The Stubby Club: How three schoolmates built a brand securing deals with the AFL, NFL and Cricket Australia

In 2018, The Stubby Club co-founders Dean Snoxell, Jon Marshall and Dylan Waugh were running cafes in Melbourne. Four years later, the long-time friends are at the helm of a fast-growing sports merchandise startup that’s on track to log $2.3 million revenue this financial year.

The company, which has so far inked licencing deals with the A-League, NRL, AFL, NFL and Cricket Australia, is poised for further growth, with a $1.5 million equity crowdfunding campaign currently in the works to scale-up its offering to sports fans this year.

The company has come a long way in the $750 million sports merch industry since its early days, when it was run after-hours out of the back of a mate’s factory. 

In those days, Snoxell says the three friends and sports enthusiasts would work all day in their cafes, then shift gears at night in a bid to bring their sports merch brainchild to life.

 

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The journey all started, he says, when the trio realised that consumers were creating DIY items emblazoned in the colours of their favourite sports teams.

“We noticed these stubby holder dispensers that were going around, I’d seen them on social media, in people’s sheds, on their decks and they were generally just made out of PVC pipe. People were storing their stubby holders in there and they were either covered in their team’s stickers or certain designs, or decorated one way or another,” Snoxell explains.

It was a light-bulb moment for the co-founders, who realised there was an unmet need in the market for fun and creative sports merch above and beyond jerseys, hats and scarfs.

The company’s biggest selling product remains its stubby dispensers, but it now also sells sports-inspired golf pong and beer pong tables, dartboards, toys, beach and pool games, table tennis tables, and toys like pogo sticks, bocce sets and dominoes.

And while the company continues to grow in its offerings and revenue, The Stubby Club team remains small: the three initial co-founders, as well as two additional full time staff, all based in Melbourne.

Key takeaways

1. You believe in your product, and other’s will too. It’s all about getting your foot through the first door.

2. If you’re passionate about what you’re selling, it’ll make “everything a lot easier”.

3. Finding marketing channels that your customer base respond to best is more important than marketing in every way possible.

‘Massive learning experience’

After setting up its ad hoc headquarters and getting a $35,000 loan for a vinyl printer and laminator, Snoxell says the next step was to get the licences it needed to attract fans.

That meant approaching Sydney-based Velocity Brand Management, a big player in the licensing, e-commerce and merchandising world, which he says was a key moment for The Stubby Club, especially given it had no industry connections or know-how prior to inception.

With a background in cafes, he says the three schoolmates had little idea of what was needed in terms of data and forecasts to get the deals they needed. This set them up for a “massive learning experience” diving into the complex world of sports merchandising.

As a result, the co-founders initially came up against hurdles convincing the “bigger leagues” — not inclined to give the fledging company a chance — of their plans.

“It was about getting our foot in the door and getting that first licence, once we did get that we started to get sales data, we sold some product, and that put us in good stead to go forward and approach the NRL, it really started rolling from there,” Snoxell explains.

On how the company snared its first licence, Snoxell said it made the call to target the smaller A-League which gave the co-founders their first opportunity. 

“Once we had the sales data from the A-League it made it easier being a current licensee to get licensed with the NRL and other licensors, given we had some previous sales data.”

Father’s Day breakthrough

The company generated respectable $130,000 in revenue in its first 12 months, but it was its second year in operation that Snoxell says marked a watershed moment for the startup.

He points in particular to a surge in demand in the lead up to Father’s Day when the company did over $300,000 in sales for August, and then $800,000 for its second full year in operation.

 “That was where we got to the point where we thought we can really do this as a full-time job now, lets grow this as fast as we can,” he explains. 

“We really focused on marketing around that time, and we put a lot more dollars into marketing spend, it’s almost like ripping that band-aid off and going ‘we’ve got a good offering here, we know there’s demand for it, let’s go hard’.”

When it came to marketing, Snoxell says the company got the best returns early on from paid social media advertising, which generated over 90% of its sales at the time.

The upside of such advertising, according to the co-founder, is its instant feedback, enabling business owners to see return on ad spend, and then alter campaigns accordingly.

Other keys he notes for the company’s take-off were its engaged social media presence, keen listening to customer feedback, solid products, and “top-shelf” customer service.

Another contributor was passion for the product, he says, noting that the three co-founders have been sports fans from a young age. He says they bring this love of sports to work.

“We credit our own passion for sport to helping us grow the business because if you’re passionate about what you’re selling it makes everything a lot easier.” 

Boosting growth via crowdfunding

This year, The Stubby Club aims to turbocharge growth and has launched a $1.5 million equity crowdfunding campaign via Equitise for new stock, equipment, printers and additional staff.

Timing its growth phase in line with forecast demand has been important, Snoxell says.

“It’s basically about getting some capital in to get all this inventory to market, and to be able to bring these products in for the second half of the year, which is going to be our big sales time leading into Father’s Day, grand final then into Christmas.”

Its ambitions include making the most of recently signed deals with iconic Australian sports retailer SportsPower and Sydney-based online pet supplies Pet Circle.

On the pets front, The Stubby Club is set to launch a new range of sports-inspired pet products like dog beds, bowls, lick mats and chew toys. It also wants to push further into overseas markets in the UK, Europe and Asia, especially with its NFL branded range.

“We’ve also just signed up Holden for a range of new products which will include car badges, stickers and decals opening up our brand to a larger audience,” he adds.

While the startup is on the cusp of big things, the secret to its success remains the same.

“Once you realise that there’s a demand for the product, you’ve got a good product, and you know it is selling and there is product market fit … there is a time when you need to go for it,” Snoxell says.