10 Lessons Learned From Troubadour’s 10 Years in Business — Podcasts (2022)
In 2013, Abel Samet and Samuel Bail, two friends and former colleagues living in London, decided to design the perfect overnight bag. Unbeknownst to them, it would be the start of a 10-year journey that would result in a seven-figure business.
Co-founded by Samet and Bail almost a decade ago, Troubadour creates modern bags—backpacks, totes, briefcases and cases—with a focus on comfort, luxury and performance. The name “Troubadour” is a reference to the singer and the traveling bag that can be taken anywhere—from mountain climbing to boardroom meetings.
It’s not always easy. “There were more dead ends than highways along the way,” Samet said of the company’s early days. But they have grown brands that customers love, have forged partnerships with retailers such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, and opened flagship retail stores in Central London. Facing a slump in bag sales following the pandemic, fueled by less travel and less travel, Troubadour still has its best year in business in 2021.
In this episode Shopify Master podcast, we sat down with Abel Samet to discuss the company-building lessons he learned during Troubadour’s decade in business.
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1 Design your product with yourself in mind
It was a long and unsuccessful search for a high-performance weekend bag that fueled Samet and Bail’s idea. This took them on an 18-month adventure across Europe, meeting manufacturers and artisans. The conversation taught them about the manufacturing process and helped them create their first prototype.
As traveling professionals, they want a weekend bag that looks good, but also performs like sportswear—lightweight, waterproof and comfortable. By building for themselves, they create products that others enjoy as well.
“The journey really starts with creating a bag for ourselves,” says Samet. “It wasn’t originally about trying to create a bag business for other people.”
2 Start small before growing
Before becoming an e-commerce powerhouse, Troubadour products were a well-kept secret among the co-founders. Once coworkers found out about their side projects, they asked for bags, too. After finding the right manufacturer with a minimum order quantity of 30, they set to work finding more people who might be interested in their bags.
“We’ll just have friends and family events, one in London, one in New York, and if we hit 30, everyone gets a better price on their bag,” says Samet, recalling their strategy to meet minimum order quantities. A small step becomes a big business.
3 Rely on word-of-mouth marketing and referrals
“Our number one way to acquire new customers is through word of mouth and referrals,” says Samet. “Since the early days of Troubadour, the number one way we’ve really grown has been how passionate our customers and journalists have been about the brand.”
This reliance on word-of-mouth marketing and referrals has helped Troubadour do what no other business can: avoid reliance on paid advertising. Said Samet, “If Facebook closes tomorrow, we will be fine.”
4 Hire a talented team
What started as a quest to find the perfect bag has led to a diverse product range that includes products such as their Ridge backpack and Daytripper Carry All. Samet attributes their product success to building a strong team that works holistically to understand what customers want and uncover pain points in their current products.
“…[We’re] making the improvement process a more holistic team discussion,” said Samet. “Instead of just having a design team that designs whatever bag next season, it brings our in-store sales team into the conversation, brings our online customer service team into the conversation or our repair team into the conversation.”
5 Making decisions with qualitative and quantitative data
Troubadour collects and tracks qualitative feedback from customers, such as what shoppers like about their bags and what they might change. But Troubadour also tracks quantitative data to understand their best-selling bags or products with higher return rates. Often they go deeper, collecting data that suppliers provide durable zips, informing their supply chain decisions.
“There is often a lot of talk about big data and analytics as part of the design, [which] I think it can be difficult to do,” Samet said. “But that’s one area where we’ve found it very useful.”
6 Continually improve your products and processes
Troubadour is always moving towards improvement. This ethos of progress extends to every corner of their business—from their product development to manufacturing.
“We have our main production runs about every six months…every one of them is an opportunity for revision and improvement,” Samet said. “No bag ever did, no supply chain ever did.”
7 Provide strong customer service
Strong customer service touches every corner of the Troubadour brand—from their online support and email marketing to their in-store retail staff. To manage all of its customer channels, Troubadour uses Shopify Point of Sale (POS), a system that unifies customers’ real-life and online shopping experiences.
“I’m a big fan of Shopify Point of Sale. I have recommended it to several other entrepreneurs who are also opening their own businesses,” said Samet. “The integration of the website and Shopify POS is great, for understanding the customer and giving that customer a more seamless experience with us as a brand.”
8 Take bold risks instead of playing it safe
When the outbreak began in 2020, the Troubadour team saw an opportunity. Samet realizes their competitors are preparing to face the worst bag brands, which they compete with factory time and design time in the sampling room, has reduced it.
“…over there [was] real open capacity from some of the best sampling rooms and some of the best factories in the world to do product development,” said Samet. “We have a real belief that…if we continue to develop and create what we think are some of the coolest bags out there, there will be a market for them.” The end result is a period of creative focus that leads to the design of eight to ten new products.
At the same time during the height of the pandemic, as other stores shifted their focus to e-commerce and closed, Troubadour opened its flagship store in central London. Again, their risk paid off. Troubadour had their best revenue year in 2021.
9 Go further by collaborating with others
Troubadour has partnered with over 60 retailers to further their brand, including Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Nordstrom, Equinox, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and more. “That’s often a great way for customers to discover Troubadour,” Samet said.
Additionally, Troubadour recently acquired Mojjo, an innovative phone case and tech accessory brand. “Both teams are very focused on creating best-in-class products and growing because customers are so passionate about the products we make,” said Samet.
10 Leave a positive impact on the world
Troubadour always has time to make a positive impact, beyond the products they sell. In 2021, Troubadour became a Certified B Corporation, taking an approach to business with people, community and planet in mind. The journey to becoming a B Corp includes a thorough audit of their finances and their business impact.
Troubadour considers the environmental impact of its products and uses materials that can be recycled without downgrading. This means avoiding polyurethane from their products, in favor of polyester, to keep their bags out of landfills.
“It is important that we back up whatever we say about sustainability,” said Samet. “Having an audit and certification process from an independent nonprofit focuses on this for the right reasons…that’s the kind of sustainability we really want to focus on.”
source: https://www.shopify.co.id/blog/troubadour
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