When you name your company Huez* after a French Alp and not just any French Alp, one of the most iconic that features in the tour De France every other year - Alpe D'Huez, your ambitions must be lofty indeed. New Business checks out the progress made in the last two years with Lorenzo, the founder.
Huez* was started on the back of a love of cycling and the desire to create a successful business. Having commuted by bike for 7 years down the Embankment to Canary Wharf it became clear in looking at those riding around me that the choice in cycling clothing was very limited. There was only one or two stand out brands that created good looking clothing and those brands seemed to project more of a retro feel, harking back to the glory days of cycling. In establishing Huez* we wanted to create a forward thinking brand that used the most advanced fabrics in sportswear, and create a truly stylish range that worked well on the bike but wouldn't stand out as cycling clothing.
As keen cyclists, my co-founder and I knew how addictive cycling could be, having challenged each other to multiple Etap du Tour, it was always amazing to see how many of our friends wanted to join us on these epic challenges year after year. As we saw our friends go through the same cycle of buying entry level bikes and clothing, then graduating to nicer more durable gear as the cycling bug bit them, it was almost a validation of what the statistics on cycling numbers in the UK were saying, cycling was booming.
The design and performance philosophy
Sports Luxe as a movement has grown exponentially in the last few years; we believe the root cause has been a consumer lead demand for clothing to match increasingly active lifestyles in the 21st century. We all move around our city scapes much faster than we used to and we try to fit more into our busy schedules then ever before. To ensure that we're not permanently sweating or physically restricted, our clothes are largely now built upon the comfort and performance that defines modern sporting technology, applied to clothes that until recently, required dry cleaning three times a week. It's a hybrid of function and fashion that rests in neither category, but flourishes in both.
Our own design philosophy is less about what is added than about how much has been subtracted. For decades, bold graphics and bright colours defined the image of cycling, but contemporary aesthetic whittles away everything but the essentials for performance and comfort. Minimalism in cycling clothes is about opening up a dialogue with the surrounding environment we ride in to determine the most essential materials for the construction of the garment. With the help of our designer Nick Bond we try to embody the spirit of minimalism in the pursuit for design purity, offering a seamless transition from the road to daily modern living.
Personal career.
Having graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005 with an interest in business and the allure of the financial markets, I joined Credit Suisse in its Derivatives Operations department. The job taught me a great deal about the intricacy of the financial sector, and by the last year at the bank I was running the Equity Derivatives Trade Capture team. My love of the role and colleagues aside, I always knew that I really wanted to start my own business, and it was the passion I had for cycling, my need for more transitional wear once off the bike and in the office, and the opening I saw in the cycling market that encouraged me to make the leap and to found Huez*.
Why your brand appeals
Too often, the sartorial image associated with cycling is ‘tight and bright', and this can be a potential barrier for many considering getting on the bike. In starting Huez* we wanted to create clothing that was technically excellent on the bike but looked great off. Our sports tailored jacket is Italian made in a wool-stretch blend, Teflon treated for water resistance and has subtle reflective aspects on the cuffs and under the collar; perfect for those steering away from the hi-vis sportive items and aiming for a classic but urban look with a degree of reflectivity.
Part of our creative process at Huez* involves considering the problems that cyclists encounter every day and providing innovative solutions. In the case of our Starman wind jacket, we knew too well the problem of riding in changeable conditions and finding that damned zip on one's jacket, then trying to remove said garment whilst continuing to ride. We came up with the ‘quick burst' zip that enables the user to quickly open the entire garment without having to pull the zipper all the way down, in just a fraction of the time it takes on competitor's jackets.
A few thoughts on the rapid growth of cycling
The ‘Cycle to work alliance' released figures early on this year that made us feel confident that we had launched the brand at the right time. The statistics showed just how popular cycling was becoming (83,423 employees participated in the scheme in 2014, breaking the previous record set in 2013) and that's not to mention the additional thousands that bought their bike outright from a store.
To us, this is not only about popularity of cycling itself but it specifically highlighted that commuters are choosing the bike over other transport; our target audience. The Travel in London Report (2015), stated in London, for example, the number of daily average journey stages made by cycle in 2014 went up to 0.65million a leap of 71% from 2014. It is within this context that we confidently launched Huez* because it offers that cyclist style and performance both on and off the bike.
What's has being an Entrepreneur meant to you.
It's been a steep learning curve, my previous work in Banking certainly prepared me for the long hours, but being a small team I have had to learn a lot very quickly about the production cycle, fabric's, marketing and ecommerce. It's this learning that I have loved, but I have also learnt that it's important to play to your strengths and allow others to play to theirs. This was one of the main reasons we hired, Nick Bond, both Hugo and I knew that we didn't have the skills to design a forward thinking, functional and elegant range that would be respected by the fashion world and cyclists alike. Nick brought to the table a strong fashion and design background and being a cyclist he could easily relate to what we wanted to do in terms of improving the comfort and desirability of cycling clothing.
Its now two years since we launched and we have had some great successes, we were one of the first cycling brands on MatchesFashion.com and one of the first clothing brands at the Conran Shop. As an Entrepreneur however I haven't really taken the time to enjoy these wins, I always want more for the brand and I can see there is appetite in the market for a brand like ours, especially given the growth of the Activewear market.
Finance for Growth- Crowd Funding
Getting the resources to grow the brand hasn't always been easy. We launched the brand wanting to have a full range to offer and this was quite capital intensive. The first year was funded off our own back, then we brought in some investment from friends and family. Having seen other young brands raising on crowd funding sites, we thought this would be great opportunity to gain a wider base of influencers and increase the size of the investor audience we had already been speaking to.
To begin with the process can be quite daunting as you are lifting the hood on your business for all to see. Our fear was not so much about our business process but more about what your competitor can learn. In today's world however, there is so much information available that this didn't put us off. Creating the pitch and expressing the brand clearly in the video that accompanied our pitch was crucial. For Huez as a creative brand, it was key to have people understand our world view, how sports and increasingly active lifestyles are changing the way we dress. I think this comes out clearly in the video we created, whilst also linking back to the core principles of a video of this type, A. define the proposition and B. introduce the team you're investing in.
One of the important elements is also Valuation. We did a lot of work here looking at competitors a few years ahead of us but also companies who had used the platform for their start-up capital. Our business already had a proof of concept and a sales platform most companies would be envious of, and we could see a clear sales trajectory, this informed our valuation. Setting a fair valuation is key as not only will investors find the business more attractive, but you won't over promise and risk a weaker valuation if you need growth capital further down the line.
Generally the process has been smooth, the important things to consider are, how much time it will take out of your day to day running of the business and exactly when to launch, so that you can make use of the funds when the company is ready.
I think Crowd funding will remain a useful tool for early stage businesses that find they are caught between the start up and growth phase where capital is required to hit the revenue streams that will interest venture companies and private equity businesses. We are very excited about our launch on Crowdcube and in a few days we have already reached a good percentage of our target. We see a great potential for Huez and if we close this round successfully, we will be able to put the capital to work immediately and grow the company quite quickly.
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