Retail Week talks to Australian yoga and Pilates activewear brand Bahe as it plans to go global and bring innovation to the sector
Bahe, named after the Hindi word for ‘flow’, has global ambitions. Backed by athletes and established entrepreneurs in the sector, including the 1999 Rugby World Cup champion and Australian Wallabies captain George Gregan, the brand has just launched a new yoga and Pilates activewear range.
Retail Week spoke to British entrepreneur Kim Winser, who is spearheading the brand’s UK operations as a shareholder and senior adviser.
She tells us what makes Bahe different from its rivals, how it intends to bring innovation to the sector and what it sees as the future for activewear.
What’s the story behind Bahe and how do you plan to bring it to the UK market?
“Bahe is owned by an Australian company called PTP Fitness and it’s already a successful business in light, on-the-go fitness equipment. And I thought it was a really good business for the future because everybody is hoping to keep themselves fit without having to do three-hour stints in the gym every other day.
“The team behind the brand is very impressive and they came to Hap Klopp, founder of The North Face, and myself, and asked if we would both be advisers to take the company global. It’s very successful in Australia and we’ve had a very good reaction so far since the launch.
“We are available in store with Australia’s biggest sports retailer, Rebel, and on our website, and we wish to replicate the same model here in the UK.”
What makes Bahe different from other activewear brands?
“We wanted to work with a very good fabric from the very beginning. So we were trying to develop a fabric that would be good for the planet and didn’t want to use any chemicals. A lot of wicking materials use chemicals, and the chemicals eventually wash out and then they’re not as useful.
“So we worked very closely with probably one of the most important fabric innovators in this space and we have launched this fabric called TDry. It has this wicking property, but it’s actually in the construction of the fabric itself so it will never wash out.
“The way it works is a bit like the way a tree takes in water, so it’s much more natural, and the fabric itself is super-soft. If you wear it, it feels amazing and washes beautifully. We’re the only brand at this stage to have this fabric.”
Who do you see as your target customer and competitors in this space?
“We see this product very much as studio-to-lifestyle. In fact, some of the influencers we’ve got are naturally doing exactly that: they’re sending us pictures of them [wearing product] in the studio, but they’re equally sending us pictures of them walking with a coat over [the product] or with comments like ‘We don’t really want to take it off.’
“In terms of competition, I think it’s about time somebody pushed Lululemon over a little to make room for another new big brand. There are some nice brands out there; if you walk around the activewear section in Selfridges, for instance, there are a couple that stand out. But when I look at Sweaty Betty, I think that’s probably a touch more conservative than what we’re doing. I like to think of us as a little bit more innovative.”
Where do you think the activewear sector is headed after the pandemic?
“I think in the pandemic, obviously it wasn’t really a planned growth. It was more of a pleasant surprise for everybody in the sector. A lot of companies that could just added a lot of this type of product to their portfolio and their collections, but not necessarily with innovation. It was very much like ‘Everybody wants to just wear sweatpants, so let’s just get some sweatpants out there’. That doesn’t mean everybody; there are some good people out there too, doing good things.
”I think there will be a different type of growth now, based on a new way of dressing, but equally I think the innovation is also going to give it more of an edge. People have all dressed a little bit more relaxed, but not necessarily being delighted with everything that they’ve bought. So I think there’s a real opportunity for people to work on this dress sense, but actually do it with more innovation and creativity.”
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