LSKD forecasts a 55 per cent increase in orders over the Black Friday sales event

A growing Queensland activewear business with a global cult following has employed an extra 176 staff to pack an avalanche of Black Friday orders this week.

Queensland activewear company LSKD kicked off the Black Friday discount sales frenzy early, aiming to pack 140,000 online orders, up 55 per cent on the previous year.

Based at their new Loganholme headquarters, the company went live with its sale 10 days earlier than the official November 25 retail extravaganza date and hired 176 extra staff to keep up with demand.

LSKD fulfilment centre manager Murilo Fabri says the company redesigned the warehouse racking to allow twice as much storage as last year and has improved systems by installing a new conveyor belt, which will allow orders to be fulfilled more efficiently.

“Last year we packed 90,000 orders, whereas this year we are hoping to pack 140,000 orders,” he said.

“Last year we packed 6000 orders per day, so we’re trying to do 10,000 orders per day this year across 15 days. That’s 700 orders per hour, 12 orders per minute, and an item picked per second.” Black Friday, held the day after Thanksgiving in the US, is now rivalling Boxing Day as Australia’s premier shopping event, alongside Cyber Monday on November 28.

Inside LSKD's warehouse at Loganholme.

LSKD founder and chief executive Jason Daniel said Black Friday was the company’s biggest event of the year. “The past 12 months has been an amazing journey, from moving into our new HQ, to now for our biggest event of the year,” he said.

“We don’t go on sale very often and our goal for this event is to provide the best experience for our community and inspire them to chase the vibe.”

To cope with the work, LSKD has organised food trucks and DJs for its Loganholme team.

LSKD started as a wholesaler before transitioning to e-commerce in 2019, achieved $50m over 2021-22 and is aiming for a 50 per cent increase this financial year.

In October it opened a retail store at the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. It joined a 150sq m retail space at its Loganholme headquarters which opened at the start of the year.

On December 3 it will open its third store at Westfield Chermside in Brisbane and plans to open its fourth in Westfield Miranda in Sydney in March.

Mr Daniel said the move allows the company to offer online and offline experiences to its community.

“We can control the omnichannel brand message through marketing and storytelling,” he said.

Mr Daniel said LSKD is also planning to have a presence in the US.

“We have a team in the US now and we are looking at having an office in San Diego in the future,” he said.