With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1510895
38 BCBUSINESS.CA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 E N T R E P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 2 3 A C T ION PL A N: "I never imagined myself running a company that is, effectively, focused on testicu- lar comfort," Wendy Bennison says with a laugh. But retail has always been a superpower of hers—past titles include COO of Mark's, president of Roots Canada and president of Kit and Ace (that last one sparked her move from Toronto to the West Coast). What drew her to Vancouver-based Saxx in 2016 was the product: the patented BallPark Pouch that helped the brand establish itself as an underwear industry titan. "Our mission is to encourage men to treat themselves better by upgrading to a highly techni- cal, patented design that really solves a comfort problem for them," she explains. "We're a self-care brand." T HE K I C KOF F : For Bennison, sustainable growth was the goal. "Growth in and of itself creates oppor- tunities—it creates jobs," she asserts. To achieve this, Bennison designed core com- pany values based on topics discussed during workshops with employees. Six themes emerged: no status quo, build to perform, do more with less, be resilient, support each other and have fun. Every decision thereafter was made with those core values in mind, and as the company expanded, the origi- nal principles remained. Bennison's management style champions leading with empathy and prioritizing diver- sity (first and foremost, she notes, because Saxx employees should be "an accurate and true reflection of the commu- nity the company operates in"). "We want to be able to build a C L O S ING S TAT E ME N T: Since Bennison took charge, the company has achieved triple-digit growth. The business values its three main revenue streams (direct-to-consumer, marketplaces and wholesale) equally. A few other garments have been added to Saxx's portfolio, but the main focus remains a single beloved prod- uct, which continues to rack up glowing reviews. ("Pouch is an absolute game changer," "big upgrade from the standard off- the-rack" and "the best men's underwear out there" are just a few recent Amazon raves.) The executive team that Bennison built—mostly made up of women—continues to expand the biz transparently: they hold monthly company update meetings to share results. In addition to its e-commerce site, Saxx products are available at brick-and-mortar locations of Sport Chek, Mark's, the Bay and Nordstrom in the U.S.—A.H. W I N N E R Wendy Bennison C E O , S A X X U N D E R W E A R culture that encourages and supports individual contribu- tors," she explains, "and I think that creates a broad spectrum of ideas—so as long as those views are heard and consid- ered, I think you're creating a really great place to work." The CEO says her proudest achievement was leading Saxx through a change in owner- ship two years ago. "That was an incredibly amazing accomplishment for our entire team, and definitely a pivotal moment for the business: attracting new investors that could support us through the next chapter of growth." W H AT WOU L D YOU R C O -WOR K E R S S AY I S YOU R G R E AT E ST ST R E NGT H ? My commitment to leading calmly, methodically, empa- thetically and transparently. ODD JOB YOU ' V E H A D ? My first job: working on a fruit farm harvesting fruit and selling at the roadside stand. Q & A