At A Glance

What started as a lighthearted joke between friends in an Australian backyard 2 decades ago has evolved into a cult brand, Budgy Smuggler, with a pair of iconic swimwear sold every 90 seconds. Here, Adam Linforth, Chief Smuggler at Budgy Smuggler, discusses how he employed a "slow and firm and steady" growth model to transform a hobby into a successful retail and E-Commerce company. Linforth discusses the importance of cultivating a genuine brand "vibe," delivering a positive customer experience, and innovating out of necessity to overcome challenges such as seasonality. His narrative offers insightful guidance on building a community, remaining adaptable, and establishing a company with genuine significance.

Who is Adam Linforth?

Meet Adam Linforth, Chief Smuggler and Owner at Budgy Smuggler!

About Budgy Smuggler

The Australian swimwear brand “Budgy Smuggler” originated when a few friends scribbled the name on the back of an existing pair of Speedo-style swimwear. Since then, its merchandise has developed a cult following for its swimwear and is now selling a pair every 90 seconds. The core of the Budgy Smuggler brand is about evoking a "feeling"; the goal is to make people feel good through the product, the brand, and what it represents. It began as a purely online business and has since expanded to include three of its own retail stores, as well as placements in 100 other retail locations across Australia. Ultimately, the company aims to build a brand that Australians are proud of.‍

Adam’s Journey

Adam took over the brand around 15 years ago as a joke with some friends. For the first decade, it remained a hobby business, and Linforth held another full-time job for the first eight years of that period. He adopted a patient, long-term approach to growth, reinvesting all profits back into the business for roughly 12 years before he ever took a dollar out for himself.

Team & Structure 

The Budgy Smuggler regimen keeps things “old school,” preferring the team to work together in person. Its Australian headquarters houses about two dozen people, plus a small in-house production crew that makes the swimwear. To grow internationally, the brand relies on elite “special forces” satellite teams, comprising just a handful of people each, in the UK and France. Linforth emphasises that these local presences are key to boosting international conversion rates.

Customer Experience Philosophy:

The customer experience philosophy at Budgy Smuggler is simple: make people feel good and treat them like friends. The company's service strategy was revolutionised when it hired its first dedicated customer service professional after years of handling support on an ad-hoc basis. The team works really hard to be a part of their customers' lives, with one notable instance being when team members went to the airport to hand-deliver a custom order to a customer in time for their wedding. Linforth himself used to personally deliver orders in the early days, incorporating this hands-on, caring approach into the company's foundation.

Innovation & Growth

A key innovation for Budgy Smuggler has been its custom-made swimwear, which now accounts for about a quarter of the business. This strategy was driven by the necessity to address the problem of swimwear being a highly seasonal product. The company found that sports teams, such as rugby players, were wearing their products during the winter, which fueled the idea to create custom swimwear for teams. This not only helped even out sales throughout the year but also provided a sense of "safety in numbers" for men who might be hesitant to wear the revealing swimwear on their own.

The company's growth has been "slow and firm and steady," consistently hitting 15-20% annual growth rather than aiming for humongous breakthroughs, doubling-in-size years. To further combat seasonality, the brand expanded into the UK and Europe to establish year-round sales across different hemispheres.

Operational Challenges

Changing seasons pose a significant operational challenge, particularly in Australia, where the peak summer season coincides with Black Friday and Christmas, resulting in an intense sales period. In the past, the company has run out of stock during these crucial times. To manage this, Budgy Smuggler now focuses on better forward inventory planning and will occasionally remove certain items from its site intentionally during a major sale to ensure stock is available for Christmas and January shoppers. While their Australian-based manufacturing allows them to replenish stock in just two to three weeks, it cannot produce tens of thousands of units on short notice.

‍Looking Ahead

For the future, Linforth's main target is the "vibe of Budgie," which he equates to the brand. He emphasises the fact that a business’s bright future depends on the fact that it is built as a brand people genuinely love and care about. The company's focus for the next few years will be on three key areas: brand, community, and partnerships.

‍Advice for Entrepreneurs / CX Leaders

Linforth’s main advice for budding entrepreneurs is to establish a business around something you actually care about and can tell a story about. He warns against building a business that relies only on a "social media hack," advocating that for long-term value and success, a brand must mean something to its founder, its team, and its community. In a world with fierce competitive aspects, the main aim is to create a product or service that "leaves people with a feeling," as that is what will make them loyal to your brand.