The new CEO of Stax wants customers to give the troubled activewear brand a ‘second chance’
Exclusive: The woman tasked with breathing life back into activewear brand Stax is under no illusions.
Former marketing executive and new Stax chief executive Anna Cheng knows the brand, recently rescued by white-knight investors Justin Truong and Sandy Li-Truong, won’t easily sail back into Australia’s good graces.
Stax new CEO Anna Cheng (right) pictured with the brand’s creative director Georgia Bachmann. STAX
The beleaguered gym label suddenly collapsed with liabilities totalling almost $24 million in July, leaving a trail of 13,000 unhappy customers in its wake.
It is now under new management with a fresh collection on the way and a slightly jazzed-up logo.
And Cheng hopes the majority of Stax’s previous customers are the forgiving kind.
“Trust is really something that takes a really long time to build. It’s not something that I can easily inherit,” Cheng told nine.com.au.
“It’s also something that can shatter overnight. And we’ve already seen that happen.
“I don’t think they just take our word for it now.”
Cheng’s priority is righting Stax’s biggest wrong, which is the outstanding $1.7 million in unfulfilled orders.
An altruistic one-for-one credit program – which Cheng stresses was not legally their responsibility – will launch alongside a new Stax collection on November 6.
Impacted customers will be offered early access for this collection on November 5 at 7pm.
Nearly 10,000 customers have already signed up to purchase the new Stax products through this credit scheme.
Stax has returned under new management and a slightly altered logo. Supplied
Cheng said this points to green shoots of hope.
“But what’s more important to me is actually winning back customers for their second order, their third, fourth, and fifth,” Cheng said.
“I just hope that they can see the sincerity in what we’ve done and continue to watch us as we build with the same principles in mind in the coming months,
“And hopefully, when they’re ready, they’ll give us a second chance.”
For now, Stax products will be limited to gym wear in similar designs sold under the brand’s founders and previous owners, former AFR Rich Lister Don Robertson and Matilda Murray.
Stax’s former head of product Georgia Bachmann, who returns to the fold as creative director, said Stax also has potential to morph into a lifestyle brand.
“We just want to be able to offer something for everyone,” Bachmann said.
“Stax means a lot to the customers who have been around since 2015, and we don’t want to make any huge changes,” Cheng added.
“Although we are making operational changes, the good parts of Stax are pretty much staying.”
Stax owed over $1.7 million in outstanding orders before its collapse. Nicole Douglas
The new owners will launch a fresh collection as the brand relaunches in November. Stax
Australia’s retail graveyard is littered with fashion brands that have failed to survive the deadly cocktail of fast fashion and online shopping.
Stax’s unlikely survival from the brink of liquidation is a refreshing change of pace.
Pushing this story is unlikely to be the winning public relations formula, though.
Part of Cheng’s plan is to rely on the brand’s DNA.
“Realistically, you’re only an underdog at launch, we don’t have to lean into it,” Cheng said.
“Underdog status is not something that is sustainable, honestly.
“As we get bigger and bigger, we might seem like less of an underdog, ultimately.”
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