A Chat with Dave Weller, Founder and MD at Sustainable Beachwear Fashion Brand: Randy Cow

Randy Cow is first and foremost a sustainable beachwear fashion brand. We aim to deliver great products with a cheeky, fun and enjoyable customer journey. We launched at the end of 2019 to sell Men’s Swim Shorts with a waterproof pocket only, so our first hurdles were based around dealing with selling holiday clothing to a world which wasn’t allowed to go on holiday! But we adapted and started to work on the brand more and our image.

This was rewarded with a full-page feature in GQ magazine who branded us ‘Style and Substance’ and went on to rank us #1 for the Best New Menswear Product in the World that week (July 2020). After this our journey really took momentum as we grew our product base and started selling to Waldorf Astoria Hotels and then launching into Selfridges.

2022 has seen Randy Cow (and me) recognised as a fashionable brand with runway shows at New York Fashion Week and Miami Fashion Week to great reviews and press.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
The original idea was to make swim shorts which fitted well, had a bit of stretch and lasted well – and this was back in 2017. Having played rugby for my whole life, I have always had big legs and derrière. And as such have ripped the seams of swim shorts over and over. The idea of the waterproof pocket came from watching people at a pool in Singapore trying to hide their phone / wallet under a towel when they were getting into the pool – it just seemed like a simple idea, and strange that it wasn’t one already in motion somewhere else!

Whilst are products are unique in style and design and obviously the waterproof pocket option does set us aside from general swim shorts, I believe it is the brand which is the main difference. We pride ourselves on not being taken too seriously, whilst being respected for great products and service.

Aside from our sustainable factor (our swim shorts repurpose approx. 12 plastic bottles into each pair!) We are proud members of 1% for the Planet and give 1% of our sales back to charities which help the Earth. Our goal is for the RC brand to be one which people love, and associate with nothing but fun, kind and awesome products.
 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 
We have gone through various stages. We have ripped up business plan after business plan with the major changes in the world we have witnessed in our first 3 years. Myself, Rowland and Adam (my business partners) have re-evaluated our direction at every necessary point, in order to continue to not only survive, but also grow.

We have spent hours trying to maintain our integrity without the need for constant sales or cutting corners in production. We are proud of our image and our catalogue, and will continue to ensure we are seen to do the right thing at every opportunity. From an original online shop idea to sell Waterproof Pocket Swim Shorts, we have adapted and are now also selling more products online and in wholesale locations across the world.
 

What can we hope to see from Randy Cow in the future?

 
Is world domination over shooting? We have a long list of new items for our catalogue, as well as new designs for our current ranges. Spring Summer ’23 will see at least new lines such as Linen Shirts, T-Shirts and headwear.

The biggest addition, we hope for next year will be Womenswear – but in order to make sure we do this properly, we are taking our time, rather than rushing this (or any products) to market. In the nearer future you will see us launching with John Lewis in the UK, which is imminent now.