Interview with Robby Sur – Yukka (Urban Clothing Retailer)

Last week, I caught up with Robby Sur, who is the Managing Director of the hugely successful online Urban Culture shop called Yukka (well in fact the UK's leading retailer in this field). To put it frankly Yukka is the ish and I believe anyone interested in MESH Culture, style or business needs to check this interview.

Here's how it went...

Hello Robby, I see from the Yukka bio that the company is relatively young and started on the back of selling G-Unit tshirts. Was it really that simple and organic? Can you explain the process?

Back when I started Yukka in 2003 the urban music scene was very much on the brink of mass commercialism in terms of pop culture. In 2003 we witnessed 50 Cent having mass market success with his album 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'. There have been plenty of hip hop heavyweights that launched clothing labels before 50 (Jay-Z, Eminem, Diddy, etc) but on this side of pond those brands never really took off in the same way as the G-Unit label did initially.

I was of the time, saw a gap in demand and subsequently imported a load of G-Unit gear from the U.S. and started selling them online - that one t-shirt line ("Property of G-Unit" from the Beg For Mercy" album) was the seed for Yukka to grow on to what we do now - That's sell fashion relevant to the Streetwear culture, whether that genre be Urban, Street, Skate , NY, London or whatever - you could say we MESH fashion born underground into one big package and call it Yukka!

Did you always want to get involved in retail - especially Urban Culture retail?

I always liked selling things, back at school I'd hustle to earn some side cash and buy and sell often, kinda low brow asset stripping! I then moved onto trading shares when I was at school, it was that little stint from which I earned enough cash to kick start Yukka. I never earmarked the urban fashion market as a career path but had always had am ambition to create a retail brand selling good product. It just so happens that Yukka encapsulates my personal interests in streetwear fashion growing up...

Click continue reading for the rest of the interview...

People are claiming everything is better online now - as it cuts cost and such like. However is it hard to launch a clothing store online as it appears you would technically loose the salesman benefits and I suppose the whole kinetic approach to the selling experience.

It largely depends on what segment of the market you approach, Yukka for instance retails limited edition, exclusive fashion items - products that aren't widely available on the high street due to limited distribution and the obvious effects on the bricks and mortar business during the recession. So for the sneaker heads and hype beasts out there wanting a fashion fix buying online from somewhere like Yukka makes total sense as it's convenient, fast and efficient.

Having said that, launching a successful online fashion store in 2010 is completely different to 2003 - there are way more websites than back in '03 making is much more difficult to establish yourself with a continuous traffic stream. The result is that to be an upstart now you need big advertising budgets to get that all important visibility...brands are also locking down the number of new stockist in the market place.. We've carved out a niche for ourselves so have managed to do what we are doing for a while now.

Ok, in your past 7 years of trading what item or items have been the hottest - like the ones that there has been an ultimate frenzy for?

Wow there have been a fair few! As there aren't many retailers like us across Europe let alone the UK with our brand roster we tend to stock entire collections from the brand instead of backin 4 or 5 pieces from one brand heavily as our customers want the choice. Having said that I'd have to say that themed one off crazy pieces like the LRG Dead Serious Skeleton hoody that Kanye West made popular people went crazy for! We're close to the guys from LRG so we able to keep our customers happy for as long as we could!

We had the same reaction when Ecko launched their Star Wars collection and the 'Real Trooper' hoody went ballistic! More recently Adidias Originals just launched a new profile Hi Top in the form of the 'Adi-Rise' - if you haven't seen them check them out, it's the on trend boat shoe vs hi-top trend mashed up to product a clean wearable shoe....that's been great for us.

Are there any new brands we should be looking for?

Always! It's what streetwear is always about, keeping things fresh and when a good quality label comes along giving it the backing that it deserves. We're helping support a couple of British brands we love, first Streetz is Watchin' who are making a comeback with some in your face graphics...then there's Zen & Fuka, a Japanese meets European streetwear fusion that is all about stylised Japanese prints with a focus on the legend of the Samurai - Very cool.

Outside of that we like introducing some brands that simply scream about their skilled niches, Supra is now in its third season with us and as a brand with a hyped following - there is no bigger! Their forte is the Hi Top and the Vaider, Skytop and Skytop 2 styles being our personal fav's.

Coming up to Spring 2010, what items are going to be the stuff we need to look out for - specifically what is the Robby Sur style guide for Spring 2010?

Purple is still strong as a colour but is slowly losing top spot as the colour to own (I have way too much purple in my wardrobe right now anyway!), we're seeing lot's of bold colours coming through like Royal Blue as a theme. Plaids are still strong and subtle hook ups from head to toe are still working well.

In terms of footwear the Hi Top is super strong right now but is harder for some to wear, if you want something a little toned down then Supra Vaider fits the bill as a skate vs street fashion shoe. For something smarter still Greedy Genius (another brand debuting this month) has a hi top nautical inspired boat shoe which is getting some great responses via our Facebook channel and has just come on sale as pre order before full launch in April.

Nothing too radical outside of that, if you don't like your skinny jeans LRG have recently launched a great fit called Modern Straight for those wanting a more comfortable daily wearer. RocaWear are also doing some great high quality toned down pieces at some amazing price points - so worth checking out!

In our last issue we look at our Top Ten MESH Style Icons, who do you look up to in Urban Style as far as dress sense and as far as business and retail?

Urban is such an all encompassing term and streetwear trends are ultimately dictated by Celebrity, the blogging scene and what we retail buyers like. The celebrities that get a lot of hype from what they wear right now is typically focused on Kanye West - love it or hate it the guy sets trends, Chris Brown (like a mini Kanye West now) and Mr Jay-Z who's latest trend of 'All Black Everything' is proving a big look.

We're also big fans of Kid Cudi and Lupe Fiasco in terms of music and style here..

In terms of ladies fashion: Rihanna leads the way for us right now...

For anyone looking to get into your business, what would your advice be?

There are loads of creative people entering the fashion/retail industry all the time, my biggest advise would be to keep it professional, be a pro and keep on hustling. It's not an easy business to establish yourself if, but if you want it enough and are willing to put in the time it's an industry that will prove satisfying and enjoyable...

What does the future hold for Robby Sur?

Yukka is very much my focus for now, we're launching an updated online store April 2010 - can't reveal too much detail but in terms of meshing the urban fashion cultures it's looking great in development....keep tabs on Yukka! We've also just launched our Yukka watch collection, brightly coloured watches are another key trend for the last season and it continues going forwards and the Yukka watch range is just the start of some very cool products we will launching under our own banner.....so watch this space!

Posted by: Mr One Hundred