#12 RadEO with Dustin Botha from Luks Brands

Radeo

In the post Ignite episode Rich and Ross talk to Dustin Botha from Luks Brands about his hustle and how he has used it to grow his many brands and companies. How to give yourself the edge by playing in spaces where other people are not. The DNA of great consumer-facing brands and the future of retail. Dustin also shares about using generosity as a tool in your business. Subscribe on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radeo/id1250841955) or Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/radeopodcast) More about Dustin Botha- With more than 17+ years experience across Action sports, Apparel fashion wholesale and retail he started his working career in a warehouse (Pulling & Packing orders and dispatching Stock) directly after school. His break came when one of the sales reps suddenly resigned from the company. He was asked to fill in and merchandise the stores. After a week of pounding pavements, the owner of the business handed him his petrol card and two order books. He said don’t come back to the office until the order books are full. He ended up in Botswana a week later asking them to send him more order books. After about a year of learning every aspect of the business, he went on to work for Billabong. He was recruited by Billabong in the early days before it exploded. Dustin started his agency with 1 brand and a 30 sqm office. Fast forward 7 years they were one of the biggest brands in the country and they had a stable of 7 brands (Billabong, Element, Vonzipper, Nixon, Kustom, Palmers, DC shoes). Billabong SA was sold back to Australia, when that happened it was all systems go to go on their own. Dustin and his business partner, Daniel Hoffmann had been working by day and building Luks brands by night. They would meet for dinner check the Skullcandy orders that had come in and then go off and pack orders all night long. They had stock to the ceiling in every spare space they could find, including his bathtub. Luks Brands was officially formed in 2008 to import and distribute International lifestyle brands into South Africa. The current stable of brands is Skullcandy, Ogio, Neff, PAX, Lokai, LAMY pens, Velcro Brand, UBOAT, Montegrappa pens, and Traeger Grills. Hurley South Africa: They were part of the team that launched Hurley in South Africa. They also owned and operated the Hurley Stand-alone retail store in Sandton City, Jhb. Over the last few years, Dustin has had a lot of fun developing his passion projects. RETAIL: They also own and operate our own stand-alone retail outlets. WHOLESALE: They have a wholesale business which extends to all major chain stores as well as independents across Africa TRAVEL RETAIL They have extensive distribution into domestic and international airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. E-COMMERCE: Luks Brands operate their own e-commerce platforms www.luksbrands.com / www.lamyshop.co.za and they export to neighboring and central African states & Mauritius. SOURCING &; MANUFACTURING: They source, develop and manufacture quality eyewear, accessories, and apparel for several chain store house brands. Show notes: Dustin’s Elevator Pitches 01:20 Luksbrands 01:58 Cotton Art Group 04:25 Doing what you are supposed to do 09:12 Is there any advice you would have given yourself when you started? 10:21 Planing and scaling 12:58 Sticking to a business modules 16:28 Playing to your business partner’s strengths 17:32 How important is the curation of brands for your company? 20:24 What are the takes from dealing with the actual retail of these brands? 22:58 What do you look for in a brand? 24:25 Do you deliberately use generosity in your business? 28:10 Where do you think the trends in retail are going? 30:32 Dealing with competitor brands 34:10