Real reason Bec Judd cut ties with two major retailers

AFL WAG Rebecca Judd’s activewear label has revealed the real reason it cut ties with two major retailers after shifting the business online.

Rebecca Judd’s activewear label Jaggad made headlines earlier this week when it was revealed it had “permanently closed” the doors of its only physical store, while also cutting ties with retail giants Myer and The Iconic.

But now the brand’s chief customer officer Scott Browning has confirmed the real reason for the store closure, telling news.com.au it was actually the pandemic and associated trading issues that saw the Melbourne shopfront shut down back in March 2020.

At the same time, Browning said Jaggad’s major retail partners – Myer and The Iconic – “refused delivery” of all their supplier partner orders, due to uncertainty around the pandemic.

“This meant Jaggad was forced to sell all that stock online as our only remaining channel of operation,” Mr Browning said.

It was a move that paid off, meaning the brand had no need to return to its prior arrangements once the pandemic eased.

“We have never resumed trading with third party retailers due to the operational consequences of the forced switch to 100 per cent online only and at critical times great uncertainty relating to our retail partners’ capacity to honour future purchase commitments,” Browning said.

Rebecca Judd (right) and Michelle Greene (left) co-founded Jaggad in 2013. Picture: Instagram/becjudd

Jaggad’s only retail storefront, which is primarily the support office, has remained closed to the public since March 2020. Picture: Google

Following the first major lockdown in March 2020, retail partners Myer and The Iconic ‘refused delivery’ of supplier partner indent orders. Picture: Google

So Jaggad was forced to sell all that stock online – and has remained online only since. Picture: Instagram/becjudd

The AFL WAG co-founded the athleisure wear brand with fellow WAG Michelle Greene back in 2013, and it has since become a go-to for the health and fashion-conscious across Australia.

While the store closure was originally intended to be temporary, shifting Jaggad’s entire business model online has been so successful there’s no need to go back to a bricks and mortar outlet.

“The switch to 100 per cent online direct to customer model has resonated with our customers and allowed us to still grow accordingly over the last two years,” Mr Browning said.

Other third-party retailers such as Glue and Revolve in the US also no longer stock the high-end sports fashion label, with items now sold directly via Jaggad’s website.

An industry source told Herald Sun, selling directly to consumers is actually a “smart” business move.

“They make double the mark-up by selling it for themselves,” the source said.

The Iconic “declined to comment at this point in time”, with news.com.au waiting to hear back from Myer.

Originally published as Real reason Bec Judd cut ties with two major retailers