How We Increased Our Sales And Pivoted To Pandemic-Friendly Loungewear Products
This is a follow up story for Height Of Fashion. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 5 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
Well Hello again! How could you forget about legs and co!
In case you did forget, I am Natalie Matthews the 6’3” Founder of Height-Of-Fashion which in my humble opinion is THE best clothing label for tall women 5’10” and above.
Height-Of-Fashion is an online global fashion brand and niche clothing business helping tall women look and feel confident in the garments they wear.
We pretty much cater and create everything when it comes to garments and clothing categories for tall women. We have several basics and best-selling products but some of our flagship items range from jeans, leggings, and loungewear.
A Lot has happened since we last spoke! 2019-2020 has been epic! I’ve really pushed the bar in production and product to market which has resulted in a 500% revenue increase in our 3rd year of business compared to our 1st year. I’ve managed to increase our AOV by 20% and in the past quarter alone have increased sales and orders by 189% so you could say we’ve been pretty busy.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?
Despite a global economic downturn, we’re incredibly blessed to say, we’ve grown! We’ve really taken things to a new level over the past year, we’ve focused on what works, listened to our customer feedback, and plugged the market even more with what they want and need.
As a small business that’s solely online, we’ve been able to handle the massive economic crisis easier than bigger companies because we’re small. Being online and having a small product runs without the need to employ a huge team has helped us remain agile and keep our overheads low to be able to operate normally without huge or detrimental impacts.
I can’t say we’ve done anything significantly or vastly different to our usual marketing tactics other than keeping consistent in what has worked in email, social and digital marketing historically, but, I can say we’ve grown in search marketing due to people being online and at home more than ever, which has resulted in organic growth for us. Additionally, in August this year our main competition, Long Tall Sally announced their closure (which, since I write this have been acquired by another big conglomerate) but this has helped us in a spike of new customers due to now being the biggest* independently owned* supplier of tall girl clothes globally.
To be honest, a lot of growth has come from the right product to market during a pandemic. In March I quickly identified what I had in production wouldn’t work with being in lockdown, so pivoted and designed a new loungewear and PJ range that would suit the global environment better. Although we’re small this has equally helped us in the pandemic because we’ve been able to pivot and transition quicker than any other big brand. Historically bigger companies have been able to trump us in fast fashion with larger and cheaper production runs, but with a global crisis, the demand for comfort and quality arose over quantity of range and product, which only helped magnify us, our products, and our ethics as a small business during this time.
One of the biggest USP to Height-Of-Fashion is being a tall girl myself. No one understands a target market like the target market! And, it’s 100% been this relatability (as well as a great design and fashion style) that has helped my community/customer growth I’ve seen over the past year.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
Gosh! I’ve learned that nothing is predictable! I think Covid has knocked everyone for six in both positives and negatives! Despite the incredible growth, it’s also brought us exceptional challenges in freight costs, supply chain delays, and customer support needs, which we’ve been fortunate and nimble enough to work through.
Be clear on your purpose. Frame it, put it as your phone/ laptop wallpaper. Say it out loud daily. Do absolutely everything in your willpower to stick to it and keep to it daily. By focusing on it, you dream it into existence without it being derailed by other expectations.
I’d say the biggest lesson for me this year has been to really hone in and focus on your customer and helping make their life easier and better. That’s what my key focus has been throughout this whole pandemic. I consistently asked how can I make this better for my girls and what do they need from me to help them feel and look great.
Coming back to my why and see how I make a difference in my customer’s life has single-handedly propelled me through the challenges I’ve faced this year. Honestly, the messages I have received from my customers of how I have helped or encouraged them through the difficult times this year has made it all worthwhile. This is what I love the most about my business - making a difference.
If you aren’t making a difference in people’s lives, you shouldn't be in business. It’s that simple. - Richard Branson
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
My business growth plans remain unchanged, they are the same as previous. We’re expanding the collection here in Australia in everyday wear and further into international markets over the next 18-24 months and with Covid not looking like it’s going anywhere, we’ve every intention to be the biggest and best tall girl clothing brand, globally. We really do get it like no other, that is our strength and that is what we’ll continue to play too.
We’re currently investigating new products that can bring more fashion, lifestyle, happiness, and overall inclusivity options to our tall babes. We’re always open to partnerships so feel free to reach out if you think you can make a significant difference or want to jump on board this train of exciting growth and opportunity. We’re all about community and all about bringing the best products and services to our tribe.
Have you read any good books in the last year?
Personal development and business growth/mindset books are key in helping me stay focused and in the right frame of mind. It’s this that is imperative to the growth of my business and me as an entrepreneur and leader. There’s a lot that goes on personally when running a business and there are many external factors to navigate which is why it’s so important to learn from other leaders/entrepreneurs to ensure you’re giving yourself the best head start and approach to push through difficult times and enjoy the journey of it.
I would say these books have been keen in my own journey this year to break through glass ceilings:
Profit First - Mike Michalowicz
The Gratitude Effect - Dr. Demartini
Start with Why - Simon Sinek
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
7 habits of highly successful people
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Understand your figures! It can be confronting but it’s necessary. Get real about what is and isn’t working. Part of growth is cutting what isn’t serving you, helping you, or developing your business. It’s easy to get caught up in the rabbit hole of hard work and what you love doing vs what’s actually working in your business. Understanding this can save you a lot of time and money in the short term and long term.
Prioritize your time - it sounds obvious but this can be one of the most detrimental things to you and your business. Unless you focus on the highest priority actions of your day, every day, it will get taken up and consumed with other lower priorities by you or your team members. Get laser-focused on setting this ahead every night. Trust me this is one of the habits of highly successful people.
Be clear on your purpose. Frame it, put it as your phone/ laptop wallpaper. Say it out loud daily. Do absolutely everything in your willpower to stick to it and keep to it daily. By focusing on it, you dream it into existence without it being derailed by other expectations.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Not at the moment, we’re in the process of streamlining operations further to be able to bring bigger and better products to our tall babes for 2021. Watch this space.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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