10 Interesting Facts about Cotton On Other Than Its Affordable Prices

Last Updated on 2022-05-23 , 4:09 pm

We see Cotton On outlets everywhere but you probably don’t know much about the company and even what “Cotton On” actually means.

So here are ten cool facts you should know about them!

1. The first jacket went for $30.80
Nigel Austin, the co-founder of Cotton On Group, started his business selling acid-wash denim in a market back in 1991 as he was short of cash. In the first week of his business, he only sold one jacket, earning him just SGD$30.80. His father Grant Austin was also in the apparel business so he approached his dad for a better deal. For the week that followed, he earned $205 after selling 20 pieces.

2. Cotton On was a mystery until 2015
As successful as the business was, Cotton On kept its story and numbers hush-hush until last year – after 25 years in the industry. Nigel Austin and Ashley Hardwick did not divulge their status in hope of defending themselves as the company develops.

Even the community where their headquarters stand doesn’t know much about them. They only changed their minds when business was thriving and they finally felt ready to share their story. It is also an attempt to find the right employees with international expertise to help in their expansion.

3. Their Head Office is like a vacation villa
Their Head Office in Geelong, Australia is like a vacation villa, where there are cosy tables for people to meet and communicate and monthly barbeque gatherings. As their General Manager of People and Culture (yes that is a thing) puts it, the design of office space is like a beehive, with spacious corridors that welcome employees to meet and let their ideas converge.

The vibrant colours and chic design in their office also make typical office spaces look extremely depressing.

4. He is still working with the same factories after 25 years
Cotton On operates successfully with a vertically-integrated business model, meaning that they combine different processes in their manufacturing, distributing and retailing areas. Austin makes personal trips to China and the United States to source suitable suppliers. The coolest thing is that he is still working with the same factories as the ones he did for his first order of 30 denim jackets!

5. Big decisions were made during social gatherings
Even now that they have over 19,000 employees and sales are predicted to reach $1.51 billion, Cotton On is still run as if it’s a family business. In fact, his cousins and friends from school are also involved in parts of his business empire, including his cousin Natalie McLean, who used to work at Ripcurl and Giordano.

Important decisions like expanding their empire into the United States and the launch of Cotton On Body were made during casual social gatherings but they thought that would sound like a drunk story if they used it as their corporate introduction.

6. They have their own university to grow their own talents
Just like in Singapore, Cotton On Group also places great emphasis on upgrading employees and developing them in various aspects. But Cotton On isn’t just coming up with tuition subsidiaries – they actually invested SGD $30.8 million to establish their own university, calling it their “educational platform”.

Employees can get training to improve their retail and leadership skills with their four academies, 24 core competencies and 15 courses. They even have Asia programs that the students can enrol in!

7. They spend over $40K on fruits for their employees each year
The closest we’ve ever come to caring about health at our job is probably the medical benefits. That, however, is actually a topic of importance at Cotton On. They have 8 full-time personal trainers, yoga and meditation sessions and health hub consultations.

The Health Hub includes treatments like osteopath (stretching muscles and joints), massage, beautician and financial planning. They also claim that 68% of their staff at HQ uses the gym in the workplace!

And yes, they actually spend money on offering fruits to their employees as part of their plan to take good care of those working under them.

8. 75% of their head office employees are women
Another thing that’s noteworthy about the Cotton On Group Headquarters is that 75% of its employees there are women. And the average age of their employees is 30, which is pretty young for a company that’s just 25 years old. Cotton On also started out as a women’s clothing line and only expanded to the other fields later on.

9. They raised $12.3m for their Cotton On Foundation projects last year
You may have heard of Cotton On Foundation from the sale of tote bags at their counters but their help to Uganda may well be beyond your imagination. Last year they raised over SGD$12.3 million for their projects, bringing access to fresh water to the people, getting them new classrooms, a health centre and a water storage tower.

They also sponsor over 1500 students for their education, while they educate close to 5000 students in Southern Uganda currently.

10. They got into trouble for selling flammable children’s sleepwear
But all of the above doesn’t mean that Cotton On is flawless – 2012 and 2013 were possibly the toughest for the company. Cotton On Kids violated laws when they mislabelled children’s pyjamas that did not meet Australian standards. The nightwear was flammable and Cotton On was fined $1 million for the violation.

Cotton On was also in the limelight in 2013 when a Bangladesh clothing factory accident killed over 1,130 low-paid workers and the company was blamed despite their emphasis on ethical sourcing. Since then they have signed the Bangladesh fire and safety accord and focused even more on ethics throughout their processes from production to retail, including factories in China and Bangladesh.

Featured Image: shopsinsg.com