Our AKU team of 7 (you'll meet them along the way) span 2 countries and 3 locations, and whilst the majority of our team call Melbourne home, company-wide communication is only made possible via Whatsapp group chat. Like most Whatsapp group chats, business talk is mixed in amongst plans for the weekend and Drake memes but there was one specific Friday night after a shipment of team wear arriving that this particular story was born.
At AKU, each custom team wear we create for our teams is painstakingly analysed after production to make sure every single detail in the design and specification is captured, from the type of collar to the detail of the print in comparison to the original design. After reviewing this particular shipment, the AKU Whatsapp group chat was buzzing with innocent questioning:
"Do you think we can offer, heat press and stitching as an option for logos?"
"Is this the only quick dry material we got, can we offer more?"
"Hey, has anyone heard the new Selena Gomez song?"
"Can we add a breathable mesh down the side?"
Being a relatively brand new company, we're currently on a never-ending quest to create a truly custom, high end team wear proposition and our inability to answer these questions would see our tickets booked to visit our manufacturers across Asia within an hour. The trip looks to work closer with our manufacturers and to find a perfect, seamless, fully customisable experience for our customers. For example, currently we have 2 material options and only offer printing of names, logo's and numbers. Imagine if a customer can pick from multiple materials and get their logo stitched on and numbers heat pressed? To us, that's a pretty legit offering.
Anyway, it's time for the trip, with our first stop in Asia, we visit Singapore, where EVERYONE wears custom jerseys.
