December 2009
Issue 3 – Awards are great and very very bad
Within the creative industries we have become accustomed to awards and competitions as a legitimate and vibrant part of the landscape, and a valuable contributor to the development of discourse and opportunity. Competitions can form a pivotal part of a creative career providing a much-needed slice of the limelight, some business opportunity, and if the conditions are right, a lovely cash injection.
If approached correctly, and if the terms of participation are equitable, competitions can also provide the motivation to define and refine a concept to presentation stage and through the short-listing, judging, exhibition and promotional processes, to access a valuable platform for discussion and promotion of ones work.
So, given the diversity of competitions and awards currently on offer it is important to consider the benefits against the risks and costs of participation.
There are three broad types of programs on offer:
a) Industry programs which acknowledge excellence in a field of practice.
b) Philanthropic programs aimed at celebrating talent and promoting discourse.
c) Programs with a dual promotional / commercial outcome based on the implementation of the winning project(s) by the organisers.
In both industry awards and philanthropic competitions it is a safe assumption that the biggest risks apart from the time and money spent are the emotional bruising of being overlooked, or the more worrying commercial risk of losing your intellectual property rights through the competition guidelines, or by revealing speculative or prototype work to a broad audience through the accompanying publicity.
It is understandable to become sceptical of awards programs that ultimately provide design solutions to commercial entities at a reduced commercial cost – through the vehicle of an award or competition and the promise of celebrity. Consider the plight of those who do not win but through the process of entry assign their intellectual property to a commercial organisation.
It is essential to weigh up the factors well. Running any aspect of a business on the basis of odds isn’t strategic, so investigate the program; take a good look at the fine print, consider who will be judging and who are the sponsors, find out if there is an exhibition, any media coverage, is there feedback from the judges, are you required to sign away your intellectual property rights to a design, is there prize money and how much?
The business factors to weigh up when considering whether to enter an award with commercial outcomes (being published, manufactured, built and sold) are the need for transference of intellectual property, the level of payment for the design and the rights to the intellectual property, the attribution of the designer, and the capacity of the organisers to repurpose the design or take it to new territories. All of these factors should be weighed against the real promotional value of the opportunity. Would you sign this contract with a client? Is it still worth proceeding?
ADU wholeheartedly supports the many excellent awards programs on offer to the creative community and acknowledges the leadership and vision that drives their success and longevity. We encourage active participation, at the right time and for the right reason in programs that are founded on ethical values.
In the case of the programs that walk a fine line between celebration and exploitation we encourage entrants to resist – for without content there can be no prize.
Ewan McEoin & Heidi Dokulil
To garner a broader view of the impact competitions can have on a creative business, the ADU spoke with designers Adam Goodrum, Tomek Archer and Trent Jansen about their experiences entering design competitions, and discussed how to assess the ‘fine print’ with intellectual property lawyer Peter English, partner at Surry Partners Lawyers in Sydney, and business and intellectual property mentor in the Springboard: entrepreneurship for designers program.
You can read the interviews here:
Interview with Peter English, Surry Partners Lawyers
Interview with Tomek Archer, Tomahawk Studios
Interview with Trent Jansen
ADU:Why do you enter design competitions?
Trent Jansen: There are lots of reasons I enter competitions. I think it can be a good way to get your work out there when you are first starting. As you get older I suppose you would still have the same reasons for doing it, particularly with international competitions because it broadens your horizons in another place.
The financial incentive is always there, because doing what we do in a place like Australia it is kind of one of the only ways to have some capital behind you so that you can continue to do what you are doing and put that money into new work.
Which competitions have you participated in over the last few years?
Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award. I took part in a competition with a Japanese textile manufacturer, and the Design Now! exhibition and award which is run by Object.
How do you choose which ones to participate in?
The open ones are better because often I just won’t have time to do something specifically for an award. Whereas if it is a really broad competition and if you have something nice that is lying around and you don’t know what to do with it, it is a good thing to do. But in saying that, the really specific ones can be nice too because they facilitate some specific solutions.
Have you ever decided not to enter a competition based on the brand that was running it, perhaps not wanting to affiliate yourself with that brand?
I definitely would. There are things that I have done in the past that I didn’t really think about at the time. I once did a project for Evian and I wish now that I hadn’t because I strongly disagree with the concept of bottled water. I guess my ethics were different at the time. There is a whole heap of stuff in Singapore that runs off the back of Philip Morris there and I wouldn’t have a bar of it, that’s disgusting.
How much do you think about the agenda of the organisations running a competition?
If it is something that has a specific brief, I have to, it would be stupid not to. But if it is a broader thing then for me, I guess it is the same with anything, I do it for my own reasons and if someone likes it than that’s fine. And if they don’t, they don’t.
How long on average would you take putting together an application for a competition?
It depends. All those Bombay presentations I spent a lot of time because I actually had to make work for them, often I would propose an idea that I was working on but it wasn’t finished, I would then have to make a prototype for that event.
What would be the most money you would have spent entering a competition?
I can tell you exactly! It was Bombay last year, and it was $4000 or $5000 for the prototype. If I think about the amount of money that I have spent on prototypes to enter that competition over the last four years, when I won the competition last year I probably broke even. But I think the benefits are something that you can’t put a price on.
Have you every had any problems with the fine print in competition briefs?
There have been some competitions that have said ‘We will own the right to that object or that design if you win, we will pay you a piddly design fee but we will never pay royalties.’ I would never enter those kinds of competitions because that’s ridiculous and it has the complete opposite effect to what it should be doing for the industry.
Do you put much weight on how a product goes in a competition? If you don’t win does that effect your decision to continue work on an idea?
No. I don’t think so. It is a good way to gauge some opinion. But at the end of the day I trust my own opinion more.
Which competitions do you respect the most?
Bombay definitely is the one with the best reputation. And Object’s New Design/Design Now! Is something that has a great reputation for people who are just graduating because the people who have won that competition over the years have gone on to do good things. I think Adam Goodrum won, Stefan Lie… It has been a good gauge.
Adam Goodrum has said he would never enter something into a design competition that wasn’t already in production.
But he has had that experience, he has had manufacturers say to him that a piece had been published too much so they won’t touch it.
I have never had that. I have had people say ‘We are glad it hasn’t been published too much.’ Like Moooi were happy that my chair hadn’t been published heaps especially internationally. To be honest they didn’t really care that it had been published in Australia! They see that as such a small thing.
Interview by Madeleine Hinchy.
Comments Off
Interview with Tomek Archer, Tomahawk Studios
ADU: Why do you enter design competitions?
Tomek Archer: I suppose I sometimes use them as a deadline but then once you have used the first one as a deadline and you enter a product in more than one, everything you need is all ready. The thing is, because I am a self-producer, the way that I work is that I make product and then I go out and market it and I don’t have a marketing budget so I find competitions are the best way to get the product published and to generate interest in that way. So I guess I use it as a marketing aggregator.
What was the first piece you entered in a competition?
The Campfire Table won the art prize at Sydney University. And I was the youngest in my class by four years or something, I was this little punk in second year. It was not what I was expecting. I then entered it in Australian International Furniture Fair and it won the commercial award there, and in the Australian Design Award and it won an Australian Design Mark, that was the end of the line for that piece. One award seems to lead to some interest and that appears to help with the second one and so on.. It snowballs.
How do you choose which products to enter? For example, your product PegLeg has been entered and done well in a series of awards this year.
I think in the last year my product PegLeg was the easiest to sell, there was more to say about it. One product might have environmental considerations, another might be more formal, another might be more functional, whereas PegLeg has all those features combined in a way that makes it an obvious one, and people just respond to it.
Do you ever worry about intellectual property, because once it is published or exhibited that can contravene your copyright? Do you ever think about that?
I think for me, by putting it out there and getting published through competitions, that’s part of my intellectual property strategy, to have it out there and seen.
I think entering awards you should have a piece that is resolved. Because I consider it as a marketing thing and so I would prefer to have something that is production ready. Where as an exhibition would be fine to put a prototype in. So part of it is wanting to have the production set up. I think PegLeg is pretty much ready to go.
On average how long would you spend putting a competition application together?
Two hours.
How much would be the most you would have spent entering a competition including entry fees, prototyping, freight, time spent in lieu of doing something at…
I would put a money value of about $3000 for entering the IF Awards in Germany.
How did you weigh that up and consider the potential rewards, do you think you will get your money back?
In retrospect I would say it was a mistake because it was premature, the product wasn’t ready so when it was accepted into the final round, I was like ‘Oh shit, it wasn’t ready’. The night before it was due I was frantically packing it together. And it didn’t fit together right! And I was trying to fix it, and it ended up a little bit shoddy and I had no choice because I already had everything booked and about to be picked up.
So I paid $1000 to enter the thing, $800 in shipping and $1200 for the piece itself, and I can’t afford to ship it back because it would cost another $800 to ship back so now its stuck in Europe.
I would do it again but it is like gambling. I think if I had been able to say I got an IF Award and had put that stamp on it, it would have potentially opened up an overseas market. It would be great to approach people cold and say ‘This product has just won an IF award and would you consider stocking it?’
So you do think strategically like that?
Yeah. I entered the INDEX awards but for whatever reason they lost my entry so I didn’t have to pay the entry fee. But I cared about that award because it was in Melbourne and I haven’t had any presence in Melbourne.
Do you think people assign value to your work based on your performance in a competition?
I think the press does.
Do you think you have received a return in terms of the time and money spent entering competitions and the corresponding amount of press and sales?
I don’t know that it translates to sales but I think I have had lots of benefits in terms of the press ratio. When I am confident in something that I have done people seem to respond to it, but I don’t think it will necessarily sell straight off the bat, it will sell, but it’s not like you get published and you sell something the next day.
So for you it is about broader profile building?
Exactly.
Interview by Madeleine Hinchy.
Some Rights Reserved. View ADU Creative Commons license here.
Interview with Adam Goodrum
ADU: Which competitions have you participated in over the last few years?
Adam Goodrum: Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award, Belle Georg Jensen Design Awards, Young Designer of the Year by Domain/SMH, and the IDEA awards.
Which competitions do you generally not enter?
All the ones you have to pay for. I think it creates a situation where a business that has got a lot of money can enter competitions that have a price tag and it leaves other people out in the dark who might have a better piece.
Why do you enter design competitions – marketing.. cash..
A little bit of both. If there is a money prize, say like the SMH prize was a trip to Milan and some money, Bombay Sapphire is obviously very lucrative and really helps out and is a worthwhile thing. As well as the press that goes beside it.
Do you use it as a creative exercise that makes you resolve a piece in time?
It definitely gives me a deadline. And for me unless I have a deadline to work towards it just doesn’t happen. If I decide to enter a competition it makes me complete a product because there is a time to finish by.
How do you choose which ones to enter?
I don’t think I am massively strategic, I just think ‘Well there is something that I am working on that would be good to put in there, I’ll have a go.’
Do you think about brand associations when you enter and whether you want to be aligned with certain companies?
Maybe to a certain extent. If I get an email or something that says there is a competition coming, I think ‘Right, what is that magazine about, what’s that brand about?’ I think about whether I have a product that I haven’t really presented before.
In some ways being a teacher at university, people ask about competitions and I say, ‘Well, you know it is sometimes not good to have any part of them.’ Because I have seen that sometimes it is really hard for people. I don’t think they are a true reflection of what people have really got. It can change the way they might go about something because they see it as the be all and end all, and it is just not. It is a panel of judges who have subjective opinions and for whatever reasons people win stuff.
Do you think it can set up a sense of rejection for a product that might have a broader market then that defined by the competition?
Absolutely. There have been situations where people might have stopped working on something because of a rejection.
On average how much time would you spend putting together an application?
I think it varies.
What about Bombay Sapphire?
Oh yeah, a lot of time went into that and when I won that was fantastic. I submitted something the first year and didn’t receive anything, and then the second year I worked hard on getting a piece together.
What would be the most money you would have spent entering a competition? You say you don’t pay entry fees but with freight of product, prototyping and time spent…
That’s what I spend my money on! Making new stuff. The piece that I won Bombay Sapphire with, that was pretty pricey, not that I have money now, but I had next to nothing then. There was a lot of investment for sure.
But obviously it was worth it.
Yeah, it was wonderful. But I think it really, really helps when you understand that if it doesn’t happen, and you don’t win, it doesn’t really matter.
How much do you look at the fine print before you enter? Like the terms and conditions?
I am very, very cautious with those things now. If I think I have a very good idea and it has a commercial application then I wouldn’t put it in a competition because once it is publicly disclosed I have no copyright over it.
How do you as a designer assess that? I guess that is a kind of market awareness. Do you just have an instinct now for certain tiers of design?
No I think there is “wow” stuff which can be very good for a company in terms of branding and that kind of thing, but may not be something that has huge commercial application. Often that is a more appropriate piece for an exhibition. But to put something in a competition that has the potential for massive commercial application and some utilitarian purpose, no way, you are just crazy to put that in unless you have got a patent on it, but otherwise you wouldn’t do it. You would be shooting yourself in the foot.
There are often clauses in competitions that can cause problems for designers – mainly issues with copyright of to do with ownership of images, or if it is more speculative like a Designboom competition, where designs may then be owned by the organiser.
Yeah which is really shocking. I think with things like Designboom if you have an amazing opportunity to have something put into production, then it is worth it, but if not, no.
I had a situation with my Stitch folding chair related to that. Designboom had a folding chair competition and a piece came up in the design competition that was very similar to mine. I had designed my piece a long time before that, and I knew about the competition but I didn’t put it in there for the exact reason, that I didn’t want it on the web. I just emailed the competition and said, ‘Look I can prove that this is my design previously.’ I got in touch with the designer.
Did it win?
I think it was a finalist. Maybe second or something. The guy who designed it was really nice and said, ‘I am sorry, it was a coincidence and I can see yours was done earlier and it is a resolved prototype and I won’t pursue it.’ Though he still put it on his website.
Between you and me I would never put a new piece in a competition now. I just wouldn’t do it. It isn’t worth it.
Unless it was already in production?
Unless it was already in production. That would be the only way I would put it in. But maybe because I have generated a bit of a reputation now and competitions have helped me and so forth, now I don’t really need it so I wouldn’t risk losing copyright as a result of a competition.
So they have been useful for you in terms of building your profile?
Absolutely. The marketing machine behind the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award and so forth is just fantastic, it was twenty thousand dollars when I won, and now it is thirty. Even on an international scale that is good good money for a design competition, that helped me out like you wouldn’t believe. I could do all these things that I wanted to do but couldn’t afford to do before that.
Does winning a competition add weight for potential clients, or do they go on the strength of your portfolio?
I think it absolutely depends on the company you are dealing with. Some companies are leaders because they don’t worry about those sorts of things and they make their decision purely on the product, rather than a situation that somebody might already have made a decision on. Other companies might see it as important.
You are a design lecturer, what kind of advice do you give your students in the classroom when they ask you about entering design competitions?
OK, because they do ask me. What I say to my students is that I think a competition is fantastic because it gives you a deadline to work to, and if you don’t think that there is any opportunity for a patent or some situation where you can get a copyright on it, but you appreciate that it could help you with press and stuff then it is good. But you can’t be precious about it if it happens it happens, and if it doesn’t it doesn’t.
Interview by Madeleine Hinchy.
Some Rights Reserved. View ADU Creative Commons license here.
Interview Peter English, Surry Partners Lawyers
ADU: Reading the fine print of design competitions can be confusing – what are some of the classic mistakes that designers can make when taking part in a competition, and what should designers look out for?
Peter English: A couple of things come immediately to mind. What are the terms of the competition? What publication or other use rights do the competition organisers claim over the content that is submitted? Apart from prize money and any offers which go with it, what rights of attribution does the designer get?
How common is it that designers have to sign over their rights – copyrights, trademarks, design rights, moral rights and all other IP rights? And how can a designer weigh up whether they want to do this – decisions to waive rights today could have negative implications later in their career.
It’s not common and I would advise designers against entering “competitions” that require a “sign over” (assignment) of rights. I’m not sure that giving up rights now may necessarily have a negative effect on career – provided there is proper attribution and recognition, that may be helpful – but the financial loss might be significant.
Do companies benefit from owning those rights when a kind of two way agreement may benefit both – are we at a point where advocacy might help change things for the better of all?
I agree. There are basically two types of design competitions. One where existing work is selected and judged. The other where the competition calls for work to be created and are often based on specific design or themed criteria. My view is that ownership of rights does not need to be transferred from the designer to the competition organiser to allow the organiser to obtain some reasonable benefit from the use of the work, in consideration of prize money being paid, attribution being made on an ongoing basis, and some other reasonable commercial terms.
Are there things designers should do differently, or be prepared for, when entering an international competition?
Look closely at the terms and establish what happens to their work once it is entered. That may be hard enough to control here in Australia, but it certainly gets harder if the problems arise overseas. Maybe that’s where being a member of a professional association may assist.
What can a designer do if things go wrong – have you worked on particular cases when designers have wanted out?
No I haven’t. The designer who is “ripped off”, should get some advice ASAP. If you don’t have a lawyer, the Arts Law Centre can be a good starting point. If you are a student, your student body or school/college/university administration unit may be able to advocate on your behalf.
When do you consider a design ‘competition’ not to be a competition?
Where the organisers invite work to be created for the purpose of a competition, offer a paltry prize, demand a full assignment and/or unrestricted commercial exploitation rights, reserve the right to modify any chosen design and give no assurances of attribution, publicity or ongoing involvement with the project. That is not a competition. That is a sham. Ignore it. Move on.
Money and exposure are two of the most common reasons why designers enter competitions, so how can designers ensure that their rights and their ‘brand’ are also protected?
If they have a “brand” I’m a great believer in trade mark protection for their trade name, but design rights are notoriously hard to protect. There is copyright in plans and drawings and other original work. Copyright does not require registration and offers strong protection for original work that has international recognition. Depending on the scale of the likely applications of the design, there is design registration available. In some cases where the design has not been published and involves an “inventive” and “non-obvious” step, there may be patent right available. The IP Australia website is a good resource. I’m sure there are a number of other useful IP resource links on the ADU website.
Are there any other issues that you think creative businesses should be aware of?
I think competitions for artists, musicians, architects and designers are a necessary part of how arts communities achieve recognition for their work and get to interact with a wider audience. My view is that you should stick to the competitions administered or endorsed by major institutions or recognised professional bodies, because they tend to be well thought of and have entry terms and conditions that have been well stress-tested over time. I would be cautious of entering competitions run by commercial organisations who do not have any long standing association with the design or arts community, and whose motives may be opportunistic. Read the fine print. Get some advice.
Interview by Heidi Dokulil
Comments Off
Top3 by design: Terri Winter
Top3 by design is a mecca for ideas and a one-stop-shop for a diverse range of design products. As well as stocking items by big international design houses including Missoni Home, Menu and Iittala, the company’s founder Terri Winter has a solid commitment to Australian design. Terri spoke to the ADU about the key things Australian designers should know about design wholesaling, and what it takes to play well with retailers.
Business: Top3 by design
Type of business: Retailer of international and Australian designer home products and personal accessories
Location: Online and Crows Nest and Bondi Junction, New South Wales, Australia
Founder: Terri Winter
Contact: www.top3.com.au
ADU: When did Top3 launch and what was the concept behind it?
Terri Winter: When my husband and I met we both worked in the advertising and design industry. Both of us have a passion for innovative, quality product, and when I became pregnant with our first son we decided that we needed to have a business that did not rely on a client’s 24-hour deadline. Shortly after we were in Germany at a cabaret show that included a variety of acts by performers who were the best in their field, and we got thinking about the things we like, and how we might edit them down to a selection of the best.
As consumers we were constantly frustrated by the ridiculous amount of ‘choice’ on offer from butter, to wine, to stereos and pepper grinders. We simply wanted to know what was good. We discovered that many of our friends also found the amount of choice did not give them a feeling of comfort, but was a source of frustration. Especially with the accompanying lack of information offered alongside the multitude of product.
So began the idea for a store that offered an edited selection of quality design, that followed the mantra of carrying up to three products per category deemed the best in the world by merit of design. We chose the name Top3 by design because we felt it best described the concept and opened the first store in November 2001.
How many stores do you have now?
We have two physical stores and an online store.
How many Australian designers are part of the collection?
We carry pieces by Kain Lucas, Belinda Giles, Charles Wilson, Rowen Wagner, Sarah Gibson and Nicholas Karlovasitis of Design by Them, Rachael Ruddick, Birgit Moller, William Rhodes, Jason Bird, Matt and Jude Ainsworth of Stukon, Cindy-Lee Davies of Lightly, Abi Alice, Marc Newson, Rohan Nicol, Susan Cohn, Robert Foster of F!NK, Ben McCarthy, Danny Cheung, Henri Spaile and Mark Armstrong for DOSH, George Plionis, Tomek Archer, Adam Goodrum, and Marc Harrison of HUSQUE.
How much of your stock do you source from local trade fairs and internationally or is most of your sourcing done through other means?
Given Australia’s geographic distance from Europe, many of the large companies have representation here in Australia through distributors. It makes no sense for everyone to be shipping individually from large suppliers. So all the key large brands are sourced from distributors here in Australia. However, we visit the international trade shows to know in advance what will be available and then we can discuss things with the local importer to ensure suitable stock levels and timing of arrivals.
What should a designer prepare before approaching you about stocking their work?
Anyone approaching us regarding product to be stocked needs to have a price list and samples of their products, including packaging ready for viewing. They also need to be familiar with top3 and the concept of the store, and have a good knowledge of the cost structures of getting a product from wholesale to retail.
They need to be sure that after the product is stocked they have a system in place to be able to re-supply goods in a timely manner, or be aware of the time frames necessary for redelivery and have that outlined on their price lists.
The first step in terms of contacting us would be to send an email with the price list and any relevant product information and images.
The price list should include:
- Item codes
- Wholesale price (excluding GST)
- Retail price (including GST)
- Any special delivery instructions. If there are any special delivery instructions or costs these should also be outlined.
Designers should also put a list of the businesses that they wish to have the product with long term, and a list of any retailers that already stock their product it if it is in the market already.
If we feel the product is suitable for the range we would then contact a designer to view samples or set up a meeting if that were required.
A designer also needs to have the best photography done that they can afford. If we have good high-resolution photographs on file we can send them to media quickly and easily.
In your opinion, how many designers understand the benchmarks of pricing – what a customer is willing to pay for a product based on quality, market sector, and other product competitors?
Most have done some research and some contact us early to ask us if they don’t know which is great. If you don’t know your full costs then you can’t establish the retail price.
What recommendations would you give to a designer in regards to pricing their work?
You need to be fully aware of what the real costs are for you in order to get a product to market. Yes, there are certain price points, but the first step should be to calculate full costs (including your profit) before setting the retail price.
If the price of the product is deemed too high for the market you won’t receive successful sales. You then need to go back and look at your production process to see if you can reduce the costs.
There is no point in simply reducing your retail price to match the market when it does not cover your costs. This will lead to re-supply issues for the store and everyone, including the customer, left waiting for goods and very unhappy.
Sometimes, sadly, the costs of a product are simply too high to be justified by the consumer. This is a sad reality but must be considered before full investment by designer or retailer into a product’s future.
Can you give me some examples of some key mistakes designers have made when approaching you? What are some of your pet hates?
People who have not done any research on our business and do not understand how we can help each other are a waste of everyone’s time and energy.
Achieving successful sales in a retail environment requires a relationship that is more like a partnership – the product needs to suit the store, it needs to have support from both the store and the designer and both the designer and retailer should be able to make money from the product. If a designer has queries about any of the above details, then they should raise them in the first conversation or meeting.
I dislike designers who think that the store is ripping them off taking a margin, who feel hard done by in giving retailers a cut. The retail store is the way to access your consumers, you should work with them in a partnership and support them as much as you can. Don’t make retailers feel that you are hard done by as the designer because you can’t make enough money etcetera.
It is up to you to make your pricing the best and most competitive that you can without losing money. Don’t produce work at a loss unless you have a long-term view in which you can improve unit cost and efficiency to gain your profits later. There is no point putting something on the market at a loss and feeling annoyed the entire time because you feel the retailer is making money and you are not.
A sudden increase in price after the product has gone to market is not good form either. You must think your costs and profit requirements through before getting the product on the shelves. A designer not making ANY money from their product cannot afford to produce any more. For me a relationship is successful if it is a win-win situation for both the designer and the retailer.
Never have a website of your own offering an online retail set up for your products that competes with your retailer on availability or price. While having periodic sales in which you discount your own product I guess is normal I don’t encourage it when you also supply to retailers.
If you are going to have a sale of your product on your own website it is best to let your retailers know in advance, or offer them a reduction on price so they can promote it at the same time.
On the topic of designer’s with online retail spaces within their own websites, a wholesaling designer should not offer a special online price that is different to the recommended retail price as an incentive for customers to buy direct. If you do this the interest in your product will very quickly drop in store among both retailers and their customers.
Do you expect designers to have a thorough understanding of the existing brands that you stock prior to approaching? How much should they know about you prior to getting in touch?
They should understand where they think they might sit in the collection and understand how they could be a benefit to the range.
What are some key pieces of advice that you have for designers getting started?
Think it through, get your costs in order – you can’t produce, promote and successfully sell a product that is not profitable.
Support your retailers, they will provide access to a large number of customers for you.
If you are confident about your product and are having trouble getting into store – offer it on consignment with all paperwork ready for quick entry into the system and you will probably find you get reorders and then payment for your first delivery.
If it doesn’t sell, both yourself and the retail store need to rethink it anyway!
How do you prefer designers to contact you, I guess you are very busy?
Generally we prefer a phone call, then an email with relevant information, then a follow up call after a couple of weeks if they have not heard back. At certain times of the year, as in the lead up to Christmas, designers need to be aware that we just don’t have time to consider new products.
Do you expect designers to supply you with collateral to support the sale of their work – price lists, brochures, packaging, high-resolution images?
It is an absolute necessity to supply a price list and a product overview sheet for staff. It is helpful if you can also provide a digital text version of this document as well so it easy to cut and paste that information to make it available online.
We need high and low-resolution images, including individual images of products in each colour and style. Stands and point of sale material can assist and be helpful when retailing, although this varies on a case by case basis, so it is best to discuss with retailers before investing in support material.
After the initial order, at what point should designers approach you again about a follow-up order?
We are very happy to hear from them a couple of weeks after their product has appeared in-store. Continuous calls can be difficult to manage, although ironically it tends to be card suppliers who call the most frequently!
Do you think there are some common mistakes or areas that Australian designers and suppliers don’t understand about wholesaling that their international counterparts, or distributors that you deal with, take for granted? If so, what are they?
No not overall, the larger Australian distributors are very professional. If anything it is some of the international distributors who don’t understand the geography and scale of the Australian market and don’t realise that the length of shipping times is very different when dealing with Australia compared to their European counterparts.
The difficulty I do come across is when I am working with small-scale distributors who are often running their business as a sideline project and have indented product, which means they do not hold stock but get their manufacturers to manufacture in response to a retailers order. I do not want to work with people who are operating more like an agent or distributor for their own product. I refer to these businesses as ‘indent managers’ and I do not need to pay a margin to ask someone to order for me.
A supplier or distributor is responsible for holding an acceptable level of stock to supply the market. Naturally, there can be colours or styles which unexpectedly sell through, but the collection they represent or supply should be held in the country and be available for reordering.
Do you think there are benefits for working with local designers based on locality and in theory a quicker delivery program?
I love to work with local designers, however it does not really equate to faster turn-around. Small-scale designers generally have supply issues and we work with them as closely as possible to minimise the problems on both sides. Fast efficient turnaround on a regular basis leads to more orders as instore staff are confident they will obtain the items for their customer and will be happy to ‘push’ the product. If experience tells the sales staff that the customer may be let down by erratic delivery, they will suggest something ‘safer’ to avoid a customer service issue.
What is the acceptable turnaround for orders?
Generally within a week unless otherwise stated. If preparation is needed or manufacturing to order is required you need to be clear about the time it will take to deliver so it can be outlined to the customer. A period of two weeks to wait for a special order is fine for customers. If the wait is going to be longer the customer simply needs to be forewarned and often they will have no issue with waiting period, even if it going to be months rather then weeks long.
But knowledge in advance is the key. Don’t be shy about extended delays. Be upfront and advise your retailer as soon is possible. The situation will not correct itself if you keep saying ‘It will be soon, soon, soon’ when you know it won’t be. Be honest and pre-emptive.
If a designer was hoping to have their product stocked in store for Christmas, what would be the ideal time that they should show it to you? How far in advance do you buy for Christmas?
We would want to see it by August/September if they have stock already available. The actual product needs to be available (in the country!) by mid-October to be ready in time for Christmas marketing.
What other key times throughout the year are key buying periods for you?
March is great after the wash-up from Christmas, and ties in with preparation for Mothers Day too. It depends on the product but key periods are Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day and Christmas.
What do you consider are the characteristics of a truly professional designer – the ideal model for a happy and successful business relationship?
It requires a good sound understanding of the relationship between the customer, the store and the supplier. They have to all work together. If the designer begrudges the requests of customers or retail stores and is difficult or obtuse with turnaround times the relationship will very quickly be strained.
Suppliers need to understand that the store is under pressure by the customer for product and the supplier needs to back up the store as efficiently as possible on a regular basis. Erratic supply times create problems.
We require an invoice with every delivery. Poor paperwork is not acceptable and is time consuming for everyone!
Do you think the local design industry has matured since you launched? How would you describe the industry here? And what opportunities do you see ahead?
It has absolutely matured. We started in 2001 and back then the concept of a ‘design store’ was not recognised. If I said to someone I had a design store I would constantly be asked which fashion labels I carried. People do tend to broadly understand the concept of a design store now.
Many people were surprised when we opened our store in a Westfield shopping centre complex. However, it has been an important part of our process and philosophy that design is not for an elite group but is for everyone to appreciate.
It is important to us at Top3 that design is not seen as an elitist concept because a design process is involved in the development of every product some are just simply not well considered or are executed poorly.
We are very excited about the future of design in Australia. Customers do understand that you get what you pay for. The ‘get the look’ era of disposable fashion buying has been replaced with an understanding that products that are of good quality, do what they do well by functioning better, enrich our daily lives and are respected and understood to have intrinsic value.
Designers are finally getting the understanding that they deserve – it does not have to be in a flashy superstar designer way, but in the everyday appreciation of what they can achieve. We are excited because we can help people understand that the simple details good design can bring will change their day – it does not have to be in gigantic once in a lifetime purchases of iconic pieces – but in the thoughtful, well considered purchases every day.
We certainly will continue promoting Australian designers shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best. We feel that Australian designers don’t need to be pandered to and pulled out and identified as ‘Australian Designers’ but can stand their ground Internationally. They just need the support of customers and retailers alike.
I was honoured to be involved as a judge in the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Awards this year and can certainly say that there are plenty of designers ready to take on the world stage – I hope we can be of some help getting them there!
Interview by Heidi Dokulil and Madeleine Hinchy.
Some Rights Reserved. View ADU Creative Commons license here.
The ADU has published a comprehensive guide to wholesaling on the Toolkit (Going to Market) page with the assistance of Terri Winter and the team behind Workshopped. To download it visit here.
To read more ADU creative entrepreneur profiles visit here.
