Double denim in style as Outland buys ailing Nobody Denim
After a tumultuous few months, Nobody Denim owner John Condilis has sold the assets of his business to Gold Coast-based Outland Denim, which launches a crowdfunding equity raise on Tuesday to fuel its next phase of international growth.
In August, The Australian Financial Review reported that Nobody had axed 40 garment workers following the closure of Denim 108 Pty Ltd, which manufactured for the brand.
James Bartle of Outland Denim: “I realised we could let someone else buy it and have another competitor, or we could buy it and dominate the market.” Sam Jam Photo
“Manufacturing in Australia has become the biggest challenge ever,” Mr Condilis told the Financial Review at the time. “It’s the worst and the saddest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Outland Denim owner James Bartle bought Nobody in an asset-only sale for an undisclosed sum, acquiring assets, trademarks, some manufacturing equipment and some stock.
Outland Denim is a social enterprise that employs women at its Cut and Sew facility in Cambodia, paying them a living wage. The acquisition will allow Mr Bartle to add 25 new staff members to his 100-strong employee base. In Australia, five Nobody Denim staff members have joined Outland.
“I’ve known John for a long time through the industry,” Mr Bartle said. “We would often run into each other through the industry. We often had conversations about technology we used, his desire to incorporate those things into Australian manufacturing.
“He wanted to know if we would make denim for him. I always resisted because he’s our greatest competitor.”
Designs remain different
Mr Bartle initially refused when Mr Condilis approached him about purchasing Nobody. “But I realised we could let someone else buy it and have another competitor, or we could buy it and dominate the market.”
Outland and Nobody jeans will be made in the same facility, but their design will be differentiated.
“Australian manufacturing has never been viable for us,” Mr Bartle said. “I love the idea, and we’ve tried to crunch the numbers, but it’s just not been an option if we also wanted to make a profit.
“And that’s what John has found, sadly. He held on as long as he could, and maybe too long.”
Mr Bartle hopes to raise $2 million on crowdfunding platform Birchal. It is his third crowdfunding campaign; previous rounds have raised $2.1 million in total. Outland has also received private investment valued at $8 million.
“It’s a really powerful way of raising capital,” Mr Bartle said. “We have big ambitions to scale into the international wholesale market, which we lost during COVID-19, and that requires capital.”
Recently, the brand was stocked by Moda Operandi, and Mr Bartle hopes to attract interest from retailers such as Net-A-Porter.
“Equity crowdfunding is quite new for a lot of people,” he said. “There are challenges – you’re taking small amounts of money from a lot of people. But we have 1800 investors and I’ve never had an issue.” Investments range from $250 to $10,000.
“Ultimately, we want to show that you can make money doing things this way, treating people well and making denim in an environmentally responsible way,” he said. “The bottom line is, I don’t know anyone who would want someone harmed while they were making their products.”
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