitchu, in 2012, alongside high school mate James Wakefield. Robin spent much of his youth growing up in Italy and Europe, helping spark an interest and knowledge in menswear, drawing from a playground in the world’s most iconic fashion capitals. In later years Robin developed his background in eCommerce, helping him recognise the opportunity in the Australian market for high quality made-to-measure, tailored suits at a reasonable price. Robin used this experience and opportunity to transition to the start-up world in launching InStitchu with James. To this day Robin lends in eCommerce and fashion knowledge to lead the growing InStitchu team in an ever-changing digital landscape, helping connect skilled manufacturers in Asia with consumers around the world.
You can contact Robin at LinkedIn
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