World famous YouTube star and founder of Australian fashion retailer ‘Kokaine’, Hao Phu, shares his secrets on how to create an iconic brand with a cult following
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Hao Phu, the magnetic and energetic founder of Australian retail clothing icon, Kokaine, has grown a significant fashion empire by putting in genuine effort to connect with the brand’s growing crowd of avid followers.
Loved all over the world for his insightful, raw and genuine personality, the Kokaine brand is more than just a forefront label for Phu’s products, it’s a name and a sub culture that people connect with as they express themselves through Kokaine’s clothing and accessories and Phu’s extraordinary passion for life. The brand is inspired and motivated by the Japanese culture — from fashion to vending machines.
“We realised early on how important it was for our customers to be part of our journey and our eco system,” Phu said.
“So we created the ability for our customers to have more human interaction with our label — so they understand there is a real person behind the brand that they can engage and interact with. I wanted them to get a sense of who I am, what makes me tick and my love of life so they could share in the vision.”
In seven short years, the brand has amassed a huge following and draws majority of its sales through its online engagement. One of the key platforms that Kokaine uses is YouTube. Phu created a YouTube channel called ‘Hao You Phill’, a cute play on words, which he delivers with his girlfriend Philly. The channel has over 35,000 subscribers and is continuing to grow.
Phu mixes in his love of entertaining, DJing, visual merchanising, fashion design and more. His approach has worked, Phu is a YouTube sensation who is loved the world over for his quirky, insightful antics and amazing fashion sense!
“We show our customers in very raw form — something that we have been documenting from day one, our venture from humble beginnings to where we are now,” Phu said.
