Starting in a spare bedroom to shipping worldwide: Loleia Swim’s international growth story

Perth-based founder Leia Perini launched Loleia Swim in 2020 during COVID with a vision for bold, nostalgic swimwear. What began locally is now a global brand, with the US as its biggest market. A campaign in Puglia and a viral moment with Hailey Bieber sparked worldwide demand.

We chatted with Leia about expanding overseas, navigating international shipping and what she’s learned along the way.

What inspired you to build a brand with a global mindset from the start? 

I wanted to create a business that would allow me to have freedom and flexibility, something online that you can market in any climate, any place, any country. I realised it's always summer somewhere.

What were the biggest challenges when starting to ship internationally?

You have to learn a lot very fast. Each shipping country has different rules and requirements and at the start it can feel a bit daunting. You don’t want to make mistakes with customs or documentation because that can slow things down for customers.

I’ve always found it easy with MyPost Business. The platform is super user friendly. You log in, type the country you want to ship to and it gives you the rules, the regulations and what you need.

How important is delivery experience?

The delivery experience is hugely important as an online-only store! It is one of the first points of customer experience with the brand and can shape how a customer feels about their overall shopping experience with us. Delayed or missing parcels can be so disappointing, so partnering with a reliable and efficient shipping service is super important to us.

Particularly around peak times (holidays, the weeks before Euro summer or Christmas), many customers select Express Post. Having all our parcels delivered safely and in a timely manner is very important to the brand.

When did you realise international demand was really taking off?

I was at a photoshoot in Majorca and four girls walked past wearing Loleia Swim that they’d purchased. I’ve also had friends message me from places like Portugal saying they’ve seen someone wearing it. We’ve shipped to places like Moldova, Romania, Estonia, Bahrain and Belize. It’s really amazing that something started in a spare bedroom is reaching places people might not even have heard of.

How has selling overseas changed your business?

When Australian summer ends, we send the same amount to US customers, so it’s really balanced the year out. May is almost as busy as December for us.

Our biggest international market is the US (40%), followed by Canada and New Zealand. This wouldn't be possible without the amazing assistance from our local Aus Post team here in Perth.

What advice would you give other Australian businesses thinking about selling overseas?

Don’t be scared of it. Once you understand the process and have the right support, domestic and international shipping feel quite the same. Use the tools available and ask for help when you need it.

My advice is to keep up to date with all the new apps or integrations Australia Post offers! Link MyPost Business with Shopify. Being able to quickly create and process labels directly through Shopify is super helpful to our warehouse team for getting orders out accurately and efficiently.

We have a really close relationship with our local post office. Jag and the team at Bentley have always been so helpful in making sure our parcels are collected, processed and dispatched in a timely manner to our customers. He’s been there from day one - from dropping off 10 parcels to now filling up a truck. If I ever need help, I can call or go in and ask questions. We have so much appreciation and love for them.

Which social platforms have worked well for Loleia Swim?

We’ve had success with Pinterest with recent use of paid ads showing growth and influencer marketing and paid ads on Instagram. Using organic gifting is really helpful as well. It's best when an influencer genuinely likes and wants to wear your product.

Which sales events are most successful for you?

Black Friday is our best sale event of the year, originating in the US, it has become a huge success in Australia! We also participate in Boxing Day, AfterPay Day and Vogue Online Shopping Night.

Were there any changes you made to the new website to better serve international shoppers?

We display multiple currencies and we have made the layout a lot cleaner. As a result we have seen an increase in desktop users. We are currently working on including duties and taxes at checkout.

What are your goals for Loleia Swim for 2026?

We want to keep building the brand and reaching more customers from all corners of the world. It still amazes me that something started in a spare bedroom is now being worn globally