We've worked together with those partners I mentioned on a range of different activations - things like branding, uniform design and merchandise production. It's about finding people and companies inspired by the same things we are and taking what we both do to that next level.
In terms of our collab products, the process involves us sitting down together and working out what we each can do and would like to do. We then work together on the design and ilabb produces the product. We're a streetwear company so our current colabb products are mainly clothes and accessories, but we're also working on some more technical colabbs for next year - like producing sporting equipment and tech gear - which is pretty exciting too.
How have you found the brand partners you work with?
A lot of our collaboration choices have come from our consumers. We know our customer shreds for R&V, amps on Mad Mike and eats BurgerFuel, so for us it's kind of natural that we do too. I think we're lucky to come from a country like New Zealand where there's a big community atmosphere. A lot of our collaborations begin out of our own networks, and just by connecting with companies and people we find inspiring.
What do you gain as a business through developing these kinds of relationships?
We're a New Zealand founded company with a global outlook, so I think it's just smart business for us to work alongside other like-minded organisations - like BurgerFuel and Red Bull - that have the same global drive. We definitely know it makes entry into international markets easier being aligned with global partners. And on a local scale, building our ilabbfamily helps us connect with our customers, not just in their local surf store or online; but on multiple levels. It also helps tell our own story and show that we're passionate about these things too.
What are some of those other touchpoints you reach customers through with these partnerships?
Our major ones are sporting events, concerts and festivals. We often support our ilabbfamily by running pop-up stores and activations at events they take part in. So, for example, we ran a pop-up store alongside our FMX rider Levi Sherwood at the X Games in Texas last month. We also supported Shapeshifter by running activations at Homegrown when they were headlining there earlier this year.
What have been some of the challenges for the company in terms of putting together these kinds of partnerships?
For us, a lot of these partnerships come with a high amount of risk. We bulk order all our colabb products a long time in advance without pre-committed sales, so forecasting something completely new is always a challenge.
What's next for the company in this area?
We have some pretty exciting global partnerships in progress with a fast growing family of action sports athletes, companies and musicians. We're also working on something pretty epic to collaborate on with our customers, which we can't reveal just yet, but there's a lot in progress.
