Following the final of the 12th Export Action Plan Competition, sponsored and hosted by Bibby Financial Services, we spoke to Deakin and Blue – one of the 8 finalists.
What does your company do at the moment and what’s next?
Today we are reinventing swimwear. In the future we will take on all bodywear including shapewear, lingerie and sportswear.
How are the exports going?
It’s early days at the moment; we export primarily through ecommerce and B2C.
How has the Export Action Plan helped with your exports?
It has helped me clarify my thinking around target markets and export strategy.
How have you found the experience of the final today?
I really enjoyed the summit – I learnt a lot! It’s also been great networking.
What three tips would you give to other new exporters?
- Ask lots of questions
- Visit local target markets
- Take advantage of the advice and resources available from DIT, IOE&IT and OTE.
About Deakin and Blue
Deakin and Blue is an award-winning, transformational women’s bodywear brand. Today we are reinventing swimwear. In the future, we take on all bodywear: from sportswear to shapewear to lingerie.
Why?
A lack of well-designed, well-fitting kit stops women from participating in sport and life, every day. (1 in 2 mums are put off taking their child to learn to swim and 500,000 women have given up swimming, because of body image concerns).
What?
At Deakin and Blue we’re on a mission to change that with a range of pieces that are transformational – in how they feel, how they look and how they are made. We combine highly sculpting fabrics made from regenerated ocean waste, revolutionary production methods and a ground-breaking sizing system, to produce a set of garments showcased on a range of body shapes and sizes.
Over 1,000 women have told us that our swimsuits have changed the way they feel about their bodies. And we’re just getting started.
Our traction to date
Deakin and Blue has been trading since July 2017. Since its launch, Deakin and Blue has won a range of awards (including The Independent’s Best Buy Sports Swimwear 2018 and 2019) and has been recognised for its inclusivity, sizing and product innovation by a range of leading publications and sports people, including The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Vanity Fair & Forbes.
What next?
Our 2020 strategy includes an exciting set of plans for taking our swimwear to new geographical markets with a similar demographic profile to the UK. We are already selling direct to consumer in markets including Europe, New Zealand, Australia & America and are looking to scale these efforts with a considered and tailored strategy for the individual markets we seek to address. We are also in discussion with a number of UK based major retailers about partnership opportunities.
The Open to Export Competition
The Open to Export Action Plan is an intuitive online planning tool which takes you through 5 key steps to export success. It is simple to use and works by asking you to complete tasks and set actions, helping you to establish what you need to know and do to start selling overseas.
Once you have completed the steps, you will generate an action plan which is a brilliant showpiece to take to your bank, business advisor or international trade advisor. You can also enter your plan into one of our regular competitions for the chance to win £3000 towards its implementation.
More information: https://opentoexport.com/info/export-action-plan-competition/
