Sustainable luxury packaging company Delta Global expands its Australian footprint

“Sustainability used to be on the agenda. It’s not anymore. It’s ‘the’ agenda,” explained Delta Global founder and chief customer officer Rob Lockyer during a recent visit to Australia from the UK. The growing luxury goods sector ought to pay attention.

Robert Lockyer is founder and chief customer officer of Delta Global

Australian luxury fashion brands – and increasingly discerning customers – are fuelling growth in the sustainable packaging industry.

This trend is driving the international expansion of British sustainable luxury goods packaging company, Delta Global, which is now eying the Australian market.

Founded in 2007, Delta Global is responsible for creating packaging for some of the world’s largest luxury retailers and brands, including Net-a-Porter, Matches Fashion and Tom Ford. On Australian shores, it counts fashion brands Camilla and Marc, Aje and Zimmerman as clients.

The Australian luxury sector is worth about $5.3bn and is forecast to grow by 5.4 per cent annually over the next five years, according to IbisWorld market research.

Luxury retailers, from large global brands to smaller specialty purveyors, have gathered in growing numbers in some of Australia’s major cities in recent years to create new or improved luxury goods precincts.

Perth’s inner-city Murray St is among the fastest growing clusters, and has recently seen the development of a maturing luxury quarter which will soon welcome the likes of Cartier, Gucci and Christian Dior.

Delta Global is poised to ride the wave of growth in Australia’s luxury sector.

Sustainable practices in the luxury sector, from packaging to product development, are increasingly influencing purchasing decisions in Australia.

As part of its expansion in Australia, Delta Global commissioned a survey to measure attitudes towards sustainability and packaging in the sector.

It found that 93 per cent of Australian luxury consumers have become more “environmentally aware” in the past two years. It also found that 91 per cent of consumers would reconsider buying, buy less or stop buying altogether from brands that don’t care about sustainability.

“Non sustainable” packaging or the creation of excessive waste is enough to drive luxury customers away from brands, the report found.

“Our message is resonating here more than anywhere,” Delta Global chief customer officer and founder Robert Lockyer said.

Whether the packaging can be easily recycled, or even reused and repurposed, is increasingly important to consumers. Mounting evidence shows that whether or not brands engage in sustainable practices – from production to packaging – is influencing purchasing behaviour.

“Sustainable” packaging also refers to the materials from which it is made. Mr Lockyer said consumers should look for a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label and a unique number that signals its authenticity.

Overall, the survey found that 90 per cent of Australian consumers look more favourably at luxury brands that act “sustainably” across their businesses, including packaging and product choices. Consumers also want brands to be transparent and actively promote their sustainability efforts.

The area is also the subject of greater regulatory scrutiny more broadly, as consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, has cracked down on greenwashing and brands that cannot substantiate their environmental claims, having issued a new set of guidelines in July last year.

“Sustainability used to be on the agenda,” Mr Lockyer told The ­Australian. “It’s not anymore. It’s ‘the’ agenda.”

In the British financial year ending September 2022, Delta Global’s revenues grew by 50 per cent. Supercharged by the Covid e-commerce boom, profits were up 300 per cent.

Turnover clocked £18m with an EBITDA margin of around £1.1m. After Covid, turnover decreased to just under £16m, but EBITDA held steady.

Lockyer expects the next financial year’s balance sheet to hover around a similar number. He said the Australian market was the “No.1 target” for the company’s expansion.

The packaging of luxury goods may seem like a small slice of the multibillion-dollar sector, but how good were packaged and presented to customers was an increasingly crucial part of how brands positioned themselves in the market, Mr Lockyer said.

He explained that how products were packaged and presented was a brand’s “final message” to their customer. “And if that final message lands on your doorstep, and it’s damaged, and it’s poorly packed, badly made, that’s the final impression,” he said.