Professional Builder sat down with Scruffs to talk about how the company brings a product to market
Q How do you come up with your design ideas?
“Research and lots of it! Our product development team visits trade shows to capture the latest trends in clothing and footwear across workwear, sportwear and fashion. They then work with designers to transform these trends into functional designs with a strong Scruffs identity that our customers will love. Tradespeople give feedback on these designs at focus groups where we make sure the features are useful, the styling is spot on, and the product offers great value for money.”
Q How long does it take to launch a new product?
“It can take up to two years to launch a new design on the Scruffs website, depending on how complex the product is. That includes research, design, and a lot of testing to make sure each product is hard-wearing and looks good too.”
Q. Scruffs launched a womenswear range back in December, tell us more about it?
“From our research we knew the range of clothing and footwear for women to choose from was very limited. The styles, colours, and materials available did not reflect what tradeswomen wanted or needed from their workwear. This is where we hit the ground running, Scruffs started working with real tradeswomen to create a range that met their needs, making sure they stayed comfortable on site, and their workwear worked as hard as they do. Carefully considered fits, flexible panels and footwear that is made for women all feature in the new range.”
Q Who do you approach for the wear trials?
“To make sure the products meet the high standards expected by tradesmen and women on-site, everything gets tested in a real-life environment. We approach skilled workers from a range of trades to make sure we get as much thorough feedback as possible. This includes indoor and outdoor trades in domestic and commercial settings. Their input is invaluable, giving direct feedback to help guide the product development by testing everything from comfort and fit to function and durability. The more people that trial our workwear the better!”
Q If a tradesperson wants to be part of a wear trial, how do they apply?
“After deciding on the design of the product we work through our list of trade wear triallists to select the right people to test each product. They receive a sample to test and are sent surveys to complete which includes questions about fit, comfort, durability, and useful features. Any tradie who wants to join our wear trial database can contact us on marketing@scruffs.com.”
