Nick Adcock launches new brand

Former DC Shoes President and current Fox Head Inc. board member Nick Adcock has launched a new premium men’s line based in Ibiza, Spain that targets the resort crowd.

 

We followed up and asked him some questions about his plans for Syd & Rex.

 

For those of you who don’t know Nick, he always has an interesting plan and is always thinking about business opportunities both inside and outside the industry.

 

Why start a new line?

Syd & Rex trunk styles

We moved to Ibiza, Spain from California in mid 2009 and I spent a lot of time just decompressing and thinking about what I wanted to do next.

 

Having been in the action sports industry for many years, I felt I needed a change. At the same time, I had concerns regarding the homogenization and consolidation of the industry both at a brand and retail level.

 

I have always aspired to the more premium side of branding and products and being in Europe really opened my eyes back up to the breadth of consumers and brand opportunities out there. There is a real focus on craftsmanship and materials in Europe and that got me excited about product again.

 

Add to that I’m now in my mid 40’s I figured I would focus my attention on a market and product group that I had a bit more of an instinctive understanding of – men’s premium beachwear and accessories.

 

Why Ibiza?

I first visited Ibiza back in 1999. I was really taken by the beauty of the island and the general vibe of the people who visited and lived here.

 

Ibiza, Spain

Since the early 70’s it has been an island escape where everyone from hippies to the global jet set somehow managed to find a sense of commonality.

 

From a business point of view, I have always thought there was a missed opportunity to capture the Ibiza essence in a brand. The island has a full time population of 120,000 but attracts approximately 5 million visitors a year, mostly during the summer months.

 

I don’t know of another holiday destination that attracts the breadth of nationalities that Ibiza does. The visitors are definitely early adopters and without doubt a large percentage are premium end consumers.

 

 

See Page 2 for details about the target customer, distribution channels

 

 

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Who is the target customer?

Our focus is on 30-to-50 year old guys who are looking for premium beachwear and accessories, although we do also sell men’s takedown styles for boys and sons.

 

The Syd & Rex concept store in Ibiza

Our customer, while appreciative of fashion and style, is definitely more interested in relaxing and hanging out than shopping for an outfit.

 

They are used to buying quality products and garments and that is no different to when they go on holiday.

 

What avenues of distribution are you using?

It is imperative that we are well represented in Ibiza and we are lucky to have partnered with the cream of the island’s retailers to promote the brand through their stores.

 

We also always set out to sell a “brand story” (as opposed to a product) and there is no better way of doing that than through your own retail experiences.

 

The beachside pop-up store

We opened two new retail formats on Ibiza this summer. We have our Syd & Rex concept store that opened in May that is our full brand presentation, and our new pop-up shop at El Chiringuito Restaurant, Es Cavallet Beach (the best beach restaurant on the island) that presents our swim trunks.

 

While everyone is screaming the death of bricks and mortar, I am a huge believer that great retail experiences are the cornerstone of building great brands. You can’t get immersed in a brand by just looking at a web-store.

 

Both retail formats were designed with the goal of being a true visual experience, making you feel like you are beachside in a Chiringuito (Spanish Beach Restaurant/Hut). At the same time they were designed with the mindset that they could be implemented anywhere in the world.

 

We also have our online store that ships globally and we are now starting to engage in distribution discussions with key distributors and retailers around the world.

 

See Page 3 for categories and price points

 

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What are the categories, price points?

The foundation of the range was definitely our swim trunks. While trend wise this style has become popular globally in the past 12 months they have always been a staple in the better European resort areas.

 

Retailer display cabinets

Our point of differentiation is that all our fabric prints (made in Lake Como, Italy) feature iconic Ibiza elements.

 

We compliment the swimwear with a range of T-shirts and polos that we like to call “Ibizentials” – a collection of super soft 100% cotton T-shirts and polos in various colors that we manufacture in Turkey.

 

We also make sailcloth bags and beach accessories.

 

Our price points are the premium end of the market. Men’s swim trunks retail for €120 (US$150), shirts €35-65 (US$45-80) and bags from €85-150 (US$105-185).

 

How is business so far?

Syd & Rex is a lot different to where I have been with other brands historically. Based on our location and target consumer, my measurements are much more quality than quantity at this early stage.

 

While our on island retail stores are exceeding expectations I am most pleasured with the reach of our ecommerce sales and the fact we are shipping all around the world. That’s giving us the confidence that the opportunity for Syd & Rex is far more than just on-island visitors.

 

You are a guy with a plan – what is your plan for Syd and Rex?

As we are finally in “sell through” (consumer validated) mode at retail the planning evolves.

 

Men’s and boys trunks

From day one there was a very deep sense of belief that there was something substantial here. Now I am not sure whether that is a Stussy level business or a Ralph Lauren opportunity, or somewhere in between but you need to plan for success at either end of that scale.

 

We have our web store, we have our retail concept and we have a base level product range. These components now allow us the ability to evolve and grow incrementally while at the same time develop new product categories and other revenue channels.

 

Our focus at present is to continually developing the back end process so as we grow globally in coming years these become growth accelerators as apposed to growth inhibitors.

 

Looking towards next year, we are planning to add a couple more concept stores and pop-up shops here in the Balearic Islands and we are exploring a couple of Southern Hemisphere destinations that share the same cultural/consumer values as Ibiza. This will allow us to balance the seasonality of the business.

 

While the wholesale avenue wasn’t our main focus to begin with this is obviously an area we will develop as the brand awareness grows.