Your Business: Offshore deals with Lucy Wildman, Little Flock of Horrors

Lucy Wildman and Francis Frost of Little Flock of Horrors, with their children Frankie and Iggy. (L to R: Lucy Wildman, Frankie, Iggy and Francis Frost.)

Lucy Wildman is one of the founders of Little Flock of Horrors, a merino kids’ wear brand, which is sold in a number of outlets around the world, including New York department store Barneys.

Can you tell me a bit about your company?

We make 100 per cent merino clothing for little monsters and our collections are sold worldwide. We have an office in New Zealand, one in the US and distributors in the UK and the Netherlands.

The ideas behind Little Flock have been brewing for a while. I met my husband at a ski resort on the east coast of the US in 1999 after traveling over on a student visa while finishing my MBA here in New Zealand.

I ended up staying there for almost a decade and we lived, breathed and worked in action sports that whole time. We had to dress for the freezing conditions and became familiar with the features and benefits of all kinds of fabrics.

Flash forward to July 2009, in the middle of a cold New Zealand winter, and I was getting ready to have my first baby. I thought we were ready, but armed with not-so-practical clothing ensembles it turns out we weren't.

It didn't take long to notice that my newborn son, Iggy, was happiest instead in relaxed-fit merino threads that kept him warm and comfortable, but I was disenchanted with the drab colours and cuts of the merino baby garments we had. So I figured I would create my own and infuse a little style.

Life got a lot busier when my daughter Frankie was born 18 months later, and I now had a little girl monster to sew for. Inspired by Iggy and Frankie and their sticky little hands, Little Flock of Horrors graduated from a spare bedroom sewing project to a full-scale brand when we showed our first collection at the ABC Tradeshow in Las Vegas in October 2011.

On top of Little Flock we also own an export marketing business called Module Marketing, where we help to take New Zealand-based brands into global markets. We know global markets, products and how New Zealand brands can fit within the global landscape.

How did the deal with Barneys came about?

I wish I could say that the Barneys deal came about effortlessly but it didn't! Through Module we have a good finger on the pulse and we know the best stores and alliances for New Zealand products.

Barneys made sense for Little Flock of Horrors, but getting in front of buyers in this market is notoriously difficult - you can't just call them or send an email. As marketers we were able to package up Little Flock in a way that made the buyer gravitate towards it and the relationship was formed.

It didn't just happen overnight though; we needed to 'prove' ourselves in the space, regularly attend trade shows in New York and display sell-through, line range and depth before she placed her initial order.

What advantages and challenges have you encountered being a small Kiwi company making a deal with a big offshore brand?

I think our export marketing experience is a huge bonus because we know what this market needs and how to position a brand. That knowledge is key, as well as having an understanding of your brand DNA and how to move that beyond your New Zealand desk to be in front of global consumers.

For us, it's been important to remember that merino is still a relatively new fabric in the US, where the majority of consumers still haven't heard about or felt it before and have the 'wool is itchy and stinky' mindset. We have a lot of work to do, but we have our feet on the ladder so it's a start.

What's been a key learning for you from the process?

Believe in yourself and your brand, but don't be afraid to ask for help. Get to know the global marketplace, market segments and territories before putting it all out there. The US is huge and your product won't work in all states, so figure out where it does and then go for it.

Lastly, what's next for the company, particularly in terms of other similar deals or offshore aspirations?

Barneys is just scratching the surface of our target retailer list, so there's still a lot of work to do. We feel we've made great progress globally; our UK distribution partners are awesome, they know merino and 'get it' and we have signed a Netherlands distributor and they're super passionate about our brand. We are also working with Belgium, China, Australia and finalising trade relationships with a couple other key global markets.

Coming up in Your Business: What are the factors that allow some businesses to endure over time? What strategies have they employed to stay relevant to the market over a long period? If you've got a story to share about longevity in your business, get in touch: nzhsmallbusiness@gmail.com.