Alex ARNAUD and Alix BARBE (in green), co-founders of Revers Boisé
Launched by Alex ARNAUD and Alix BARBE, the “Revers Boisé” brand offers a wide range of clothing for tennis and padel enthusiasts.
After more than a year of existence, Wooded Reverse continues its development in a humble way, in the image of the brand and its positioning.
To find out more about this entrepreneurial project, we asked a few questions to Alex ARNAUD, co-founder of Revers Boisé.
“We wanted to see if we were able to work as a couple”
Sport Buzz Business: Can you tell us about the Revers Boisé brand? What is its DNA?
Alex ARNAUD : Revers Boisé is a clothing brand inspired by racket sports. The idea is to be able to dress up and highlight our passion for racket sports, while being stylish. And that on and off the court.
SBB: Who is behind “Revers Boisé”? A word about your background?
AA: We are two. For my part, I have a Master 2 in digital strategy, Freelance for 5 years, tennis player for 20 years and more recently Padel. I do a lot of visual content creation for companies, YouTubers. Alix has a Master 2 in Sports Marketing, Freelance for 6 years, supports brands and companies on their communication issues and social media strategy.
“If I learned one thing from the business plan course, it was that it was a waste of time and sensational bullshit”
SBB: What is the starting point for this creation, the observation, the motivation…?
AA: There are 3 things. We wanted to see if we were able to work as a couple, so we were looking for a side-project to test things. As a fan of racket sports, there is nothing to highlight our passion for the textile side, we are not going to walk in the street with a fluorescent pink synthetic polo shirt, nor with a cotton T-shirt. with huge “tennis” written on the chest. Finally, we work for companies and brands on a daily basis, so we wanted to do the same thing but for ourselves, with our own vision.
SBB: How do you intend to stand out against the fierce competition in the market for young sport & fashion brands?
AA : Thanks to our communication which is more oriented towards the amateur side of racket sports. We want to address the fans of these sports, those who know the competition on Sunday morning and the convocations at 9:30 p.m. on weekdays.
SBB: Regarding product design, how do you work on design, manufacturing, sourcing in general?
AA : All the design part, we take care of it, I’m still a graphic designer by training so it’s my job. For manufacturing, we have 2 modes for the moment, either go through a factory that already has reference models on which we will work on the visual afterwards, or work directly with stylist and model makers to create our own clothes. For that, a lot of word of mouth. When you work in another language with a factory abroad, it can be really complicated at times, but the reception of the first prototypes generally very quickly erases all the problems encountered previously.
SBB: How many product references do you currently offer tennis and padel enthusiasts?
AA : About twenty I would say, and it is increasing nicely!
SBB: On your site, we can read “clothing brand inspired by racket sports”. After tennis and padel, a collection soon around pickleball so (laughs) ?
AA : Absolutely not, because I hate this sport, I’ve never tried it so I’ll have to get a real idea, but I don’t buy into the concept at all, I don’t like watching and I think it’s a less fun version of mini-tennis which was played with rackets for pitchous and red balls before training. My little pleasure is to see people who know how to play tennis going to challenge the “pros” who after 2 hours of play no longer hold the ball.
SBB: What are your distribution networks today?
AA : You can find us on our website reversboise.frin specialized tennis & Padel shops all over France and even in Switzerland, in concept stores… We also do a lot of popup stores, stands at tournaments…
“It remains a project alongside our main activity and which is taking up more and more space”
SBB: What turnover did you achieve in 2022 and what turnover do you expect within 3-5 years?
AA : €20,000 if I don’t talk nonsense? No forecast, if I learned one thing with the business plan course, it was that it was a waste of time and a sensational bullshit to get a boost during an oral or in front of other potential partners. So in 3 to 5 years, I hope that Revers Boisé will be strong enough to have a few people running it!
SBB: How did you start from a financial point of view?
AA : We looked at our budget for a world tour, and instead we decided to make t-shirts and sell them. More seriously we took the money aside that we had.
SBB: How many people work for Revers Boisé today?
AA : Alex and me. For my part, I manage the visual creation of the clothes and the photo shoots of the brand. Alix manages absolutely everything, from production, event and supplier management to network communication.
SBB: What communication strategy are you implementing to develop the notoriety of Revers Boisé?
AA : We are very social networks, so we work hard on this side even if obviously we work more for our clients than for our own project and we have had lots of ideas for months that we don’t have time to put in place. There is a YouTube channel, collaborations with clubs/trainers, we make short formats to highlight the products…
SBB: Are you looking for funds, partners, future collaborators?
AA: We’re open to all discussions, whether it’s partners at the manufacturing level, or potential collaborators who could help the project take a step forward. But if you are skilled in the production of technical products, call me very quickly!
SBB: What are your main difficulties encountered at the moment in this entrepreneurial project?
AA : Lack of time to invest in the project. It remains a project alongside our main activity and which takes up more and more space but which is not our main project. The raw materials crisis which puts us at a financial standstill every 2/3 months… Trying to establish yourself in a market where there are brands that are 100 years old, it’s not the easiest, but it’s is funny!
SBB: How do you use your past experiences in this project?
AA : All communication, product designs, photo shoots, the website… are done by us, we didn’t learn that on the job, that’s what we already did on a daily basis. So we already had a very good basis for the launch.
SBB: A word also on this “couple” creation. What are the pros and cons so far?
AA : The advantages, we see each other a lot so we have this chance, and when it works it’s still cool to have your other half as a partner! The disadvantages, the job is everywhere all the time, at the table, on the couch, in the car, there is never a break so it’s important to communicate everyone’s needs well so as not to blow your brains out!
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