Meet the small-town surf collective making global waves

Chasing innovation

The now retired founder’s passion for innovation lives on through the current guardians of the surfboard accessories brand, which remains the jewel in the crown of The Leisure Collective.

A relentless pursuit to discover what’s next underpins the stable of brands that comprise The Leisure Collective, which, as well as OTIS Eyewear and Sito Shades, includes a range of land and sea lifestyle products from Layday.

OTIS Eyewear exemplifies this drive to innovate – the brand was founded in 2000 with the quest to find sunglasses tough enough to withstand the sun, salt and sand of WA’s rugged south-west.

It has evolved ever since, embracing new lens technologies and winning the Australian Surf Industry Awards’ Sunglass Brand of the Year award for seven of the past eight years.

Global popularity

“We are built on a foundation of product innovation and quality and this has helped us to continue to grow,” says Nathan Omodei, the CEO of The Leisure Collective.

That includes Creatures of Leisure, which exports a range of products including surfboard leashes, traction pads and board covers to more than 3,000 surf shops in over 30 countries, making it one of the top three surf hardware brands in the world.

Underpinning The Leisure Collective’s authenticity is the fact it’s still based near Yallingup, the coastal village some three hours’ drive south of Perth where Creatures of Leisure was established in the 1980s.

“We test our products religiously in our backyard, and we’ve been able to attract really talented people from all over the world that want to live and work here,” Omodei says.

Financing a bold future

Since forming in 2013, The Leisure Collective has doubled its revenue and profitability.

It doesn’t stop there. “Our plan over the next five years is to double again,” Omodei says. “Our vision is to be a small giant, taking it up to the bigger players but still being relatively small and nimble.”

A long-term, deeply integrated relationship with NAB has been key. “They’ve been a really supportive finance partner, to the point where we haven’t needed to even look outside of what we’ve got,” Omodei says. 

That’s in spite of occasional choppy waters, says David McKimm, NAB’s Senior Business Banking Manager in nearby Busselton. “A recent challenge [was] an overseas supplier – we helped to sort out payment systems to be able to continue trading,” he says.

“NAB had to be quite flexible, because some countries can be difficult to deal with from a financial and payments perspective. That was a significant win for both of us.”

Enjoying the ride

NAB is backing the Collective’s bid to further grow its presence in Europe. At home, it also recently helped finance its move into new headquarters, which, Omodei reports, includes “a really cool fit-out that honours our brands”.

“One of our mantras internally is to enjoy the ride. You’re not always kicking goals and it’s not always easy. But it’s about enjoying the process, rather than just the results.”

Regional and Agribusiness