EMBRACING CHANGE

Deborahah Symond O’Neil’s digitdigital-first brand Mode Sportif is flourishing and evolving, as is her own online persona. By Lilith Hardie Lupica.

Deborah Symond O’Neil’s digital-first brand Mode Sportif is flourishing and evolving, as is her own online persona.

Iam so connected with the Mode Sportif brand, I don’t know where it finishes and I begin, if I’m going to be honest,” Deborah Symond O’Neil says, laughing at her own admission.

Symond O’Neil is referring to her almost-five-year-old digital-first business Mode Sportif, which now boasts two brick-and-mortar stores, in Sydney’s Paddington and Double Bay.

What started as a pure online play focusing on athleisure is now a 360-degree approach to solving wardrobe issues for women of all ages.

“It’s not about reacting to what other people are doing: it’s about knowing our customer, our story and what we’re trying to drive,” Symond O’Neil says. She adds that what the customer wanted more and more was a tangible way to interact with the Mode Sportif brand (a successful showroom model was the catalyst for the physical stores), which now includes styling appointments within its remit and a wider range.

What the customer wants, the customer gets. And, as Symond O’Neil notes, the customer wanted Mode Sportif to help her with every occasion for which athleisure just didn’t cut it. Today, the range still includes activewear favourites Adidas by Stella McCartney and The Upside, but it now sits alongside a strong Scandinavian contingent, including the likes of Ganni and Samsøe & Samsøe – pieces you wouldn’t dare do yoga in – as well as up-and-comers such as Londonbased Rixo and Saloni.

“The amount of change we’ve seen in terms of our product offerings, the business structure, our sales tools since we have launched has been incredible,” Symond O'Neil says. “All of our channels are actually almost as strong as one another, and together they help one another too; it’s not about working solely as one channel only.” She adds that she’s been wary of becoming too reliant on a single platform. It’s for this reason that diversifying the brand’s reach has always been a priority.

It’s a thoroughly modern approach to building an empire for right now, capturing and catering to an audience online before branching out into more traditional retail. Being a digital-first business has had its ups and downs. Symond O’Neil acknowledges that whereas Facebook was once a powerhouse, it no longer resonates the way Instagram and Instagram Stories do. Similarly, the once-thought-to-be-extinct newsletter, a valuable resource for any brand given it doesn’t rely on the whims of an algorithm for success, is a fruitful, data-rich source for Mode Sportif.

“We’ve done quite a lot of work on cross-pollinating our Instagram followers to our [newsletter] database. Because if they like to see what we’re doing on Instagram, chances are they’d like to see what we’re communicating with our EDMs each week,” says Symond O’Neil, acknowledging the brand creates its own content with all platforms in mind each week.

Unsurprisingly, the image-led Instagram is proving to be fertile ground for Mode Sportif, especially now that the platform makes in-app shopping a relatively pain-free process.

“What’s just landed, how to wear it, how to style it, what we love, why we love it: people can choose to engage or not,” Symond O’Neil says of the brand’s Instagram Stories. The team will post as many as 20 times a day. “I think that’s one of the amazing things about Instagram: if people like it, it will show up and they will see it and we can provide as much or as little information for them as they want.”

Symond O’Neil’s personal profile has simultaneously blossomed online, with the 31-year-old now commanding quite the Instagram following. With more than 20,000 fans (and counting) on the platform, the entrepreneur officially falls into the micro-influencer category, a notably lucrative position for brands and social media butterflies alike, thanks to high engagement rates.

“It’s something that completely came naturally, and I think I’ve been able to build a small audience that wants to see what we have to offer, and also what I have going on in the rest of my life” says Symond O'Neil. “It’s something that’s definitely growing in conjunction with the Mode brand.”

Nothing is really off-limits for Symond O’Neil on her personal Instagram; in fact, she’s finding success in sharing her private life with her audience.

“I think it’s nice to share different touchpoints in your life … I am pretty personal when it gets to Instagram; I really love Stories!” Symond O’Neil says, revealing that her nearest and dearest often tease her about her approach to content. “Instagram is also a filtered version of our lives, but I try to keep it as unfiltered as I can, especially when it comes to the Stories … I think it’s fun, and I’m a very open person anyway. And most of the time, it’s the daily grind of what I’ve got going on.”

Unfiltered or not, Symond O’Neil is on to a good thing and, algorithms permitting, has no intention of slowing down.