In this edition of BTalk, Jamie Fuller, the CEO of Skins, talks about how the Aussie sportswear company fought for their niche, against the likes of Nike.
After a career in the printing industry, Jaimie took a big gamble by buying into a business that was struggling to get its name out there. They had a strong product, based on a compression technology, that would help athletes improve their performance.
He found himself working in an industry that he knew nothing about, with no experience of building a brand. His first battle was with his advertising agency, who argued that they needed to make the brand famous — Fuller wanted to push the technology first and foremost. The agency came up with a good line though: “we don’t pay sports stars to wear our product, they pay us.”
The advertising line reflects the approach the company has taken to grow. It’s built a reputation with professional athletes, got a stronghold in the market and is now growing around the world. You’ll hear in the interview that success has come from a willingness to take risks — oh, and and a lot of straight talking!
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The crawl back is done, reflation takes over
Bond yields are back to where they were before the FOMC meeting, says NABs David de Garis, with the focus now back on the reflation trade.
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Central banks holding back
The RBNZ has pushed their rate hike to the next meeting. But a lot can happen in a short space of time, says NAB’s David de Garis. The Fed, meanwhile, is split on when to move on tapering and rates.
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Will banks ever behave?
Banks develop speculative bubbles because they have risk mitigated by government bailouts. I ask Steve Keen how we change the behaviour of banks, so they lose out on risks, rather than holding the economy to ransom.
