In part two of this interview, Jamie Salter sits down with Tony Bugg, Managing Director of The Bugg Report, to discuss his journey, growth, acquisitions, global expansion and the Australian market.
Jamie, let’s go back to the start. Can you share how your early career experiences helped shape the founding of Authentic?
I’ve been in this industry since I was 16, and over the past three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to work across many different areas, from R&D and brand development to licensing and liquidation. Early on in my career, I founded Ride Snowboards and took it public in the ‘90s, which gave me firsthand experience in building and scaling a brand.
Later, as CEO of Hilco, I led the efforts to buy brands and liquidate assets but realized I wanted to take a different approach. My goal was to preserve the intellectual property of distressed brands and find ways to help them continue to thrive. This vision is what eventually led to the founding of Authentic.
Was there ever a moment in Authentic’s lifecycle where you imagined it would grow so exponentially, generating $30B+ in global retail sales?
At Authentic, our model puts brands right at the epicenter, and we believe in those brands. We acquire brands with challenged business models and untapped potential, revitalize them by partnering with industry-leading experts, and restore them to profitability while maximizing their value in the marketplace. Beyond the brands, we are a workforce of dynamic and ambitious people with a uniquely entrepreneurial spirit who help propel our brands to new heights. What’s more, our financial model is asset-light, generates strong margins and is highly capital efficient. We generate over 70% adjusted EBITDA margins, with diversity across brands, licensees, channels and geographies.
You recently announced the acquisition of Champion, a brand fusing heritage and innovation since 1919. How will you integrate the brand into the portfolio? Is it any different from the Reebok model?
Our strategy with Reebok has always been to “Let Reebok be Reebok.” It’s a brand with a deeply rooted heritage in the sports and lifestyle world—quite similar in nature to Champion.
Our success in revitalizing the Reebok brand through a number of strategic partnerships and its current reemergence in its rightful place in sports has created a playbook that extends to the Champion acquisition. It’s all about finding the right partners and distribution network, while maintaining Champion’s global footprint and looking at the gaps or spaces for the brand to enter or grow in key regions globally.
With Authentic’s recent global expansion, from London to Shanghai and now Australia, how do you maintain consistency in brand DNA while working with regional partners?
Maintaining the brand’s ethos and identity across regions is crucial. We always want to offer the best experience to our global consumers, and the best way to cater to their needs and create products they feel personally connected to is by establishing a team on the ground that can work directly with regional partners who understand the local market needs. We also need teams on the ground who are dedicated to advancing the portfolio and opening the door to new opportunities, categories and distribution channels.
The beauty of our licensing model is that it is designed to help identify expansion opportunities for our brands. This is all made possible by partnering with top-tier and best-in-class partners who excel in product design, development, distribution and retail that share and are aligned with our vision for the brand.
Several brands in the Authentic portfolio already have a strong foothold in the Australian and New Zealand markets. Do you see further expansion opportunities, and how do you plan to deepen Authentic’s presence in the region?
We’re excited about the potential for growth in the Australian and New Zealand markets. Our plan to deepen Authentic’s presence involves several key strategies.
We will look to introduce more of our unique brands to Australian and New Zealand consumers, tapping into diverse preferences and interests. We will also focus on strengthening our relationships with existing retailers and forming partnerships with new ones across various tiers to reach a broader customer base. Finally, we will explore new categories like health and beauty, promotions, and location-based entertainment to offer a wider range of products and experiences to our customers.
By implementing these strategies, we aim to solidify Authentic’s position as a leading provider of innovative and engaging brands in the region.
What advice would you offer companies who seek to replicate Authentic’s approach of revitalizing and growing brands?
In business, finding the right partners is key. We pride ourselves in our extensive partner network of more than 1,700 licensees around the world. Our approach is to offer exceptional experiences and brand moments that will continue to engage and retain consumers. Since our founding, we have also been pioneers in digital marketing, which allows us to access a broad array of consumer insights and optimize our marketing strategies while greatly enhancing our perspective when considering new brand acquisitions.
We take an integrated approach to strategic brand management, omni-channel distribution, marketing, content creation and social media. Through these strategies, we maximize our brands’ global consumer recognition and engagement, drive demand creation and conversion to commerce, support our licensee partners through consistent storytelling across platforms and generate excitement around our brands.
This article originally appeared in Edition 48 of The Bugg Report Magazine
