Briony Oayda, the managing director of Bondi Active, is betting on a wellness surge in the United Kingdom similar to the one Australia went through over a decade ago.
This is why she decided to upgrade its digital presence in the market, offering faster delivery and a localised shopping experience, buoyed by a pop-up launch activation to spark awareness and interest locally last month.
From August, the brand is pursuing stockist opportunities, with Oayda also confirming interest in future pop-up options.
Oayda said the timing of the launch in early July was deliberate. The UK is currently in summer while Australia bristles in the cold. She said there has always been a strong pipeline between Australians and Londoners.
“But beyond that existing connection, there's something bigger happening in the UK and across Europe right now,” she said. “The wellness space has seen significant growth in recent years, and activewear is increasingly becoming acceptable as everyday clothing.
“That's a shift Australia went through over a decade ago, and we watched it transform the way people dress, move and think about what they put on in the morning.”
In our wellness craze over a decade ago, Lorna Jane scaled dramatically, driven in part by the global financial crisis, when many established retailers pulled back on leases, with the activewear brand swooping in.
Credence Research backs this up, showing the UK activewear market should scale to US$21.9 billion by 2032 – equivalent to around $30 billion in AUD – at a compound annual growth rate of 4.72 per cent.
Oayda said the online store is the main focus, with future pop-ups on the cards. “We’re also focusing on premium Pilates studios, gyms and wellness spots as stockists, which helps further cement Bondi Active as a wearable wellness brand,” she added.
“Having a physical presence is huge for getting the brand in front of potential customers, and pop-ups let us do that without the risk of committing to a permanent space, which gives us flexibility and opens up more opportunities. That said, we're in conversation with some amazing retailers, so our footprint will undoubtedly grow in the coming months.”
Bondi Active was originally launched in 1994 by Oayda’s father. She then relaunched the brand in 2021 after a hiatus.
Oayda said being in the Australian market for so long, it is easy to just copy and paste what has worked here. But she knows that the UK is a different climate, a different retail landscape and a different consumer.
The brand operates a standalone store in Bondi Beach, and has a handful of stockists around Sydney and Brisbane.
“Part of the reason we're prioritising online first is that we really want to take our time to understand what the UK wants and how the market differs, rather than assuming what's worked here will translate directly,” she said.
“At the same time, our core audience in Australia gives us a strong foundation to expand from. We're always looking at how we can grow and diversify our channels at home.”
As a small, founder-led business, Oayda said any international expansion is a significant commitment not just financially but in time, energy and focus. She said the decision to launch in the United Kingdom wasn’t a decision taken lightly, pointing to a lean team that runs the business overall.
According to the managing director, this launch required months of groundwork, including building the right partnerships, locking in logistics and local customer experience, and keeping to the aesthetic of the brand and not rushing.
“For a small business, the real investment is the risk itself,” Oayda said. “Backing yourself to take something that works at home and believing it can work somewhere new, without the safety net that larger businesses have.
“We've put everything we can behind making this launch meaningful rather than just making noise, and we're in it for the long term.
Bondi Active launched in the UK with its Forma range. The brand is currently gearing up for its next collection launch in the beginning of September.