In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Kerryn Langer and Aaron Langer from Arms Of Eve, a jewellery and accessories brand that celebrates self-expression.
Starting life at the Sydney markets, Arms of Eve now boasts celebrity customers such as Margot Robbie and Hailey Bieber – and will soon open its fourth and fifth stores. In this chat, Kerryn and Aaron share why they love the Japanese concept of Kaizen and how they apply it in their business to make continual little changes, even when it isn’t perfect.
We discuss their multi-generational customers and what they need to do to cater with customers who range from Gen-Z through to baby boomers. And we get nerdy talking about the recent changes they’ve made online to simplify the user journey and increase conversion.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kerryn’s forearms, she had bangles from wrist to elbow!”
Aaron Langer
Luxury Feel, Affordable Price: How to Strike the Perfect Balance
Aaron and Kerryn emphasise the importance of offering high-quality products at an affordable price.
“We have to play in that product premium space because we’ve worked really hard to get our products to such a way where you can swim in the ocean, you can shower, you never take it off, high quality. So for us, that’s a real educational process. But when it comes to jewellery and accessories, it is about feeling good. So there is that emotional side of it as well.” Aaron
“It needs to feel like luxury, it needs to feel beautiful, but at that price point where it’s just like, I’m not even going to think about it. I’m going to get it. One of the customers in our store the other day, I think she was so surprised at how high end and how elegant it felt and looked and the wearability. And I love that because sometimes you can, you could just make it a hundred dollars more. And that’s a decision of a brand. But I want it to be attainable and affordable and maintain that beauty and quality.” Kerryn
“You can start a brand and you can start in a low price and always go upright. But we wanted to stay in this zone. I mean, Kerryn’s like, I call her the frugal gourmet.” Aaron
“I’m a market shopper, I want to find that one. I want it to be quality. I want a good deal.” Kerryn
“We want to be that premium feel good thing, but it feels even better when you look at the price.” Aaron
Choose Products That Are Easy to Ship and Store… and you love
Kerryn talks about her love for jewellery and how it was a strategic choice for their business.
“The jewellery was also very strategic in that it was a beautiful, small product. It was easy to ship. I’m more the operational kind of thinker, but I’m like, you can get a nice price point and you can ship it. It’s quite small. You can warehouse it. So it was kind of a nice product to move into.I think when Aaron met me, we went together a long time, I’ve always been adorned. I’ve always been I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kerryn’s forearms like she had. She had bangles from wrist to elbow. Kerryn
“When she walked, you can hear her coming a mile. Everything was jingling and jangling. So for her, the jewellery was just like, this is you.” Aaron
Embrace Kaizen for Continuous Improvement
Kerryn and Aaron explain how Kaizen, the philosophy of continuous improvement, is integrated into their business operations.
“Kaizen’s been there since the beginning. It translates to small continuous improvements all the time. And it’s not like you have to make these big sweeping, we’re going to do X, Y and Z. It’s like we’re constantly making these adjustments all the time. And all those tiny adjustments lead up to big changes.” Aaron
“And that’s like the teamwork, the culture, the people, my factories, small improvements in my products, small improvements in the production line, in my customer service. And I always say done is better than perfect because just get it done and then we just keep improving and tweaking and changing all the time.” Kerryn
“So how do you mix that attention to detail with done is better than perfect?” Nathan
“Yeah, they contradict, but in the best way. I think you’ve got to just get it done. Otherwise you just are crippled with perfectionism and fear. The hardest thing is just to start. So for me, when you just say done is better than perfect, it’s just like, just do it and you’ll perfect it along the way. And that perfecting along the way is a Kaizen, it’s just small improvement as we go. And from the beginning of time, from the markets to where we are now, you really see the bigger improvement of all the tiny ones along the way.” Kerryn
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