From garage designs to global swimwear sensation, Australian label, Infamous Swim is about to embark on its biggest turning point yet as it opens up to investors via equity crowd-funding platform, Birchal.
With an ethos centered on body positivity, Infamous Swim’s growth to date has been down to founder Gemma Crowe’s keen eye for design combined with smart digital campaigns incorporating some of the biggest mum celebrities around the world.
Starting from humble beginnings in the Melbourne mum-of-four’s warehouse where the We Are More Than Our Bodies swimwear campaign was shot, featuring friends and social media influencers and their kids, Infamous quickly gained traction among celebrities including Ciara, Eva Longoria, Marcia Leone, Courtney Lopez, Fifi Box, Jules Robinson, Adele Barbaro, Mahalia Barnes, Bonnie Anderson and more.
In a short amount of time the brand was selling to over 70 countries worldwide, generating $16.5 million in revenue in the past 12 months alone. In Infamous Swim’s native base of Australia, over 756,000 swimsuits were sold to over 440,000 people, with 30% being return customers. The brand’s most sold size range of L-XXL is testament to its body inclusive messaging.
The brand has also expanded to include accessories, activewear, loungewear, sleepwear and resort wear, raking in a combined $41.1 million revenue to date, an 816% growth in total sales revenue from 2020 to June 2023 and an acquisition rate of 440,000 customers.
“We are strongly positioned to enjoy continued growth as we gain market share in the US and other markets,” Crowe said.
“With 800 million total marketing impressions worldwide, 691,000 Instagram followers, and 121,000 followers on TikTok, our base is highly engaged and there is clear market demand. Though we are currently self-owned and funded, we managed to quadruple our sales revenue in three years to exceed $7 million revenue. I’m confident that equity crowdfunding will take us to the next level of our evolution.”
As the dominant retail equity crowd-funding platform in Australia, Birchal was the natural choice for Infamous to launch its campaign to open the company to its community of supporters.
“Infamous Swim owes its success to our amazing community, which is why we’ve decided to make them a part of the company to further spread our body-positive message to the world. Infamous’ aim is to inspire confidence in everybody and empower them through fashion – a goal that is worthy of being celebrated. We want people to feel comfortable in their own skin and we want them to live their best life no matter their shape or size,” Crowe added.
Funds gained from the Birchal campaign will be put towards enhancing inventory and broadening product categories. Funds will also be invested in expanding warehouse and team facilities as well as taking its paid marketing strategy further. Additional funds will be devoted to collaborating with global platforms to expedite direct-to-consumer cross-border growth.