While we’re not quite out of the woods, Australia is slowly creeping back to normal after a tough few months of restrictions, uncertainty, and forced distance between friends and loved ones in the effort to keep each other safe. In this time, here at Incu we launched our Community Series as a way to keep connected with our staff, partners, and those we love at a time when we couldn’t be physically present.
We caught up with Incu’s CEO, Doug Low, to talk about what community means, why it was important to launch our Community Series, and what lessons he’s learned since COVID-19.
What's your role at Incu? Why do you do what you do?
I’m probably the least fashionable person at Incu so I’m not quite sure how I ended up here, but I’m the CEO at Incu and have been working here for almost 16 years.
It's been so long that I can’t imagine being anywhere else as we seem to be constantly evolving, from opening stores in new locations, opening the first A.P.C. and rag & bone stores in Australia, to always looking to improve our company culture.
Tell us a little about yourself. What did you do before Incu?
Midway through my career at Incu, I decided to give financial PR a shot and went corporate for a few years. At that stage I wore a suit to work every day and had short hair, but as soon as I left I started growing my hair. Since then, I get mistaken for Steve Aoki at least once a week.
To unwind, I enjoy spending time with the family and also have a mild obsession with cycling. For my 30th birthday, I went to America and learnt how to weld a steel bicycle frame, which was pretty amazing given I barely used a drill growing up. I’m now 38 and it’s still going strong!
How would you describe your personal style?
I don’t know if I necessarily have a style, but it’s dictated by what is comfortable and also what isn’t going to get ruined by my daughter or my dog.
Why was it important to you to launch Incu Community?
The Community; our staff, customers, suppliers and the relationships with them has always been at the heart of Incu. Whenever we look back on our achievements they are always anchored by the people they were done with, so Incu Community is a celebration about these people.
What does ‘community’ mean to you?
Community for us, is all the people around us that have built Incu.
What have been some of your favourite moments at Incu?
My favourite moment recently was watching everyone react to Covid 19. At a time when there was so much uncertainty, everyone really worked well as a team and was understanding and patient with the direction our Head Office came up with, despite us not knowing if we were making the right decisions.
The Community; our staff, customers, suppliers and the relationships with them has always been at the heart of Incu.
Dream collab that you haven’t done yet?
We’ve got one that we’re about to unveil for our 18th birthday in October that I’m really excited about! We’re working through things but it will involve one of my favourite foods and 5 of our favourite brands.
What’s the secret to Incu’s success?
Incu is very much an extension of the founders, Brian and Vini, who are all-round great guys. They have really worked hard to do interesting things, but also have run the business with a lot of warmth and empathy.
If you weren’t in the fashion industry, what would you be doing?
I think I'd still be in retail. It’s an industry that keeps evolving and you can never stop learning about.
What are some local businesses you’d like to support right now?
Nutie Donuts is down the road from our house. They have been hustling in the last few months to make sure they can keep as many of their staff as they can. Over Easter they set up a table outside their shop giving away Easter Eggs for anyone who couldn’t afford them for their kids.
What are you grateful for right now?
I’ve really enjoyed a much slower pace of life and an appreciation for the small things. Hanging out in the sun with the family, going for rides on the bike, exacting great food with friends.
