Walpole: How would you describe Redrice’s mission?
Tom March: The Redrice team has a common mission: we want to share our experience and help create a new generation of culture-defining premium brands. We are looking for brilliant, purpose-driven founders who see the world differently and aren’t afraid to break the rules to break new ground. This can be across the consumer and retail sector, from products and services to platforms and marketplaces, as well as new business models.
What areas of investment is Redrice currently involved in?
Primarily, we find and nurture challenger premium brands and platforms, operating across all consumer sectors. For us, a premium brand is not about price: the strength of a premium brand is not in its logo or how much people remember it, it lies in the emotions it is able to conjure. We invest in founders who align with this thesis, shown in their sales traction and brand philosophy.
We closed the current fund, oversubscribed, two years ago. We have invested in eight companies including: Hylo, a premium sustainable sports trainer company; By Rotation, a peer-to-peer fashion rental app; and Confer With, an enabler of live one-to-one video commerce for premium brands.
Previous investments have included Castore sportswear, the official kit supplier for the McClaren and the England Cricket Team, and sustainability platform (not to mention former Walpole Brand of Tomorrow), Ocean Bottle. Strong team exits have been Curlsmith, Purplebricks and Eagle Eye Solutions, among others.
What are the key trends you’re seeing from an investment perspective over the year ahead?
In a digital world, consumers are morphing from mere recipients and audience members to critical centre-stage actors who want to interact with brands and pass judgement on them. An extreme example of this shift is the emergence of new platforms and tech solutions that empower consumers to become creators themselves, monetising their own talents or communities.
We're excited to find new solutions in the premium travel space. There hasn't been much innovation since the emergence of online travel agencies (OTAs) over two decades ago. We've seen the same lack of innovation in premium consumer product marketplaces. The consumer experience is very similar to those first innovators, usually flat, linear and transactional. It's odd as the way we consume media has massively evolved. Take the use of video and user generated content as examples of behaviours not fully embraced by incumbent platforms.
We are drawn to consumer product and tech companies in sports and wellness. The emotive nature of sport enables brands to leverage powerful communities and grow efficiently with wide appeal. Sport has the power to break boundaries and energise positive social and environment policy change, it improves physical and mental health and it's fun!
We expect to see a second wave of tech solutions that enable brands to adopt circular business models and act more sustainably. The first movers had the luxury of cheap money, but we believe their business models are largely unsustainable. Look at The RealReal and Rent The Runway as examples of CapEx-heavy businesses finding it tough to pivot. We do believe that new profitable business models can emerge and learn from the mistakes of incumbent challengers.
> View Redrice's Walpole partner profile here.
Which emerging technologies will fundamentally transform the customer experience?
Luxury brands need to use technology more than ever to differentiate their online offerings. Live video can achieve this, both 'one-to-many' and 'one-to-one'. Elsewhere, AI will improve personalisation in discovery and recommendation algorithms and help to drive efficiencies in product design, supply chain and inventory management. Alternative materials, developed through process innovations, will play a bigger role in luxury products, led by consumer demand and policy change. Linked to this and previous comments around circularity, brands will need to embrace technologies that power these solutions.
What’s the value of working with Walpole?
As a purpose-driven investor, we want partners who share our values and bring fresh insights, so partnering with Walpole was an easy decision. The Walpole team has shared priceless perspectives on research areas relating to specific brands and categories, as well as providing network intros to specialists across the luxury space.
We have also partnered on reports and events. Most recently, we launched the Luxury Trend Report together, a report highlighting tech innovations and changes in consumer mindset, that are driving pockets of high growth in luxury markets.
Last week, our Walpole and Redrice Retail Tech Breakfast event showcased founders of emerging retail tech companies alongside Walpole's amazing network of senior operators from member brands. A number of Walpole members have approached us to access the innovative solutions within our portfolio companies and founder network. We want to help talented founders make an impact - Walpole share this mission and can magnify that impact.
What’s the outlook for premium luxury goods this year?
We are very optimistic. There is so much change happening in the luxury space. Brands will continue to embrace new technologies, improve sustainability creds, seek to adapt to the increasing importance of younger consumers, consider new e-commerce channels and social platforms and strive for greater cultural relevance.
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