Young British menswear brand Hamilton & Hare launched in 2012, intent on inspiring men to give their loungewear and underwear the same attention to detail as their outerwear. Founded by Olivia Francis, the London-based brand joined the YNAP family in 2017 when they launched on MR PORTER , where the brand’s stylish cuts and considered fabrics prove popular with our global customers.
This October, YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP hosted Walpole’s Brands of Tomorrow’s mentoring program which saw Hamilton & Hare, amongst other young rising talents, parktake in workshop sessions at our offices to learn more about E-Commerce & Digital Marketing from our team of YNAP experts.
Following the mentoring, we sat down with Olivia to discuss the power of partnerships for young brands today.
So this year you were picked as a Walpole Brand of Tomorrow…what does this mean?
It’s a fantastic programme with wonderful mentors and a real honour to join the likes of Orlebar Brown and Bremont as alumni. As a young brand, it’s been great to share experiences with others and get advice from people a bit further down the road.
What has been the highlight of your partnership with Walpole?
Meeting the other brands and sharing experiences, warts and all. As a sole founder it can be lonely so it’s been great to have an outlet to compare notes and share learnings. My mentor, former CEO of Smythson Sarah Elton has also been a fantastic source of advice and support, especially as a working mother.
What has been the highlight of your partnership with YNAP?
It’s been amazing to have a partner at the forefront of digital luxury commerce that has helped us understand our customers and their behaviours as well as reach a global audience from the early days as a young British brand. The partnership has been instrumental in growing the business and building the brand.
You attended the Walpole x YNAP Brands of Tomorrow Workshop on E-Commerce & Tech – what were the top take away’s from the day?
By 2020 it is predicted that video will account for 82% of all online traffic – digital is so important for a brand!
What is the best advice you have received as a young brand?
Use your youth to your advantage. As a younger, smaller operation you can be more nimble and more creative than other more established brands.