Business stories

Video: Swimwear designs are arranged on a wall. Title: 'Going Global with Loleia Swim'. A dark-haired woman and a red-haired woman discuss them. Colourful bikinis dropped in a pile all feature a 'Loleia' tag. The dark-haired woman is interviewed on a couch. Text: "Leia, Founder & Designer, Loleia Swim." In split screen videos, young women show off colourful swimwear.

Audio: Leia: I'm Leia and I'm the founder of global swimwear label Loleia Swim, founded in Australia, in Perth, in my mum's spare bedroom. Now we ship worldwide.

Video: Leia throws a bikini into the camera, then laughs. Text: "What was the vision for the brand?" Photos of models in swimwear are displayed on walls. Leia and the redhead hold fabric swatches against the striped top Leia's wearing. Swimwear is packed in a cloth bag, then an Australia Post mailing box. Leia examines an array of promotional photos on a tablet. Leia, the redhead, and a brunette examine fabric.

Audio: Leia: The vision for Loleia came from the tropics and the '80s and knowing that it is always summer somewhere. So, in that sense, we've been able to grow the business, go global, and run a powerhouse from Perth.

Video: Text: "How did you navigate expanding globally." Leia parks near a bank of PO boxes. She takes large Australia Post sacks from her boot. At the service window, she shakes hands with an Australia Post employee, then shows him the sacks. He takes them inside. In the post office, satchels, envelopes and boxes are displayed under the sign 'Sending Overseas'. An employee tidies shelves. Leia slides parcels over the counter.

Audio: Leia: Everyone wants to grow their business, but, you know, you have to learn a lot fast. The MyPost Business app has helped me greatly shipping internationally. It's a very user-friendly platform, so you just log in, type the country you want to send to. It'll prompt you with what tariff codes you might need, importer codes, the costing it's going to, like, take per weight. Everything's there, and if you do need further assistance, like I call my local post office, Jag always helps me out, or there is online services and you can contact Australia Post and everyone's always really willing to help you.

Video: Text: "How has global expansion grown Loleia?" In an office, Leia and the redhead examine fabric designs on a computer.

Audio: Leia: Since growing Loleia globally, we now ship over 40% of our orders internationally. As soon as it, like, Australian summer ends, we're sending the exact same amount to the US customers.

Video: Text: "What surprised you most about shipping internationally with AusPost?" Leia wraps bikinis in yellow paper, puts them in a standard international post satchel, holds up the satchel, then gives a playful smile. Designs of colourful bikinis emerge from a printer, then are stuck on a wall. A labelled sketch of an outfit is updated.

Audio: Leia: So the other thing that is really cool about Australia Post and shipping internationally is that the more you ship, the more you save. So we've been able to get up to band five through shipping lots through Australia Post, and now the savings are, like, there's no other carrier service that can compare.

Video: Text: "How does it feel seeing Loleia Swim go global?" Videos show models wearing swimwear in a studio and at the beach. Swimwear is displayed on a ladder near a seaside railing. Models pose on a boat.

Audio: Leia: How does it feel knowing that Loleia is so global? It feels incredible. It is an out-of-body experience. I am very proud of myself. Having friends all over the world showing me pictures... Loleia's been spotted here, Loleia's been spotted there. So, pretty amazing.

Video: In a split screen, Leia speaks from the left side. On the right, a list appears in white on a red background: "Go global with MyPost Business.

Great value global shipping.
Find HS tariff codes fast.
Ship globally, get support locally.
The more you send, the more you save.
One account for domestic and international shipping."
On a red background, the Australia Post logo appears above the words "Go global with Australia Post." A search box contains "auspost.com.au".

Video: Sunlight filters through leafy trees. The title 'Selling Way Out' appear in large white letters above the Australia Post logo. On a line underneath the title, a set of map coordinates glide back and forth. The numbers 3232 and 2481 sit at the far ends of the line. A couple and two small children walk along a forest track. They all have long blond hair. On a beach, they look through a photo album together. Aerial footage shows houses sitting nestled among trees on a seaside cliffs. The woman drives past trees. The Australia Post logo sits in the top right corner of the screen.

Audio: Woman: I was working in child care, my husband was working full-time, and then also being parents, it's so easy to fall into that routine of everyday. I kind of had that moment where I was like, "This isn't working." I came home after work, I said, "Let's just move to Byron." It was so scary, but we just did it. Driving away from everyday life, that was the dream. .

Video: Far below, the car drives through dense forest towards the blue sea. The coordinates line reappears. The coordinates settle into the middle and transform into the words 'Oak Meadow Clothing'. The woman cuts out a square of flowered fabric and places it in a scrapbook. She examines a light dress made from that fabric near a rack with similar dresses.

Audio: Woman: I really passionately wanted to make womenswear. And I remember just really casually putting up on my Instagram, selling these clothes that I'd made, and from there it just took off.

Video: The woman stands before a rack of light clothes. Text: "Madeleine Lee, Founder, Oak Meadow." Flowery clothes, some with gathered sleeves, hang on a rack. Madeleine adjusts a woman's sleeve.

Audio: Madeleine: With Oak Meadow, I don't want to just focus on fashion and fast trends. We're really trying to nurture women, making them feel beautiful as they are.

Video: Madeleine walks up stairs leading from the showroom. Women open a glass door and a roller door under an 'Oak Meadow' sign. Inside, Madeleine and a woman wrap clothes, put them in a Tough Bag, and stick on an address label.

Audio: Madeleine: Moving to Byron, I think it was within two weeks, this space came up. The business was growing faster than what we were moving, and it felt like it was just exploding. The logistics, getting it just all flowing, that was quite hard.

Video: Madeleine carries a bag into the post office. Her children help hand parcels to the woman behind the counter, Jo, who scans them. At the Oak Meadow loading dock, Jo opens an Australia Post van, then hugs Madeleine who's holding a large bag. Jo examines a flowery outfit.

Audio: Madeleine: I was driving to the post office twice a day, bringing these big Santa sacks of parcels, and that's when I met Jo. I think she could see that we were struggling to keep up, and she was just like, "I'm gonna start picking them up from you." So that was a big game changer for us. Jo's played such a huge role in our growth, and I'm so grateful that every day she comes and picks up our orders.

Video: Under a vast blue sky, a leafy town nestles by a beach on the edge of a cape. Madeleine strolls through Byron Bay. On a beach, the family sit together then walk along the golden sand.

Audio: Madeleine: I think that's the beauty of small towns. I know have, like, a trusted community of people, and we rely on each other. When we made a choice to live here too, we were just like, "This is us." Following your gut instinct, that is the most important thing.

Video: On a red screen, white text reads, "See more regional success stories at auspost.com.au/watch."

Audio: Voiceover: Australia Post. Delivering for Australia. On a red screen, the words "Delivering for Australia" appear under the Australia Post logo. 

Video: The Australia Post logo sits in the top right corner. A chic brunette in a grey trouser suit stands with her back turned, watching fashion images being projected on a purple-tinged wall. The words 'Selling Way Out' appear in large white letters above the Australia Post logo. On a line underneath, a set of map coordinates glide back and forth before settling in the middle. The numbers 3121 and 3444 sit at the far ends of the line.

Audio: Woman: Moving to Kyneton was definitely a huge milestone for us. We are such a proudly Australian company. It's part of our DNA as a luxury skincare brand to be innovative.

Video: The woman sits facing the camera, as the images continue to be projected behind her. Text: "Shamini Rajaeethnam, CEO, Rationale." Above bushland, the coordinates settle in the middle and become in the RATIONALE logo. A large sleek black building sits near a bushland town. Streets are lined with old-fashioned buildings.

Audio: Shamini: Telling the full story of what RATIONALE stands for is so highly important. Part of that was bringing our manufacturing in house. The founders of the business had a huge affinity for the Macedon Ranges, and in 2016 we found a plot of land in Kyneton. It has such a legacy as being a beautiful town that has so much to give in terms of opportunity.

Video: The Kyneton Post Office building features colonnaded archways. People wearing small backpacks stroll across a bridge and up a tree-lined road. Shamini drives. From above, her car is visible following a forest road.

Audio: Shamini: We did section off every part of the business to understand what would be the challenges. Until you're doing the commute, until you're in the space, you don't really understand the full effects. It's quite a beautiful drive. As soon as I see the rolling hills, I take a deep breath and I do feel really fortunate.

Video: Bottles move through high-tech black and white machinery. On a white label, the RATIONALE logo appears in silver. Parcels sit in a large metal basket that features the Australia Post logo. Shamini walks and talks with a woman. In a warehouse area, tall shelves are piled with boxes. A StarTrack truck backs toward the warehouse door. The driver loads a basket of parcels.

Audio: Shamini: One of the challenges we were very concerned with was the distribution that we need to do from Kyneton. We worked very closely with Australia Post to understand how we close the gaps of what our clients were used to and what would the differences be of moving the business from our metropolitan warehouse into Kyneton. We have had challenges and obstacles from a service-delivery point of view. If we did not have this close and good relationship with Australia Post, I don't believe this would have been possible.

Video: The building's black facade reflects its surroundings. In large sunny rooms, people give presentations and hold meetings. The streets of Kyneton are a patchwork of roofs and treetops.

Audio: Shamini: Now that we've been here for almost a year, people really see the inspiration of coming together through this state-of-the-art building that we created. There are so many benefits that come from moving a business regionally. The strength of the culture and the team to embrace that tree change is really inspiring.

Video: On a red screen, white text reads, "See more business stories at auspost.com.au/business-stories."

Audio: Voiceover: Australia Post. Delivering for Australia. 

Video: On a red screen, the words "Delivering for Australia" appear under the Australia Post logo.