nd substantial year-on-year growth that’s turned heads in a challenging retail climate. Outridge told Inside Retail that while wholesale assisted in putting St Argo on the map, selling within that framework became increasingly unviable. “Wholesale was great for early exposure and building brand trust, especially as a newer brand that many people hadn’t heard of. But as we scaled, it quickly became clear that it wasn’t a sustainable model for us,” she said. Outridge said the logistics behind the scenes, including problematic ordering patterns, sizing anomalies and extended payment cycles, added pressure to her already resource-strapped business. “The biggest issue was inconsistency. Orders were unpredictable, and we were often left with the leftovers: random sizing, heavy on slow-selling styles and never enough of our top-selling stock to meet consumer demand,” she explained “We also saw increased competition from retailers’ own e-commerce sites when they listed our products at lower prices or during sales,” she added.  The turning point came when St Argo stepped back from its retail stockists and re-routed its focus to its own channel. Over just six months, the brand was able to fulfil more demand directly and tighten stock flow.  “This move has since strengthened our profit margins, eased cash flow pressures and created space for us to reinvest into better product, marketing and long-term growth,” Outridge said.  Capitalising on customer relationships Like many digitally native, direct-to-consumer brands, St Argo has capitalised on its closer relationship with customers to feed back into product development. The result has been a more engaged brand, guided as much by its community as by internal trend forecasting. From Instagram polls to teaser campaigns and customer reviews, St Argo’s approach is heavily participatory. “We’ll launch polls on Instagram Stories, read every single review, comment and email personally. It’s a very dynamic but pretty demanding model,” Outridge said. “Being direct-to-consumer means we get direct, unfiltered feedback from the people who are genuinely part of our core demographic,” she added.  The brand continually focuses on personal engagement by using social and email, teasing upcoming launches and moving quickly.  Autonomy in brand building The direct-to-consumer shift has also enabled St Argo to double down on its brand values, unencumbered by external approval processes or commercial gatekeeping.  One example is its recent partnership with New York-based non-profit Muddy Paws Rescue, an initiative launched simply because it aligned with the brand’s ethos. “With Muddy Paws Rescue, it was never a commercial decision, just something that felt right for the brand and the community we’re building,” Outridge said. “There’s no need for approvals or commercial viability assessments from a third party. It’s just us deciding what matters, and then bringing our customers along for the ride,” she added.  What’s next With stockist demands no longer dictating timelines or inventory, St Argo has accelerated its product roadmap and scaled up marketing efforts.  As a result, the business is now experiencing 100 per cent year-on-year growth, owing to breakout successes like its best-selling hands-free lead and complementary treat pouch. “We’ve got a stacked product development pipeline this year, something we’ve finally been able to prioritise properly since stepping away from larger retail relationships,” Outridge stated. The next major drop from St Argo is Marshmellow, a soft pink colourway available in treat pouches and leads. Launching online on May 15, the latest shade has already generated significant traction on social media. Despite global interest, the brand’s focus remains firmly local, with a goal to permeate Australia’s market as much as it can with premium pet accessories.  “Right now, we’re still laser-focused on Australia. I spend most of the year overseas, but every time I’m back in Melbourne, I go for a run around the Tan [a popular running track in Melbourne] and Fawkner Park, where St Argo was first born, and as proud as I am of what we’ve built, I still don’t see as many dogs repping St Argo as I’d like. That’s my goal: to own that moment before pushing hard beyond borders,” she said. St Argo’s orchestrated and agile direct-to-consumer model offers a compelling blueprint built on community and a clarity of purpose.