The 3 things that make customers love what you do.

At one time this was a real head-scratcher for me. People love Penny's teeshirts, Rhian's caps, Simon's shoes, Duke's suits and - I am flattered to say - they seem to love our collection too. We are lucky enough to receive photos from customers all over the world and - something I still find very humbling - nothing has ever been returned.

But I wanted to work out how this love happens.

3 Things

There are 3 ingredients that lead to people really loving what you do.

First, a great product. This sounds obvious. But authentically great products are really hard to come by. A great product is far more than superb design and make. It is knowing where it was made, how and by whom. It's knowing that excellence and ethics are built in end-to-end. This brings true loyalty and pass-along (word of mouth).

Second, it's the purpose of the brand itself. Why was the brand created? What do they want to change? What difference do they want to make? Does the brand stand for something that you believe in too? This brings connection at a far deeper level.

And for a while, I though that was that. Both of these things together can, for a while at least, make people want the next thing you do before you even do it. But there's a third thing that seals the deal. 2 years in I am just starting to get this bit right in every single thing I create.

The Third Thing

In the middle of 2017, 18 months in, I closed Always Wear Red. I kept it closed for about 5 months. I closed because I didn't love all parts of the AWR collection. Scarves, hats, belts, bags, tees, socks, sweaters... Most were really strong. Some were (I thought) less so.

Our materials and makers were, and still are, unbeatable. We knit in Scotland from less than 9% of the world's cashmere for example. 91% is not good enough. And our brand purpose was, and still is, clear. Our purpose is to ensure people wearing our things feel amazingly confident. Confident people change the world. And that's great for everyone.

But the third thing was not quite there across the whole brand. The thing that was missing was that I did not absolutely love everything in the collection. And that's the third ingredient. It's as simple as that. For customers to love what you do, you have to absolutely love what you do - first.

2018

I love AWR in 2018. We are for driven, creative people. The designs we are developing are for them. They are simpler, more coherent and more classic. Always Wear Red has narrowed down to Premium British Knitwear so we can do this one thing well and continue to learn from our customers with a renewed focus.

We still have so much to improve. Our photography for example. But the new 100% Merino wool sweaters and 100% Merino wool t-shirts (yes, Merino t-shirts) are great. We love them. I hope that when the Limited Edition runs appear in a few weeks, there is as much love for them out there as there is in here. With our 1, 2, 3 in place - there should be.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone that has joined us on our journey. We are still very young and have lots to learn. Thank you to customers, friends, contacts and partners for your help and support so far.

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