When HikersIsland launched its debut collection in May, the idea was simple: activewear designed to move easily from a workout into the rest of the day. The concept was first developed by Eri Krasniqi while living in Los Angeles, before Scarlett Abrahams brought her background in fashion communications and creative direction to the brand.
A few months on, HikersIsland is seeing how that original idea fits into customers’ everyday lives. The first drop sold out, helped by influencer gifting, organic social content, press coverage and exposure during a TRESemmé brand trip.
The response is already influencing what comes next. Sales data and direct customer feedback are shaping decisions around restocks, sizing, colour and future product, while the original Charcoal Black, Sandy Nude and Cobalt Blue palette has now been expanded with Matcha Green, which launched on 28 August.
For this edition of Retail Voices, Krasniqi and Abrahams talk through the first months of HikersIsland – from the success of selling through the debut collection to pricing, customer discovery, future collaborations and the possibility of taking the brand into physical retail.
1. When we first spoke ahead of the HikersIsland launch, the brand was built around an idea Eri had developed while living in Los Angeles: creating activewear that could move naturally from a workout into the rest of the day. Now that the collection has been in customers’ hands, how closely has the reality of the market matched that original vision?
Honestly, really closely. The whole idea was always to create pieces that you could actually live in, rather than something that only works for the gym. Seeing customers wear the sets to Pilates, for coffee, running errands and then carrying on with their day has really been the goal because that’s exactly what we wanted HikersIsland to feel like.
It’s activewear, but it doesn’t feel like you have to be “going to work out” to wear it, which I think has really come through in how people have responded to the brand.
2. Scarlett mentioned that the first drop completely sold out. Can you give us a sense of how quickly that happened, what the response was like in those first few weeks and whether the level of demand took you by surprise?
It happened a lot quicker than we expected. We obviously believed in the collection, but there’s a big difference between thinking people are going to like something and actually seeing people buy it.
The first few weeks were pretty crazy. We had a lot of movement from influencer gifting and organic content, and then one of the influencers we gifted wore the set and it really took off from there. Seeing the demand jump so quickly was probably the biggest surprise for us.
The TRESemmé brand trip was also a really good moment because it put HikersIsland in front of a completely new audience. Then having press coverage alongside that helped build even more awareness, so it was really a combination of those moments building on each other.
3. What did the first sell-out teach you about the business? Were there particular products, colours or sizes that performed differently from what you expected, and how is that information influencing your restock and future buying decisions?
It taught us that people were responding to the simplicity of the product more than anything. We didn’t need to launch with 20 different styles. People understood the core pieces and wanted them.
It also gave us a much better understanding of what people actually respond to in terms of colour, fit and sizing. You can make assumptions when you’re designing a collection, but once it’s in customers’ hands you get a completely different level of insight.
We’re now looking at the sales data alongside the feedback we’re getting directly from customers and using both to make decisions around restocks, quantities and what we introduce next.
4. You launched with a deliberately focused product offer built around the Active Top, Classic Leggings and Crop Shorts. Why was it important to start with a tight collection, and what have you learnt from customer feedback about fit, performance and how people are actually wearing the pieces?
We didn’t want to launch with loads of products just for the sake of having a big collection. We wanted to get a few key pieces really right first.
The Active Top, Classic Leggings and Crop Shorts are basically the foundation of HikersIsland. They can be worn together as a set or separately, which was really important to us.
Customer feedback has been really useful because you learn so much more once people are actually wearing the clothes. It’s helped us think about everything from fit and comfort to how the pieces work outside of a workout.
5. Colour was a major part of the original HikersIsland proposition, with Charcoal Black, Sandy Nude and Cobalt Blue forming the first collection. How did customers respond to those different colour stories, and how will sales data and customer feedback influence the colours you introduce in future drops?
The three colours gave the first collection quite different personalities. Charcoal Black was the easy everyday option, Sandy Nude had that softer, more minimal feel, and Cobalt Blue gave us something much more playful.
It’s been really interesting seeing what people naturally picked rather than trying to predict it ourselves. Colour is a big part of HikersIsland, so we don’t want to just keep bringing out the same safe colours.
We launched our next colour, Matcha Green, on the 28th of August, so we’re already starting to build on that original colour story. We wanted something that felt fresh and connected to the wellness side of the brand, but still felt very HikersIsland.
6. Athleisure is a highly competitive category, so attracting attention as a new independent label can be difficult. Looking back at the first drop, where did your customers actually discover HikersIsland, and which channels, whether social media, PR, creators, recommendations or something else, proved most valuable in converting awareness into sales?
It’s been a real mix, but influencer marketing has definitely been one of the strongest drivers for us. We gifted a number of creators and one particular influencer wearing the set really made a difference. We saw a huge spike in interest around that.
The TRESemmé brand trip was another really valuable moment because it introduced HikersIsland to a new audience and gave people the chance to see the brand in a really natural environment.
Press has also played a big role, especially for building that credibility around the brand. I think for us it’s been the combination of people discovering us through creators, seeing us in press and then going onto social and seeing how HikersIsland actually lives. It hasn’t really been one single channel.
7. The current collection sits at relatively accessible price points within the activewear market, with the core pieces priced between £35 and £45. How did you approach the pricing of the debut range, and how do you balance product quality, customer expectations and commercial considerations as the business grows?
We wanted HikersIsland to feel considered and premium without becoming a brand that people felt they couldn’t actually afford to wear regularly.
Quality was always really important to us, so it was about finding that balance between the fabric, fit, production and overall experience, while still keeping the pieces accessible.
As we grow, we’re still going to be really conscious of that. We want the product to justify whatever it costs and for customers to feel like they’re getting something they genuinely want to wear again and again.
8. HikersIsland currently has a direct relationship with customers through its own ecommerce presence. As you think about the next stage of growth, what role could other routes to market, such as pop-ups, fitness or studio partnerships, wholesale or selected physical retailers, play in the business?
I think there’s definitely a lot of potential there. We’re really interested in being around the right communities rather than just putting HikersIsland everywhere.
Pop-ups, Pilates studios, fitness spaces, wellness events and brand collaborations all feel really natural for us because people can actually experience the brand and the clothes.
Longer term, selected retailers and wholesale could be interesting too, but we’d be quite selective about where HikersIsland sits. It’s important that wherever we go still feels right for the brand.
9. HikersIsland brings together Eri’s original commercial vision for the brand and Scarlett’s background in fashion communications, brand storytelling and creative direction. How do your different strengths and perspectives come together when you’re making decisions about product, marketing and the wider direction of the business?
We naturally bring different strengths to HikersIsland, which I think works really well for the brand. Eri is very product and commercially focused, whereas I naturally look at things through the creative, fashion and communications side.
So we each bring a slightly different perspective to the same conversation. Eri is always thinking about what makes sense for the product and the business, while I’m thinking about how that translates into the wider HikersIsland world and how we communicate it.
I think having both sides working together is one of the things that makes HikersIsland really exciting. We have a shared vision for where we want to take the brand, but we each bring something different to getting it there, and that balance is really valuable.
10. Selling through the first collection gives HikersIsland a very different starting point for its next chapter. Over the next 12 months, what are the priorities for the business, and what would meaningful growth look like for you, in terms of product, customers, retail presence and the scale of the brand?
The first collection was really about proving the concept, and now it’s about building on that momentum. Matcha Green launched on the 28th of August, and then we have something completely different and really exciting planned for Christmas, so we’re already thinking beyond the original collection and how we can keep surprising people.
Over the next year, we want to grow the product range, introduce new colours and silhouettes, build more collaborations and brand experiences, and continue growing the community around HikersIsland. We’re also really interested in fitness and wellness partnerships and eventually getting into the right physical retail spaces.
But we don’t want to grow just for the sake of growing. For us, meaningful growth would be building a recognisable brand that people genuinely want to be part of, where HikersIsland becomes something you see in your everyday life, not just something you wear to a workout.
The post Q&A: Eri Krasniqi And Scarlett Abrahams, HikersIsland appeared first on 365 Retail – Retail News and Events.
