Twotags activewear label doubles profits during pandemic to turn over $500k a month

An “extremely low cost” idea has turned to seven figures for this Perth-based business, with sales doubling during the pandemic.

While many small businesses across the country have floundered amid the pandemic, others have been able to float to the surface and thrive through the economic crisis.

One savvy entrepreneur has managed to double profits in just months from pre-COVID times to now.

Perth-based activewear label Twotags is now turning over $1.4 million since business boosted during the pandemic.

Sales have doubled since the beginning of the year for this small business to more than half a million dollars a month, while retailers are up against a struggling economy amid COVID-19.

In July, the company made more than $520.000 in sales compared to $250,000 in January this year – more than doubling turnover in just six months.

Owner Max Huang brings this down to changing consumer habits this year as people have been forced to do their workouts from home and shop online.

“The business was quiet post-Christmas and before COVID,” he told news.com.au.

“I wasn’t expecting the business would do great this year as COVID is the first pandemic in my generation’s lifetime.”

He says he would have been grateful if the business “simply breaks even” this year “as many jobs are lost, everyone is panicked and saving their money for essential purchases only”.

But he is thriving and is eyeing to expand to the US next year based on the success he has seen this year.

The small business owner is forecasting a turnover of between $7 million and $9 million for 2021.

“COVID has changed how we work, exercise and shop and I think the trends we have seen in 2020 will continue on into the future, as more people purchase through social media and live their lives more frequently online,” he said.

Twotags has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram and 70,000 on Facebook which directs sales to the brand’s website.

The business owner says his customer base is around 100,000 people across the country and he’s sold more than 130,000 orders since launching Twotags in 2017.

Mr Huang arrived in Australia from Malaysia in 2008 and runs the business with his wife Rachel along with a small team of employees.

After studying to be a construction manager at Curtin University, Mr Huang decided to pivot into running his own business. “I always wanted to build my own business and I was very interested in the e-commerce business model,” he said.

“I was enthusiastic about gym training but struggled to find gym shorts or leggings with pockets.”

Starting with just $500, he made the decision to start his own small business – and he says it’s “one that has paid off”.

Mr Huang said it was an “extremely low cost” to kickstart the company. “The only outlay was for products which were just stored in my bedroom and garage,” he told news.com.au. “There was no need to pay for a warehouse facility back then.”

It hasn’t been without its challenges, though.

“It has been a really challenging year for so many, especially in the retail industry, and we have all had to adapt,” Mr Huang said.

Freight has been heavily delayed during COVID and he’s had to pay a premium for freight costs to get stock in quicker, he explained.

Juggling issues with stock, sending parcels out and doing returns and exchanges has added to the learning curve.

“Having no work experience at all in a warehouse, we had to do a lot of research,” he said.

Mr Huang said he invested in influencer marketing, paid advertising, organised giveaways and cross collaboration to help grow his social media following and customer base.

The label now boasts more than 7000 customer reviews.

He surveyed 3000 of his customers to find that about 75 per cent said they had worn activewear “more than ever” this year.

Around 70 per cent of respondents said they were likely to keep exercising at home despite gyms reopening in some states.

“With people spending so much more time at home and on their computers, they are coming across brands they may otherwise not have,” Mr Huang said.