Latest news with #ByronBay-based
The Age
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
More Australian retailers axe free returns after ‘reckoning' of costs
Since then, businesses have found that free returns are financially unsustainable. In June 2023, high-profile online fashion retailer ASOS ended its years-long free returns policy in Australia. In the UK last week, ASOS started banning customers who repeatedly return large portions of their orders. But McClelland, whose videos on TikTok have gained popularity for promoting more sustainable consumption habits, said businesses could do more to mitigate the problem. 'I do think there needs to be a deterrent for those customers who are 'repeat purchase and return' customers … However, I do think as well that there should be some investment on the retail side into making sure that the product they're selling is a product that customers actually want to keep,' she said. More retailers could, for example, photograph clothes on models in a range of sizes. 'So consumers could then see, 'OK, this is what it looks like on someone my size', and then they can make a more informed decision about whether the product will look good on them.' Loading Other Australian brands try to incentivise shoppers to cover the costs of returns: Byron Bay-based sustainable clothing store Afends provides free returns when customers choose store credit instead of a refund. Others offer free returns for online purchases if the goods are dropped off at a physical store. However, competition from Australian fashion retail giants The Iconic, David Jones and Myer, which offer free returns on all purchases, puts significant pressure on other retailers. Australia Post e-commerce reports indicate that, overall, 65 per cent of shoppers value 'friction-free' returns, with this figure rising to 72 per cent for Gen Z and Millennial customers. Ben Wapling, the head of marketing for sporting goods retailer Intersport, said the company was constantly trying to strike the right balance between costs and customer experience: 'We want to reduce as many barriers as possible.' He said the costs of returning products ranged between $7 and $11 an order. 'You've got to weigh that up, but you also weigh up the potential of the customer saying 'oh look, it's all a bit too hard, I'm not going to make a purchase',' he said. While Intersport manages to integrate all their stock back into inventories to be sold again, unless items have been damaged, some companies that offer free returns send brand-new goods to landfills because it's cheaper. A report published by charity Good360 last month found that 30 per cent of clothing bought online and returned in 2024 was sent to landfills instead of being resold. Melbourne-based small business owner Imara Seneviratne said her passion for sustainability as a consumer bled into her business practices. Seneviratne runs Adamo, which sells sustainably sourced tote bags. Adamo does require customers to cover the cost of returns if they've changed their mind, but not if the item is damaged. 'As both a consumer and a business owner, I'm just trying to find a balance, like making the experience fair and flexible but also encouraging people to buy less and choose better,' she said.
Sydney Morning Herald
07-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
More Australian retailers axe free returns after ‘reckoning' of costs
Since then, businesses have found that free returns are financially unsustainable. In June 2023, high-profile online fashion retailer ASOS ended its years-long free returns policy in Australia. In the UK last week, ASOS started banning customers who repeatedly return large portions of their orders. But McClelland, whose videos on TikTok have gained popularity for promoting more sustainable consumption habits, said businesses could do more to mitigate the problem. 'I do think there needs to be a deterrent for those customers who are 'repeat purchase and return' customers … However, I do think as well that there should be some investment on the retail side into making sure that the product they're selling is a product that customers actually want to keep,' she said. More retailers could, for example, photograph clothes on models in a range of sizes. 'So consumers could then see, 'OK, this is what it looks like on someone my size', and then they can make a more informed decision about whether the product will look good on them.' Loading Other Australian brands try to incentivise shoppers to cover the costs of returns: Byron Bay-based sustainable clothing store Afends provides free returns when customers choose store credit instead of a refund. Others offer free returns for online purchases if the goods are dropped off at a physical store. However, competition from Australian fashion retail giants The Iconic, David Jones and Myer, which offer free returns on all purchases, puts significant pressure on other retailers. Australia Post e-commerce reports indicate that, overall, 65 per cent of shoppers value 'friction-free' returns, with this figure rising to 72 per cent for Gen Z and Millennial customers. Ben Wapling, the head of marketing for sporting goods retailer Intersport, said the company was constantly trying to strike the right balance between costs and customer experience: 'We want to reduce as many barriers as possible.' He said the costs of returning products ranged between $7 and $11 an order. 'You've got to weigh that up, but you also weigh up the potential of the customer saying 'oh look, it's all a bit too hard, I'm not going to make a purchase',' he said. While Intersport manages to integrate all their stock back into inventories to be sold again, unless items have been damaged, some companies that offer free returns send brand-new goods to landfills because it's cheaper. A report published by charity Good360 last month found that 30 per cent of clothing bought online and returned in 2024 was sent to landfills instead of being resold. Melbourne-based small business owner Imara Seneviratne said her passion for sustainability as a consumer bled into her business practices. Seneviratne runs Adamo, which sells sustainably sourced tote bags. Adamo does require customers to cover the cost of returns if they've changed their mind, but not if the item is damaged. 'As both a consumer and a business owner, I'm just trying to find a balance, like making the experience fair and flexible but also encouraging people to buy less and choose better,' she said.
AU Financial Review
18-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Billionaires back climate-focused $125m Byron Bay VC fund
A Byron Bay-based venture capital firm promising to back companies trying to solve the planet's biggest problems has raised $92 million from some of Australia's richest people and drawn them to the coastal celebrity mecca for its annual meeting this week, with a side of whale watching. ReGen Ventures, which is run by former Macquarie banker and hedge fund manager Dan Fitzgerald, has built a portfolio of 21 companies after raising $65 million for its first fund in 2021. The firm backs technology companies trying to solve climate and environmental problems.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Big Brother star who famously got matching breast implants with her mother continues to grow her $25 million property portfolio as she purchases new Byron Bay property
Big Brother star Krystal Hipwell (née Forscutt) is continuing to grow her already formidable real estate empire. The 38-year-old starred on the 2006 iteration of the Channel Ten reality series with her mother Karen. She has since stepped away from the camera and has established herself as a property mogul. Along with her property developer husband Neil, Krystal runs Bunker Escapes - a successful business building lavish homes - and the couple boast a $25million property portfolio. Krystal and Neil recently purchased a rural block on the outskirts of Bryon Bay. Located in the small town of Ewingsdale, the 4093sqm land set the couple back $1.1million, according to the Daily Telegraph. Just a five minute drive from Byron Bay, the block includes established trees and an abundance of wildlife along its eastern boundary. The property was formerly owned by Cornell Holdings - the Byron Bay-based investment company owned by actress Delvene Delaney and her late husband John 'Strop' Cornell. The purchase comes after Krystal and Neil recently bought a huge block of land in Byron Bay and built two modern multi-million homes on the site, with both lavish properties available for booking. Banks at Byron is located at the front of the plot and sleeps up to 18 guests at a cost of $6,000 for a two-night stay. Meanwhile, Bunker Byron is located behind on the back of the site and sleeps up to 14 guests. It costs around $8,000 for a minimum three-night stay. The high-class properties can be booked together for a huge group stay or separately and provide guests with a luxurious glimpse at the Byron coastline. While Banks boasts typical beach house style decor, including white and tan detailing, Bunker has a strikingly different industrial look. It is not the first huge home renovation Krystal and her husband Neil have taken on, as they previously launched Bunker House in Gerrigong, NSW back in 2021. The multi-storey mansion, which they originally built as their dream home after buying the land for $1.7million, is now a luxury rental which can accommodate 16 guests. A minimum three-night stay in this swanky abode costs around $3,500 per night. Krystal and Neil also own another resort style accommodation located just outside the Perisher Valley ski village at Crackenback in the NSW Alps. Built by the couple in 2021 and dubbed 'Jimmy Doo', it can accommodate 22 adults and eight children. The luxe ski lodge costs around $8,000 for a minimum three-night stay. Krystal shot to national attention back in 2006, when she starred on Big Brother alongside her mother Karen who had Krystal when she was just 16. During their time in the house, Karen was evicted in the third week while Krystal came in sixth place. They were known as the glamorous mother-daughter duo who both had breast enlargements. Krystal and Neil also own another resort style accommodation located just outside the Perisher Valley ski village at Crackenback in the NSW Alps However in 2021, Krystal had her breast implants removed. She said at the time that the surgery marked the start of a 'new chapter' in her life and she first got her implants 'as a young girl searching for approval'. She added that she had one regret about the explant surgery, which was that she didn't get it done sooner. 'Starting to feel more like myself. The pain has been pretty intense these past few days and having three kids stuck at home in lockdown (plus home learning) well it hasn't exactly been the best timing,' she said on social media at the time. Following her stint on Big Brother, Krystal enjoyed a brief modelling career, appearing in FHM, Zoo, and Ralph magazines.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Madeleine West gives birth to seventh child at 45
Madeleine West has welcomed her seventh child. The former Neighbours actor shared a photo of her newborn on social media Sunday night, captioned, "Earthside at last... and utterly perfect." West, who played Dee Bliss on the Australian soap in the early 2000s, was met with a raft of supportive comments from famous friends, with former Home and Away actress Tammin Sursok posting, "Congratulations mama!" West didn't disclose the baby's name or gender. West, who is already a mother to six children with her ex-husband celebrity chef Shannon Bennett, announced her surprise pregnancy on Instagram in January. "Whoops!" she began her post, alongside a selfie of her growing bump. "Thought it was perimenopause, I thought wrong! And I couldn't be happier. "Not too sure about the title geriatric mum but here we are, and I'm winding back a little to grow this little surprise package I've dubbed 007 - baby number 7, couldn't help myself." West's birth comes weeks after the Byron Bay-based actress penned an emotional article for Australia's Stellar newspaper supplement. "I'm officially up the duff and a certifiable hot mess: equal parts elated, terrified, and very, very alone," West said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm surrounded by a supportive community of incredible women, but many are embarking on that mysterious and frequently ferocious hot-flash-fest that is menopause, aka The Change, while it seems the only change on my horizon is changing nappies."
