Selling luggage while your entire market is grounded? It sounds like an impossible ask. But that’s the challenge July’s co-founders had to overcome in 2020 when nationwide lockdowns stopped Australians travelling.

Until that point, the luggage brand’s colourful carry-on cases and check-in bags had been rolling briskly out the door.

July, the brainchild of frequent business traveller Richard Li who spotted a gap in the market for well-priced, more durable baggage, launched in early 2019 as an online-only business, after Richard teamed up with friend and fellow entrepreneur Athan Didaskalou.

Success came swiftly: “People loved our products, the market feedback was amazing and we felt like we were on a rocket ship – unstoppable,” Richard recalls. Within six months, July had opened its first pop-up store in Melbourne and was powering towards turnover of $5 million.

Then came the pandemic and sales evaporated, almost overnight.

An eye for export saves the day

Ultra-lean months followed, during which Richard and Athan focused on product development, social media activity and maintaining the faith.

“It was very, very tough,” Richard says, “but we always believed in our original vision and that people would travel again, that business would bounce back.”

Rather than wait for it to do so locally, the pair decided to take a tilt at the US market, where lockdown restrictions had been largely lifted by mid-2021, even as Australia’s international borders remained sealed.

Despite being forced to oversee the expansion from afar, their July brand was an immediate hit with Americans – even becoming the subject of a buying frenzy when its products were featured on the top-rating breakfast show Good Morning America.

After selling its initial containers of stock in the first month, July began airfreighting orders to US customers directly from Australia.

“It cost a lot, but we didn’t want to stop the momentum,” Richard says.

Surging sales underpin growth

Demand has remained extraordinary ever since. In a world of open borders where people are travelling again with a vengeance, tens of thousands of them are doing so with a July case or two in tow.

The company now has 12 retail outlets across Australia, a local workforce of 120 and, later this year, plans to open a physical store in the US, where it continues to do brisk business. July products are also available online in the UK and in the high-end London department store Selfridges.

Worldwide success is the long-term goal, according to Richard. “We want to become the next great Aussie export brand – up there with Zimmerman, Canva and Atlassian – in the next five years, but we don’t have the resources to go global all at once.”

Why agile thinking is key

Instead, he and Athan are committed to maintaining profitability as they tackle new territories one by one. They’ll do so by delivering a consistently excellent brand experience and using hard-learnt COVID lessons to keep the company on track and in the black.

“The pandemic taught us the importance of agility: you can’t say, ‘This is the only thing I’m going to do and the only way I’m going to do it’,” Richard says. “You need to keep an open mind and be prepared to move fast, whether that’s embracing new ways of thinking or new technologies. We always try to look to the future, not the past.”

Those lean times also instilled an appreciation for iron-clad discipline, across all aspects of July’s operations.

“We aim to take a measured approach, rather than pursuing growth at all costs, without worrying about the return,” Richard says. “Running efficiently and keeping tight control of our cash flow, stock levels and staffing has contributed to our success.”

Partnering with a bank that gets business

July has been partnering with NAB since early 2023. NAB provides a line of credit, bank guarantees for July’s retail landlords, foreign exchange advice and daily transaction processing.

For July, working with a bank that understands the needs of a young business in fast growth mode has been a game changer.

“NAB’s business banking team is hands-on and helpful, responsive and knowledgeable,” Richard says. “When issues arise, they help us resolve them quickly.

“They’re very like us in the way they do things: customer service and customer satisfaction are number one.”