Breaking Bread: Douglas Low - Incu
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Breaking Bread: Douglas Low - Incu
Ben Shewry
Published 26.06.25

Doug Low
Douglas Low - CEO of Incu
‘Breaking Bread with…’ is an interview-based series in which we profile artists, creators, cultural influencers and creative visionaries from within the Attica universe.
We showcase those who bring the same boundless curiosity and creative resilience to their craft as Ben brings to his cooking, spotlighting this process in other mediums. Using creative expression as a common platform, we explore their process, triumphs, defeats and perspectives.
Have you always had a love of fashion? Where did that come from?
Growing up, my mum bought most of my clothes until I should have known better. However, one of my school friends was really into vintage shopping and the first item of clothing I can remember buying myself was an old bowling-style shirt from a place in Newtown. I think if anyone lit a cigarette around me, it would have been dangerous, but it was only $4, so I was happy.
I can also get very passionate about certain interests and my curiosity leads me to want to learn all the little details of why things exist, their history and the business behind why things are successful. Over the years it’s been sneakers, bikes, running and, after working at Incu, my love of fashion has naturally grown.
For anyone who’s not familiar, what is Incu? And how did you get your start with the company?
Incu was started by twin brothers Brian and Vincent Wu in 2002. One of the interesting things is that they didn’t have any fashion or retail experience, but shopping at boutiques at that time was often an intimidating experience. Since then, we’ve grown to nine Incu multi-branded stores, as well as running the Australian A.P.C. and Ganni stores. We feel like the products we carry are representative of what we think is contemporary modern Australia and includes brands from our own label, Incu Collection, to brands like Acne Studios, Nike, adidas, Patagonia, Toteme and Jacquemus.
I’ve been at Incu for more than 20 years. I started as a casual working on the shop floor when they needed an extra hand. There were only 10 staff members and we’ve now reached just under 300. I’ve been a sales assistant, a shop manager, in wholesale sales, and now my current role as CEO.
Tom Ford purportedly once said, “There’s no such thing as overdressing, only underdressing”. In Australia, I think it’s easy to feel overdressed. Do you subscribe to such a doctrine?
We talk about this a lot at work; what you’ve described is what we define as the contemporary modern Australian style I mentioned. We see this as the clothes we wear, defined by our lifestyles, and we want them to be able to handle whatever we’re doing in the day, right into going out at night.
I feel it also reflects Australian’s laid-back nature, we’re often in sneakers or more casual clothing. It’s taken us a while to understand and fully appreciate the Australian style, as it’s so easy to get swept away by what you see overseas, but what I like about it most is that it feels so effortless.
Who do you look up to and why?
From a fashion sense, I always like people who are genuine, passionate and have their own style. I think all brands and individuals are affected by trends, but some have the ability to interpret it in a way that’s unique to them. One of my favourite brands at the moment is a Japanese one called Still by Hand, which is currently half my wardrobe.
It's very unassuming with subtle details from the fabrication choices or how a garment fits. They are some of the first suits I’ve worn that I haven’t felt like I’m going to a job interview! It fits the saying of ‘you wear the clothes rather than the clothes wear you’.

Attica Staff in their Incu Uniforms - credit Phillip Huynh
Attica became friends with Incu during Covid after your team reached out to us. How important is remaining open to other industries and building meaningful friendships with other people in business?
We are lucky to be in a position where so many interesting people come through the doors! I think because Brian and Vini never came from retail or fashion, they have always been open to learning from any industry or individual and this hasn’t changed over the years. The thing that has changed is that when we reach out to people, they most often have heard about us, whereas back in the day, we’d get a confused response as they tried to work out who we were.
We know how tough creative businesses can be in Australia and I’m a naturally curious person, so I always love to hear how other industries and businesses are doing and it’s always inspiring. Hearing Ben speak about all the details that go into making a customer’s experience at Attica is a good reminder for us to continue to constantly focus on little details in our own store experience.
I think without this inspiration from other industries it would be hard to stay motivated for 20 years.
Being a boss is a tough gig. When was a time you didn’t live up to your own leadership values? And, conversely, when was a time you knew you made a difference in an employee’s life?
Of course, there have been plenty of times. The toughest one recently was thinking that spending in Covid was going to continue and thinking that Incu was going to grow much bigger than I should have. Because of this we grew the head office team, then a year or two later when the economy slowed, we had to shrink the team. When people lives are impacted by incorrect decisions I’ve made, it’s always the most difficult.
On the other side of things, seeing people either progress through Incu or move on to bigger and better things always makes me proud and, hopefully, we’ve been able to help them on their journey. One of our staff members, Cassie, who has been at Incu for more than 10 years – her first job was at Incu – has gone from being a sales assistant to store manager to looking after all of our top customers. We’ve got former staff who now have their own brands, work as sales agents for incredible brands in Australia, or work in incredible businesses in different industries – and it’s cool we’ve played a small role in where they’ve got to.

Incu Chadstone Store - credit Terence Chin Photography
Did you know that before you knew him, Ben Shewry once took photos of the design of your stores as inspiration for a food business that never eventuated? What’s the Incu philosophy from an instore perspective?
I didn’t, but that’s very flattering as the stores have been a constant evolution to get to where they are right now. In the initial years at Incu, there was a lot of overseas inspiration in what the stores looked like. Think New York warehouse-style interiors.
However, over time, we’ve wanted to really showcase Australia and be proud of where we’re from, so the stores are designed to reflect the colours of our nature, to be bright and open, and use materials like timber to bring a warmth to the store.
More than anything we also need to make sure that the store complements the products we stock and makes people want to interact with the clothing.
You’ve been to Attica twice. How does it feel to see the uniforms that Incu designed and manufactured for us being used in our dining room and kitchens?
The first time I went to Attica, a few things blew me away. One detail that I don’t think many other people would have picked up on but showed the care and attention in the restaurant was when Ben was coming out of the kitchen and noticed that the mat leading to the dining area was not straight. Even though the restaurant was busy and he is the owner, he bent over and straightened it. There are not many leaders that can put their ego aside and get stuck into such a small detail as that.
Knowing the attention to detail that Ben and Kylie put into each dish and dining experience, it’s such an honour that they trusted us to do their uniforms.
What’s your personal daily fashion ritual?
I’ve got two young kids so I’m usually in a rush, so I try and keep things very simple. I’m usually in a casual suit, so I don’t need to think about what clothes will match, then I can throw on some sneakers and I’m out the door.
It’s been said that you “are one of the two nicest CEOs in the world” (the other being former NBL CEO Jeremy Loeliger). In business culture, kind leadership is the exception rather than the rule. What are your leadership beliefs and does a person need to be a jerk to reach the top?
That is very flattering to hear. In this regard, I’m a product of my environment and I’m really lucky to have such great mentors like my parents, as well as Incu founders Brian and Vini, who have always advocated doing the right thing.
After becoming a parent, I’ve learnt that the most important role for a business (or a parent) is to help your staff grow and develop so as to be able to take the next steps in their careers and do their best in their roles. This comes with a fine balance of encouragement, as well as letting them know where they can improve and grow.
Retail, like hospitality, is such a special industry as we’re exposed to so many staff and customers from all walks of life, which helps you relate to people and also understand things with an empathetic mindset – so although it’s flattering, I think most people who have my experiences in retail would be the same.

Douglas Low