s a fashion-led, functional activewear brand and began the more delicate work of succession, which comprised preserving the parts of her father’s legacy, reinventing it and testing whether a brand tied so closely to an iconic Australian beachside town could resonate internationally. It now appears ready to travel. As managing director, Oayda is leading Bondi Active’s first serious push into the UK through local fulfilment, e-commerce and a strategic pop-up with Gymbody in London. At a time when social media sends colours, silhouettes and wellness habits across borders almost instantly, Bondi still carries a remarkably distinct sense of place. “I always felt like Bondi Active would have better opportunities overseas than domestically,” she said. Here, Oayda discusses inheriting a family business, learning to delegate and deciding when ambition must finally outrun caution. Inside Retail (IR): What happened in the years between your father first establishing the business in the 90’s and you relaunching Bondi Active as its own activewear label? What made you feel the brand was ready to be reimagined?  Briony Oayda (BO): In 1994, my dad started Between the Flags, a tourist retailer. Think you are an American tourist coming to Bondi, [you want] a Bondi T-shirt, amazing souvenirs, better designed, better quality. In, I think it was 2014, Dad registered the brand name Bondi Active and used it to increase the product mix in the Between the Flags stores, so a very basic product range—activewear, a T-shirt, that sort of thing.  My dad is very strategic business-wise, but the man’s never set foot in a gym. I don’t think activewear was ever really going to be his strong suit or forte. I spent most of my youth going in and out of the business. After my undergrad, I worked there in marketing for Between the Flags, and then went out, did my MBA and went into consulting. I was living in America doing consulting, and when Covid hit, it was time for me to take over the family business and Dad’s role. At that point, it seemed like a good time to manage Between the Flags and continue with that, but relaunch Bondi Active as a more fashion-forward, truly functional activewear brand. I used to be a personal trainer during uni. I have to work out every morning. For me, I live in Bondi. I am doing that coastal walk every day with my dog.  IR: You live and breathe the brand. BO: Exactly. IR: Where did the ambition come from to expand overseas? BO: It was always the goal to go overseas. I really wanted to make sure that the brand and the product and everything was right, and we were authentically Bondi before we did that, which is why it’s taken us this long to do it. Both the UK and the US were always key markets for us. I think there’s that aspirational element of the Bondi lifestyle, the Australian coastal culture and that sort of thing in both of those regions. With the UK at the moment, they’re going on this wellness journey that we were doing a few years back. If you go there now, there is a Pilates studio on every corner. People are really starting to focus on their health and wellness and active lifestyle, so it’s a good mix of the aspirational element of being part of that Bondi culture that everyone knows so well, as well as them starting to prioritise their health, prioritise working out and live what I call the Bondi Active lifestyle. IR: Since you’ve taken the reins, and as Bondi Active has grown, how has your leadership style changed? What do you handle now differently compared to the earlier days of the business? BO: The biggest thing that’s changed is that over the last few years, I’ve been able to build a solid team of key people that I really trust and that want to build this with me, and that are better at the things they do within the business than I would be. Delegating has been a big thing for me. I used to be hands-on, doing it all myself, but you’re always stronger in a team. I think that’s been the biggest change. IR: The Gymbody pop-up also allowed you to return to the shop floor and observe British customers firsthand. As a leader, what did you learn from seeing the brand through the eyes of an entirely new audience? BO: It was funny how it’s quite consistent with what people like in Australia as well as the UK. It was a really fun time for me. We obviously have a store in Bondi, and I don’t get as much time on the shop floor with customers as I would like to, but during that Gymbody pop-up, I got to be on the floor a fair bit and see initial customer responses and that sort of thing. I found our favourites are pretty consistent with what people were gravitating towards there. Our windbreakers seem to be an iconic staple. A lot of the fig colourways in the UK went quite well, with the Splice Legging and the Strappy Crop. They also loved, with it being summer over there, and we were there during the very rare heat that lasted for four weeks—which I personally loved, although I think they were a little overwhelmed by the heat—the poppy summer colours that are in that collection. The bright red sets, the neon blues and electric blues were what people were really gravitating towards as well. IR: How are you translating that early customer response into the next stage of the UK strategy and when will Bondi Active eventually establishes a permanent retail presence there? BO: We had the pop-up as an initial physically present experience, and we’ve now set up a 3PL and an online store for the UK and EU, so they can get next-day shipping or within five days, that sort of thing. They don’t have to pay for customs duties, just to make returns easier. We are in talks with, or have confirmation with, a few. We want to stay a little bit exclusive on the retailer and for wholesale. We have some premium Pilates studios, gyms and some others to start being stockists for us. I would love to start exploring potentially our own pop-up in the coming months, but we’ll see how quickly we can turn it around and continue to gauge how people are receiving the product, and if a visit to our own ends up making sense. IR: Activewear trends now move quickly between countries, aided by social media and a very globalised wellness culture. Does that make international expansion easier, or does it place greater pressure? BO: I think with activewear especially, no matter what, when you’re going into a gym you’re still going to need to be wearing it. Maybe you can get away with green bike shorts in winter in a gym setting. Sports crops are always going to go through seasons and stuff. For us, with windbreakers, they’re lightweight. They’re more for when it’s raining and that sort of thing, and that can happen in any season. IR: What did you believe you still needed to prove, as a leader and as a business, before taking the brand to the UK? BO: I think it was always the goal. I always felt like Bondi Active would have better opportunities overseas than domestically. I really wanted to make sure the product, the marketing and the authenticity to Bondi, and being part of the community, was true before we did that. Obviously, it takes time to build trust within the community and be involved in the community and all of that sort of stuff. I think it’s only really been in the last 12 to 18 months that I felt we were really ready to do it. Take “ready” with a grain of salt. I think you’re never going to be one million per cent ready. You should never wait because nothing’s ever going to be perfect. Just jump in.