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Online activewear retailer LSKD has gone big with its plans to expand into the bricks-and-mortar space with its first store to open at Chadstone in Melbourne - Australia’s largest shopping centre.
The new outlet is one of six stores in Australia and New Zealand planned by LSKD, a company founded and led by Jason Daniel who was named Business News Australia’s Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021.
It follows the success of the online retailer’s first outlet opened earlier this year at its new global headquarters in Loganholme south of Brisbane.
“It is a very surreal feeling seeing the store build start,” Daniel says.
“The team is really looking forward to the store opening and we can't wait to connect with new members and create a community there. This is our first shopping centre, and one which has 24 million people pass through each year.”
The new Melbourne store, set to open on 1 October, will be located next to Nike at Chadstone in what Daniel says is the premium sports fashion precinct at the centre.
Daniel tells Business News Australia that LSKD had been on Chadstone’s radar well ahead of the move.
“They were going to reach out to us to join them, so it was a great opportunity for us,” he says.
The new 153.8sqm store is part of a rollout strategy for Australia’s mainland capitals and New Zealand, aimed at driving greater engagement with the LSKD community.
“We’ve been predominantly an e-commerce brand for a few years now and since we opened our first store at our headquarters at Loganholme, even though it’s quite a small store, it’s doing amazingly well,” says Daniel
“The omni-channel experience is growing in the market and, with one of our values being to create a community, the success of that store made us look at how we get in front of our community more which has led us to look at opening more stores.”
The expansion comes on the heels of LSKD tracking toward a 50 per cent increase in annual year-on-year sales in 2022.
LSKD, which derives its moniker from ‘loose kid’, creates and sells ‘functional sportswear with a street aesthetic’. The business has grown rapidly since 2018 through its engagement with the fitness community and professional athletes.
Daniel started the business as LKI (Loose Kid Industries) in 2007 as a wholesale business operating from his mother’s bedroom. It was rebranded in 2018 to LSKD with a new focus on online sales.
“Our mission is to inspire people to chase the vibe through sports, fitness and adventure,” says Daniel, a former carpenter who worked full-time in motocross racing during the early years of his business.
That culture is nurtured from within at LSKD’s new 4,000sqm headquarters which boasts a rooftop training area where the team regularly works out.
“I literally just finished a workout with 25 from our team,” Daniel says. “We do that every week to create that culture internally and we work with a lot of local fitness communities. We aren’t solely about e-commerce.”
LSKD is expected to announce other new store locations within the next few months.
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