Whisky & Commerce Episode 4 • Julie Mathers, Flora and Fauna

Episode Notes. The best bits

1. Julie: We launched with 500 products from 30 brands in November 2014. We just went, let's see how this goes.
Laura: Was it Dropshipped?
Julie: No, no. I'm such a true blue retailer. I'm like, No, no, own your stock, take the risk. So then we bought all the stock, and we're lucky because where we live is on acreage and when we bought the place, it came with a warehouse, which was great. So for the first few years we used that warehouse. So yes, we bought all the stock. Because I was really focused on the customer experience from the start. And my belief — unless you get it really right - just have your products and ship it out same next day to your customer. And give them one box as well. Because I think one of the worst experiences I've had is I've ordered six products off a well-known department store. And I got six different boxes, six different days, six different trips to the post office to get them.

2. Julie: If you don't do this now, you will never do it. Flora and Fauna was kind of, as with any start-up, it starts slowly, unless you have lots of funding, which we didn't, but it was a case of 'Come on, back yourself on this one.' And it's difficult to go, to step away from the corporate world, and go, 'Crikey, I'm basically going to a salary of zero.' But I knew that I sort of have to give myself that opportunity, and the appetite to do the reverse. And I could've taken the easy route out, and gone, 'Cool, I'll go get another corporate job somewhere,' or, 'I'll go work at Woolworths,’ and I just really didn't want to do that. So I'm really glad that I did what I did. And I sort of had the guts, really.
Laura: I can't believe it's been 4 1/2 years.
Julie: I know, I know. It's nuts. And it's... Your whole perception on things changes, too. You know, you don't care about the salary you get that you're so hung up on before. It becomes completely irrelevant. And actually, as long as you can pay mortgage, that's all that matters. And so you develop — this is what happened with me anyway — you just develop a whole different reason for being. And you're going into work because you're making a difference. Because you're building something, because it's fun. You're not going into work because your contracted to go to work. 'And I have to work those hours a week, and I get paid at the end of it.' It's like no, actually you're not getting paid at all. And we don't know when we're gonna pay you. But the joy in building things, and the frustrations, too, but the challenge is just brilliant. And I would say to people, 'Look, if Flora and Fauna were to fall over tomorrow, and you know, that's it, gone, I would not regret at all, what I've done for these four years, because it's been such an amazing journey, and I can wholeheartedly say that I have given everything to make it what it is right now.

3. Julie: I think this is where it's so important to have really strong partnerships with those brands. So we work with them on promotional plans for the year. But it can't be a 'beat them over the head, give me more margin.' Because that just doesn't work. One of our brands yesterday told us that they just pulled out at one of the big supermarkets. They'd make the call. A small brand had told the big supermarket No. Because they didn't like the way they were treated. And so it's so important that you have strong relationships and partnerships and you work together on things like content, things like social media, things which are modern-day retailing, as opposed to, bash over the head, give me more margin, and pay for your spot on the store.
Laura: Do you think that's being... Because I guess there's been this whole brands that have went direct to consumer probably for a number of reasons, one being the big retailers are not moving fast enough, and maybe that we've been treated from the bigger retailers as just not being good enough, and nobody really stands for it. Do you see that as being a main reason for why... Or do you think it's just, 'game on, don't tell me what to do, there's no rules anymore?'
Julie:I think that is part of the reason, the hang on we’re not been treated greatly but I think also you know, go to your customers direct, take all the margin why wouldn’t you do that. Plus being online is so accessible now so every brand can do it and do it well. So I think there is a few reasons on why this has happened but I think the accessibility to the customers is something that brands didn’t have in the past because everything was store based and most of them didn’t have their own stores but now its online its like game on.