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From launching his eponymous underwear brand, Davenport, in 1987, to distributing Calvin Klein in Australia, to growing a global compression sportswear business, 2XU, Clyde Davenport has had a very successful retail career. And it\u2019s not over yet. He recently reunited with a former colleague from 2XU to launch a new business. TheRY, which stands for The Reason Why, specialises in compressional apparel for pregnant women.\u00a0 We recently caught up with him to learn more about his career journey, i<\/p>\n
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Already a professional? Log in<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n , including the biggest lessons learned along the way, and the leaders he looks up to.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside Retail: You\u2019re known for starting several successful retail businesses, including Davenport and 2XU. Were you always interested in being an entrepreneur?\u00a0<\/p>\n Clyde Davenport: I did a Bachelor of Science, and straight out of uni, I went to work for the chlor-alkali division of RCI, without really knowing what I wanted to do. Then, I went to Kodak as a salesperson for consumer goods. At the time, I just wanted to make enough money to afford to party on the weekend and have a good time. The first interest in business I had was when I joined an advertising agency, [then called] Ogilvy & Mather. I was an account executive with them, and my job was to advise brands on how to advertise and market their product, but ultimately, I had the desire to actually market something myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n I thought I saw an opportunity in the sleepwear market to do more contemporary sleepwear. I\u2019d saved up $100,000, and I gave it a year. If I couldn\u2019t make it work in a year, I\u2019d go back and get a real job. I reckon I came within six weeks of saying, \u201cWell, I\u2019ve given this a red hot go, but it\u2019s not working,\u201d when I used some of the off-cuts of the sleepwear I was making to make boxer shorts. I saw this trend coming from overseas, and it took off like crazy.\u00a0<\/p>\n From there, I went over to the US and asked for the Calvin Klein underwear brand. At the time, a couple other people from Australia were also trying to get the brand, and we all got no. I went back the following year and I got no again, so I went back the following year and I got the licence. I sold that business to Gazal Group in Sydney, and about three months later, I founded \u2013 along with two young Kiwi guys \u2013 2XU.\u00a0<\/p>\n We had a couple of sell-downs, not because we needed the money \u2013 it was cashflow positive \u2013 but because we wanted to de-risk what we were doing. First, Tannara [Capital] came on board, and they invested, and then, L Capital [the investment arm of LVMH] approached us and wanted to come on. They bought a share, and then ultimately, in December 2018, we sold to them. It\u2019s great when you sell to someone who\u2019s already in the business because they know the business as well as you do. It\u2019s a good way to exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n IR: What are some of the key leadership lessons you\u2019ve learned over the course of your career?\u00a0<\/p>\n CD: Whatever you do, you\u2019ve got to have passion, because business is tough enough. You\u2019re going to go through hurdles along the way, and if you\u2019re not passionate and don\u2019t love what you do, it\u2019s hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n In terms of leadership, we always look for attitude rather than experience. You have to have a good attitude, you have to believe in what you\u2019re doing. No one\u2019s got a monopoly on good ideas. If we had an idea from someone in the warehouse, we\u2019d embrace it. As long as it wasn\u2019t financially crippling, we\u2019d always do it, and if it didn\u2019t work, we\u2019d celebrate it, because we wanted people to have a go.\u00a0<\/p>\n The one thing I\u2019ve learned from my leadership position is that you can\u2019t not fail from time to time. When someone tried their best and failed, we would say, \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic, you gave it a go.\u201d We tried to develop a culture where people would not feel uncomfortable, not feel threatened, to say what they think, and come up with ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even myself, we started [2XU] with triathlon, swim, bike and run. Along the way, I saw this compression Careers, and I thought it was a great business, because it had broad appeal to every single sport. But the guys said to me, \u201cWe don\u2019t really want to do that. We\u2019ve got enough on our plate.\u201d I had 80 per cent of the business, so I could have said, \u201cNo, you just have to do this.\u201d But if I had said that, it wouldn\u2019t have worked. What I said was, \u201cIf you felt passionate about something, I would support you and do everything I could to make it work. All I\u2019m asking is for you to offer that to me in return.\u201d And they did. They embraced it. And it was only through the way they grew it and developed it that it worked.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s all about passion. It\u2019s about creativity. It\u2019s about having a go. It\u2019s about creating an environment where people are not fearful of making mistakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n We always operate on creating the best [offer]. Number one is quality. Number two is value for money. Number three is good distribution. Only then, is it your advertising and marketing. But if you\u2019re talking about leadership, it\u2019s all about creating a comfortable environment where people are encouraged and nurtured to have a go.\u00a0<\/p>\n IR: I\u2019m sure for many people, you are their business hero, but are there any leaders or founders who you look up to?\u00a0<\/p>\n CD: Of course, not so much the people who you\u2019d think. My father-in-law was a great business person. He was able to run a fantastic business whilst creating that sort of culture. You don\u2019t have to be an asshole to be successful in business.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the journey, I\u2019ve had different people. Copeland Barnes, who used to run Mars Confectionery, who I knew from my advertising days, was very helpful. My wife \u2013 every decision I make I bounce them off of her. She\u2019s way smarter than me, very intelligent, and if I\u2019ve got something I want to talk through, I\u2019ll talk it through with her. There\u2019s lots of other people. But there\u2019s no single mentor.\u00a0<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve found is that, generally, people want to help. If someone wants to chat about business, I\u2019ll always sit down with them. I often say, \u201cSpeak to me, but reach out to other people, you don\u2019t have to agree with everyone, but speak to a range of people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n I try to help where I can, and I often ask for help. It\u2019s not an imposition\u2026unless you\u2019re an asshole.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n