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Online activewear retailer LSKD continues to spread its wings in the bricks-and-mortar space with the company wrapping up its store rollout for 2023 with a second outlet in Victoria and its ninth store globally.
The new outlet, set to open tomorrow at Melbourne Central Shopping Centre in the CBD, is the sixth store to be opened by LSKD this year including its first in the US at San Diego's Pacific Beach.
Th network is expected to grow further in 2024 with new locations already on the company’s radar.
"We started the year with three stores, and now we're about to open our ninth; it just feels so surreal," says LSKD founder and CEO Jason Daniel.
"It's been amazing to connect with our community face to face and give them the opportunity to touch and feel our custom fabrics.”
LSKD has reported a solid performance from its store network during the year in line with targets.
“Our retail and US business are both growing strongly, whilst e-commerce continues to tick up year on year,” Daniel says.
Daniel, the 2021 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year who founded LSKD as LKI (Loose Kid Industries) in 2007 as a wholesale business, has overseen rapid growth after rebranding in 2018 as LSKD with a new focus on online sales.
The company, which had been operating a small outlet its Logan headquarters in Queensland, opened its first dedicated retail store in September last year with a move to Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre.
Despite weaker consumer sentiment, Daniel has been buoyed by the success of the company's expanding retail store network over the past year.
“Our community loves our products,” Daniel says.
“Despite being cautious with their spending, we find that when we give them great products that they really want, they are willing to spend with us.
“We put a strong focus on product development and creating custom fabrics to give our community the best products to inspire them to be 1 per cent better every day.
“With each store opening, we learn something new that helps us be 1 per cent better for the next one.”
Daniel says the physical store presence has resonated with its customer base, which has been built through direct-to-market approach focused on creating a community of brand advocates.
"Our previous store opening (at Brisbane's Westfield Carindale) was our biggest one yet, with over 650 of our community lining up before opening, and we hope to make this one bigger and better," Daniel says.
The 130sqm Melbourne Central store will stock LSKD’s core styles, accessories and latest collections across men's, women's and unisex styles.
The store’s ceiling will feature an 'LSKD Melbourne Run Loop' map which the company’s omni-channel specialist Macauley Ryan says is a first for the store network.
"The run route starts from our store and goes around the iconic Tan Track and back” Ryan says. “We can't wait to see who from our community lays down the quickest time."
LSKD is poised to continue its store rollout program in 2024, with several targets already in its sights.
“We are looking at areas where our community exists,” Daniel says.
“At this time, we can tell you we are opening stores in the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast regions and are looking to expand nationally and abroad, with an aim to double our current store count in the next year or so.”
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