Thankfully New Zealand has recently produced a handful of brands that actually cater to a younger, well-travelled, socially-aware, savvy and self-respecting consumer.
Think Thom Morrison, I Love Ugly, and lastly Porter James Sports. The latter is the subject of today’s ‘How’s Business’ profile, answered by the smart, savvy and well-dressed Joshua Heares. Josh, Co Founder and Managing Director of Porter James Sports is dragging young Kiwi and Australian men into a bright fashion future, and it was a pleasure to have him lead the line in this week’s men’s fashion content.
Hey Josh! How’s business?
Hey guys, thanks for having me. Business is pretty good. It’s certainly not easy out there but brand health and sales are the best they’ve been to date.
Tell us about the days/weeks/months that led to you starting Porter James, and the feelings you had as you began your business journey.
If PJS was a book, I’d label this starting chapter – ‘blissfully naive’. I was excited, hungry, optimistic and completely unaware of how difficult the journey ahead would be. But I’m proud of my younger self for having the courage to start.
Thinking back to your very first months in business, how does the Porter James of 2024 resemble the business you started on day one?
PJS has always been a vehicle of personal expression, I just now have more capability to access my intuition and articulate my ideas. I cringe at some early efforts but my heart was in the right place (lol). It’s all part of the journey I guess and I wouldn’t change a thing.
You’re one of a handful of modern menswear designers in NZ that seems to be reinventing the traditional way men dress. What are your thoughts on how men in NZ dress now compared to 20 years ago?
The primary difference (as I see it) is the modern wardrobe now sits at the intersections of menswear & streetwear. Standards are more relaxed and formal is now semi-formal. A persisting idea I’m exploring is – ‘what does dress-to-impress now look like?’
What are the three main habits of your customers in terms of how they shop with PJS?
Note, we are a D2C / online business, so when shopping our customers care about 3 things –
- Will the garment suit me?
- How will it fit?
- How long will it take to arrive?
As a D2C operator it’s my job to continually learn and improve here. This is certainly the less glamorous side of things.
How did your recent pop-up in Grey Lynn inform you about how people are shopping with you these days, and what their priorities are when it comes to making a purchase? (discuss price, quality, trend, sustainability etc)
Pop-ups fast track first-time-buyers. Our brand gets a lot of eyeballs on social media but often people need to see and feel the quality before purchasing.
We’ve done close to 10 pop-ups across our 3-year lifespan and intend on doubling down here over the next 6 months, including several pop-ups in Australia later this year.
What’s a standout customer interaction/piece of feedback you’ve received recently?
I’m regularly told ‘I can tell you really care about your business’ which is nice to hear.
I can’t always control the result but I can control my effort. For better or worse I wear my heart on my sleeve and I hope that shows.
How has the recent economic downturn affected your business, both good and bad?
Fortunately our business is growing nicely despite the recession but the growth is mostly coming from our Australian market. Last month Australia represented 60% of our sales.
So I guess to answer your question it solidified our thoughts with regards to opportunity across the ditch. Simply put, there are more men who care about fashion in Australia than there is here. Hopefully we can improve that with time though 🙂
Tell us about your recent launch of home products, and how that has affected your business from a customer acquisition and revenue point of view.
Exploring areas of interest and my curiosity, learning about new mediums in the process. Porter Home is essentially just an extension into the things I like.
My vision isn’t for Porter to be the biggest or the best brand. It’s to be the most distinctive over time and I think this is a move in the right direction.
Who is a business figure you’d love a power lunch with and what would you grill them about?
Ralph Lauren, the GOAT.
