[Voiceover]: Welcome to the checkout. We catch up with previous add to cart guests and ask them five quick questions to get to know them better and leave you with a little extra inspiration to get you through your Friday.
Nathan Bush: Today's checkout features Brendan Hartman, general manager of Budgie Smuggler. Budgie Smuggler started out as a bit of a laugh in an Aussie backyard when some mates decided to write Budgie Smuggler on the back of some Speedo style swimmers.
Nathan Bush: How's that for an inspiring start?
Nathan Bush: Growing from selling a thousand pairs of smugglers a year to over 100,000 pairs internationally, Budgie Smuggler now has a kids and women's range to match their iconic briefs. Brendan, welcome to the checkout.
Nathan Bush: Let's find out a little bit more about you.
Nathan Bush: Number one, what is the weirdest thing
Nathan Bush: that you've ever bought online?
Brendan Hartmann: I was, when I saw this question coming up, I wasn't too sure on how far I would go with it. I mean I've bought some really. I mentioned bucks parties before. I bought some rogue stuff online for bucks parties. My favorite though was buying a pink power ranger morph suit for Hong Kong Sevens one year which got a good run. Sadly I don't think it actually made it home in one piece, but that one's pretty funny.
Nathan Bush: That means it was a good tour.
Brendan Hartmann: It's good fun.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, good stuff.
Nathan Bush: You've got.
Nathan Bush: We didn't get to this in the main episode but I wouldn't, I would love hearing it from your perspective. I read about the Malaysian flag incident not from you but from some of your customers. Can you give us that quickly, that story real quick?
Brendan Hartmann: Yes. I mean a couple of boys went to the Malaysian Grand Prix to Aussie boys. So the Malaysian Grand Prix to see Daniel Ricardo race. They had organized some Malaysian flag swimwear to wear on their tours. Literally a mates tour. I think from memory it was like a punting group and they'd spent their cash that they'd won across the year on a trip. So they did that and then Daniel Ricardo wins and in true Daniel Ricardo form, he's pulled out a shoeie as he drinks out of his boot after he wins. And the boys did the same in the crowd. They just happened to drop their pants and were wearing the Malaysian flag. And from all reports, the crowd and majority of people, they actually really enjoyed it. But someone's, a Malaysian government official was there and his role in Malaysia, this is all after the fact. We found this out by the way. His role in Malaysia is to uphold. It was to uphold the values or the spirit of Malaysia along those sorts of lines. And he didn't like it. So he has basically pointed at them and said, get them out of here. They were arrested and spent for four nights in a Malaysian prison.
Nathan Bush: Oh, no.
Brendan Hartmann: For, uh. I think it was. They were trying to, like, accuse them of, like, it was premeditated. And they were trying to disrespect the flag and the people on purpose. Which if Daniel Ricardo doesn't win that race, that doesn't happen. But I tell you what, it was a scary couple of days for us. Cause obviously we're not involved directly, but, I mean, it's part of our brand that has caused this. And we had news reporters turning up to our door and saying, you know, you organized this with, you know, Batuta advocate at the time, who we were quite good mates with. And we were like, mate, we couldn't even organize our stock to turn up on time. How do you think we've organized nine blokes to, you know, strip nude in Malaysia? It's like, come on. So that was. That was quite absurd. And then they kind of said, how do you feel about this? And it's like, well, like, it's got nothing to do with this, really. It's like, do you call Nike when someone robs a convenience store in a Nike jumper? Like, it's not really, like, got anything to do with us. They just did it in our clothing. So. Yeah. But we thankfully were in touch with them after they got home, and they reached out and said as bless them. Like, they apologized. And it's like, guys like, do not care as long as you are home safely. So apparently the experience in that jail was horrific. So bless them. They're home, they're safe. And it was. It's. Yeah, it's one for the. The history books to reflect on a
Nathan Bush: story to tell the grandkids that way.
Brendan Hartmann: It's crazy. So crazy and so, like, something so simple that would, you know, get away with here in a country like that obviously doesn't fly. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Nathan Bush: Do you still sell the Malaysian flag? No, no.
Brendan Hartmann: Funnily enough. Funnily enough, when it all cracks, the traffic from our Traffic from Malaysia skyrocketed. It was hilarious. But, hey, so not everyone enjoyed it.
Nathan Bush: There we go.
Brendan Hartmann: Oh, we've got a bit off track, but it was such a good story.
Nathan Bush: I love it. So good. So good. All right, number two, who is your favorite retailer?
Brendan Hartmann: It's a good question. Again, I don't. I mentioned before, I don't actually do A lot of online shopping myself. We do enjoy just some content creators online that sort of do have merch at some stage. So there's a few podcasts like Bloke in a Bar and Dylan Friends and things like that that we. We do get around. We really like what they do. Favorite retailer specifically? I don't think I have one. There's. I mean, there's a few competitors, but I think I'll stick. I'll stick with the content side. I like what they're doing, and it's because they're creating a brand, which is what we're doing. They're creating a brand and they just happen to sell merch. So they're the. They're the types I like, not the ones that are trying to flog you without saying, buy our shirt. Buy our shirt. So, yeah, I'm looking. Looking for more of a deeper brand than, here's my white T shirt with my logo on.
Nathan Bush: Feels like there's a real connection with people there. Again, coming back to our main episode. Yeah, cool. All right, number three, which retail fad do you wish was history?
Brendan Hartmann: This one sounds odd, and it's probably not in the best interest of the consumers, but I just cannot stand, like, massive, consistent sales. It's a slippery slope once you start. So as a policy, as just a commitment to quality, we don't go on sale at Budgie. I think we're also in a unique position, to be fair. Like, our competition isn't as large as, you know, I mentioned people that sell T shirts, for example, so they kind of do need to do it if other competitors are doing it. But at the same time, I mean, part of it's a personal feeling. I just feel like it shows, like, what your true cost of your product is, where while we were sort of growing, we couldn't afford to go on sale because if we went on sale, we'd be losing money. Like, we. You'd be making a pair for X and we'd be selling it for less if we went on sale. So that. That's the big one. And for any future, like, sort of small business, people that are sort of starting out, be very wary of why you're going on sale. And, like, if you have to, then so be it. But it's. It's like playing pokies. Like, people get it. You get addicted to the flashing lights and you get addicted to the money coming in when it's. It's not actually as valuable as if you just spent that time building your brand and giving your people Giving your customers a reason why to buy outside of a cheap price tag.
Nathan Bush: No, and I think you, you know,
Nathan Bush: in our main episode, you talked about things like being able to do custom designs, real customer service, strong branding, good partnerships. All those things bring the value that you don't need to do in discounting.
Brendan Hartmann: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, you don't need it. It's a short term solution to some potential problems, but it can create some long term problems as well.
Nathan Bush: Yeah, absolutely.
Brendan Hartmann: All right.
Nathan Bush: Can you recommend a book or a podcast that our listeners should immediately get into?
Brendan Hartmann: I loved reading Shoe Dog, the story of Nike. It's amazing and I love the timing that we read it here. So Adam and I read it and then we got most of our full time staff to read it as well. Timing couldn't have been better because where we were as a business was like a little bit after, when he was feeling his parents, like, basement with shoes or his bedroom with shoes. We were a little bit past that stage. Definitely not quite to the stage where they have Nike town with streets named after professional athletes or whatever. Not quite there yet. We've got a long way to go. But it was, it was really awesome to see and to relate to the journey that he went on. I mean, some, some bits in the book are quite slow and quite hard to follow, but for the most part, I loved it because it was relatable and you could kind of pick. You're like, oh my God, like, we went through that and we're currently going through this. I hope that means this is where we're going. So it was really cool. It was a cool story. And for us as a team here, I think it was quite motivating to see that even Nike can start from a bedroom 100%.
Nathan Bush: And I think that's the thing we lose in retail all the time. We hold these pinnacle brands up and go, wouldn't it be amazing? We'll never get to that point. But you go, they're all started by people as well.
Brendan Hartmann: They all started somewhere. I mean, and a lot of, a lot of we might go off track here, but a lot of people say, you know, buddy's like exploding at the moment. Thank you. But this has been years, years of blood, sweat and tears going into this. This is not an overnight success. I've done a few chats at schools to like, commerce students and business studies and that kind of stuff. Uh, and I was like, I usually start with who's heard of the term overnight success? And like, all the kids go, yep. And like, who thinks Budgie's an overnight success and, like, 90% of them put their hands up. Like, you're wrong.
Nathan Bush: Nah, nah, nah.
Brendan Hartmann: Not quite that harsh. But then I love telling the stories, like, budget, you started in 2003. We're in 2021 now, like, and it's. We're still considered a small to medium business where we haven't made it, whatever that term means.
Nathan Bush: And E commerce.
Nathan Bush: E commerce is seen as such a booming industry overall, especially from people that are on the skirts, but booming. It's just taking off.
Nathan Bush: Anyone can make money in E commerce.
Nathan Bush: You're like, it's still retail, still a grind still. Yeah.
Brendan Hartmann: Just like getting people to a physical store. You've still got to get them to come to your website.
Nathan Bush: Yeah. Love it.
Nathan Bush: All right, last question. I've got for you, Brendan.
Nathan Bush: Finish this sentence. The future of retail is
Brendan Hartmann: challenging. It won't be straightforward. It'll be the people that can provide the most value for their customers. And it doesn't necessarily have to be the product. It could be the reason why. So a lot of what we do here is like, yeah, we sell swimwear, but that's on the outer. Like, our reason why we do this is the most true. And it comes back to, like, we just. We love what we do. We enjoy making things and we just enjoy having a laugh. Like, that's why we do this. If the center of our why was to make money, then we'd probably flop, which is why, you know, you started. The main part of the episode was our returns policy. So fast and loose. We could make it super strict if we. If we needed to. But it's not about the money for us, like, so the future of retail is going to be tricky. I mean, it's obviously going to be predominantly online. The ones that will succeed is if they can create some sort of experience with bricks and mortar. I mentioned that our stores were trying to create them more of a. As a destination, but, yeah, you're going to have to be. You're going to have to be different in some way. You're going to have to stand out. You're going to have to do things.
Nathan Bush: Yeah.
Brendan Hartmann: Very different to everyone else to give people a reason why. It's gonna be tough.
Nathan Bush: It's gonna be tough on that bright night. We'll leave it there.
Brendan Hartmann: Sure, sure, sure, sure. Yeah. The future is doomed.
Nathan Bush: Brendan, thank you for joining us on Add to Cart.
Brendan Hartmann: Thanks so much for having me, mate.
Nathan Bush: To hear more from Brendan, jump back into episode 1,036, where Brendan shares why it's a no brainer for them to keep the manufacturing process right here at home in Australia. He also shares why they perform the Funny uncle test when assessing custom orders and why responding to customer suggestions will always be part of their business. Unless of course, that customer suggests producing board shorts. Bloody O that is a crime against the budgie. Never shall it happen. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep adding to cart it's finally happening. Registrations for E Suite's eCommerce Accelerator program are now open. If you're looking to get into e commerce, upskill in e commerce or just want a refresher, we've got you covered. I've taken the lessons from my e Commerce career and the insights from all the e commerce leaders I've been lucky enough to speak with here and distilled it into 10 weeks of e Commerce learning. We cover the foundations of e Commerce including strategy, marketing, technology, finance, analytics and supply chain. You'll even leave with an official Shopify certification. Every week I will host a two hour live lesson which will be supported by templates, case studies and resources to accelerate your e commerce career. And because you guys lend me your ears, I'll lend you a discount code. Use the code Add to cart all one word to get $200 off your sign up. That's add to cart as the discount code, so don't wait. Class commences on the 14th of March and registration is now open. Head over to learn.esweettalent.com that's learn.esweettalent dot com to secure your place today. See you in there.
