The Pitch: How Melbourne’s MadLegs leggings are wowing young and old alike
IF you think you can’t buy good, Aussie-made clothes anymore, think again. A Melbourne entrepreneur is wowing young and old alike with her wares … but has she wowed our small business gurus?
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In the Herald Sun’s ongoing series about Victorian entrepreneurs, The Pitch, we meet a designer who’s winning people over with her colourful, Melbourne-made leggings.
THE PITCH …
MADELEINE Lancaster started making clothes for her then three-year-old daughter to save money.
Trained as a beauty therapist and having worked in retail, including at Lincraft, Ms Lancaster had no real practical sewing experience.
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“I came back to Melbourne after being away for nine years and I didn’t have much money. I started making my daughter’s clothes,” she says.
“Then people started asking me where her clothes came from and I started making their children clothes.”
Soon, she launched MMI Kids with a collection of pinafores, pants, shorts, dresses and shirts selling them at markets.
By the time her daughter was at school, she did not want to wear the tracksuits on offer, so Ms Lancaster started making her leggings.
Again, people were asking her where she got the leggings and before long she had a cottage business making leggings.
Many local schools were ordering from her but as uniform suppliers had exclusive deals with the schools, they could not supply her leggings in their shops. It was all a bit underground, she says. Over time the leggings became the most lucrative part of the business.
While she still does a smaller MMI Kids range, it is all about the leggings, with 17 colours in a variety of lengths.
About five years ago — as the leggings became the largest segment of the business — she decided to rebrand the range. It was her father who came up with MadLegs.
It fitted. It was a nod to her own name, was a bit wacky and with the bright colour range, it all dovetailed nicely.
“I rebranded and I went to a shop in Northcote. The leggings were not in a wrap or anything and they did not want them,” she says.
At the same time, she had been going to a market regularly and plus-size and tall women were asking her if she could make a range for them.
Enthused, she went home and madly sewed the new ladies’ range. She headed back to the market and the same women came past, picking up the leggings and saying they were nice and then moving on without purchasing.
“I was annoyed because all the fabric I had used in the women’s leggings could have been used in the children’s leggings that I now sell,” she says.
She had a brain wave. She got colourful paper wraps printed for the leggings and returned to the same market in the same position. People came up admiring the range. “Oh wow, are you new?” they asked.
Ms Lancaster says the leggings “walked off the shelves”.
She was nonplussed but it was clear it was all about the packaging. “It went nuts,” she says.
“People like them because they are cotton instead of nylon. Aside from the schoolchildren, they are my biggest market today.”
But she started growing tired of doing markets and the possibility of a little shop came up. “I didn’t have a penny to my name and I am a sole parent but I thought I should take the opportunity and the risk on a small shop,” she said.
“I work in the shop six days a week.’’ She has created a destination shop for MadLegs, with people travelling to buy at the Balwyn North shop.
Ms Lancaster loves her small business but is looking at ways to simplify things.
“I am absolutely loving the shop. Loving being in the shop. I love the interaction with the customers and selling Australian made goodies,” she says.
“I don’t really enjoy the Sundays of sewing but have to do them.”
It was clear it would be a struggle to make a living and pay rent, so she tapped into the market friends who were crafting their own products.
She assembled the designers, who all pay commission on their sales.
In recent weeks she has moved across the road to a larger shop as her previous shop is earmarked for redevelopment. “I decided to jump before I was pushed,” she says.
She says the most effective tool she used to get the message out for the business was social media and paying for targeted sponsored posts.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY …
John Downes, business coach, Acorro
WELL done Madeleine on the incredible hard work it takes to develop and sustain a hand-sewn, Australian-sourced range of kids and women’s leggings in an already crowded market for activewear.
I can see the passion behind doing it all yourself and taking a low risk approach to manufacturing, retailing and e-tailing.
The risk of doing it all is that of burnout.
I think if you are now getting over 30 per cent of sales through the web, a large proportion through word of mouth, and the rest as walk-in traffic, it’s time to look at sharing the load.
Now is the time to think very carefully about what you enjoy, and where you add the most value.
And then you should consider outsourcing the rest, slowly. Either you need to get additional help in-store, in the pack and send, or, you need to get help in the making of the leggings.
Or all of the above. What has got you this far will not get you much further in terms of growing your income and independence.
Also, I’d boost your merchandising in-store. Your products have earned the right to be visible and enticing at a 10m glance.
I wish you pleasure, fulfilment and to earn a just financial reward from your passion for vibrant handmade superb garments.
Vivian Vo, mentor, Melbourne Innovation Centre
MELBOURNE is praised for its lively arts and fashion scene. While there isn’t a shortage of creative talent, designers can find it
difficult to build a viable business model.
Although the online marketplace allows accessibility, it is crowded with similar products
making it tricky to attract the right customers.
When it comes to your market, know who your customers are and how to get their attention.
Consider collecting customer data through online surveys or social channels such as Facebook Insights. It may be worth joining the conversations of mothers/parent groups held within online forums and on social media.
After getting enough data from your target market, consider addressing their concerns in your packaging and advertising materials.
Be clear with your unique value proposition. For example, you can integrate the benefits of MadLegs as “great stretch, no bagging or sagging” more clearly and creatively. Consider adding high-quality creative banner designs onto the website and social media to highlight your fashion solution.
Consider prompting customers to add a review on your Google business listing and Facebook when they visit your store or receive a parcel.
Extra validation from other buyers can assist in finalising the buying process, as people tend to trust a stranger’s review rather than the claims of the brand. These reviews will also enhance your website’s search engine optimisation and brand’s credibility.
Bruce Hall, mentor, Small Business Mentoring Service
MADELEINE is doing a lot right with MadLegs. The business clearly has found a niche. It is great to see locally produced, quality products doing well.
To go to the next level, and to have a life, I believe Madeleine needs to find a way to outsource production. Working harder, or longer, to pay for this is not the answer. Rather, I believe she needs to revisit her pricing.
The starting point is to calculate how the product would need to be priced to return a good margin and cover the cost of outsourcing production.
Once the price has been established, then it is simply a question of building a story to educate the customer around the value being provided.
What is different about the product compared to the competition? What are the risks associated with cheaper options?
Customers will pay the price being asked when they see the value. It is up to the business owner to educate the customer around the value being provided.
This is not about selling, rather education. Building a story that is shared in conversations, via the website and also social media.
With regard to the website, I would like to see the home page revamped.
There are too many images in the slider, and it is far too slow to load. Pages on the site also need a lot more copy to increase its reach and communicate the business story.
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