AussieBum
Encyclopedia
AussieBum is an Australian men's swimwear manufacturer. In recent years aussieBum has also increased its product line to other clothing include underwear, leisurewear, sportswear
and loungewear.
The company has achieved international recognition for several products such as Essence underwear; which contains vitamins locked in the fibre which releases through the skin.
All aussieBum products are manufactured in Australia with the business run completely out of the company's headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt
.
In 2001, director Sean Ashby started aussieBum when he couldn’t find the style of swimwear he grew up with. The company had an inauspicious launch in the middle of the dot-com bust
, and at the time the original website ran from a suburban lounge room, created by Ashby. Joined by co-director Guyon Holland, they created a new market by bringing back the classic speedo-style Aussie cossie and introducing digital prints and other vibrant designs.
Since starting out with only A$
20,000 in 2001, aussieBum is now a multi-million dollar global enterprise, employing over 35 people, manufacturing over 150 different styles of products. The company has doubled in size each year since its founding.
20 million in annual sales. The company has a broad reach for a business run entirely via the Web, with no shop front and minimal packing staff. The online store warehouse, which has very advanced in-house technology, to pick, pack, and ship over 1,000 unique orders a day, requires only eight people.
The brand retails in some of the biggest department stores in the world such as Selfridges
, Harrods
and House of Fraser
in the UK, Printemps
in Paris, KaDeWe in Berlin, and Harvey Nichols
in Dubai, as well as in small boutiques in various cities around the world. The range is also available from the UK's largest online-only fashion retailer ASOS.com
. aussieBum's online e-store ships to more than 70 countries.
AussieBum promotes their products in non-traditional venues on the internet, such as blogs, social networking sites Facebook, MySpace, and the online game Second Life
. The brand has a popular online following with the aussieBum being the 7th most popular search term in Australia. Cultivating the image of a larrikin Australian has also helped the company in getting noticed in overseas markets where residents are curious about Australian culture.
The brand uses a distinctly cheeky advertising style, such as remaking the iconic Australian painting Shearing the Rams
with muscle-bound blokes shearing sheep in just their undies. Celebrities including Ewan McGregor
, Billy Connolly
, and Daniel Radcliffe
are fans of the cossies while Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue
featured buff men wearing aussieBums in the video clip for Slow. Soccer superstar and men's fashion trendsetter David Beckham
has also appeared in the brand.
line of push-up bras.
In May 2007, the company also introduced Wonderjock technology into their swimwear line. Currently in the Classic, Storm, and Loose varieties, a fabric pouch is used to enhance a man's package, particularly when getting out of cold water. Since their release the Wonderjock styles have been altered and renamed Boosterjock, with the new design giving a more natural shape and less restrictive feel than the earlier version.
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
and loungewear.
The company has achieved international recognition for several products such as Essence underwear; which contains vitamins locked in the fibre which releases through the skin.
All aussieBum products are manufactured in Australia with the business run completely out of the company's headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt
Leichhardt, New South Wales
Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt...
.
History
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, and at the time the original website ran from a suburban lounge room, created by Ashby. Joined by co-director Guyon Holland, they created a new market by bringing back the classic speedo-style Aussie cossie and introducing digital prints and other vibrant designs.
Since starting out with only A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
20,000 in 2001, aussieBum is now a multi-million dollar global enterprise, employing over 35 people, manufacturing over 150 different styles of products. The company has doubled in size each year since its founding.
Marketing
The company has no sales representatives overseas but relies on the strength of the company website. Australian sales make up only 10% of its business, and is on its way to A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
20 million in annual sales. The company has a broad reach for a business run entirely via the Web, with no shop front and minimal packing staff. The online store warehouse, which has very advanced in-house technology, to pick, pack, and ship over 1,000 unique orders a day, requires only eight people.
The brand retails in some of the biggest department stores in the world such as Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
, Harrods
Harrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
and House of Fraser
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
in the UK, Printemps
Printemps
Printemps is a French department store .The flagship Printemps store is located on Boulevard Haussmann in the IXe arrondissement of Paris along with other well-known department stores like Galeries Lafayette. There are other Printemps stores in Paris and throughout France...
in Paris, KaDeWe in Berlin, and Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols, founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it sells many international brands of clothing for women and men, fashion accessories, beauty products, wine and food...
in Dubai, as well as in small boutiques in various cities around the world. The range is also available from the UK's largest online-only fashion retailer ASOS.com
ASOS.com
ASOS.com is the UK's largest online-only fashion and beauty store. Primarily aimed at 16-34 year old men and women, it offers over 35,000 own-label and branded fashion goods. Sales for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 were £339.7 million....
. aussieBum's online e-store ships to more than 70 countries.
Advertising
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. The brand has a popular online following with the aussieBum being the 7th most popular search term in Australia. Cultivating the image of a larrikin Australian has also helped the company in getting noticed in overseas markets where residents are curious about Australian culture.
The brand uses a distinctly cheeky advertising style, such as remaking the iconic Australian painting Shearing the Rams
Shearing the Rams
Shearing the Rams is an 1890 painting by the Australian artist Tom Roberts. The painting depicts sheep shearers plying their trade in a timber shearing shed...
with muscle-bound blokes shearing sheep in just their undies. Celebrities including Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
, and Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
are fans of the cossies while Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
featured buff men wearing aussieBums in the video clip for Slow. Soccer superstar and men's fashion trendsetter David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
has also appeared in the brand.
Wonderjock
In November 2006, the Wonderjock was launched in the aussieBum underwear lines. Wonderjocks have been designed to lift and enhance a man's genitals, through the use of a fabric cup used to protrude everything out instead of just down. 50,000 pairs of the new underwear were sold in the first seven days of being released. The name was chosen as a pun on the popular WonderbraWonderbra
The Wonderbra is a type of push-up underwire brassiere that gained worldwide prominence in the 1990s. Although the Wonderbra name was first trademarked in the U.S. in 1935, the brand was developed in Canada. Moses Nadler, founder and majority owner of the Canadian Lady Corset Company, licensed the...
line of push-up bras.
In May 2007, the company also introduced Wonderjock technology into their swimwear line. Currently in the Classic, Storm, and Loose varieties, a fabric pouch is used to enhance a man's package, particularly when getting out of cold water. Since their release the Wonderjock styles have been altered and renamed Boosterjock, with the new design giving a more natural shape and less restrictive feel than the earlier version.