Origins Australia Podcast

In the last twenty years, the Harvey Norman retail chain has added 86 foreign stores. That incredible expansion has been led by Katie Page. She’s a bold executive that is changing the face of retail, real estate, and sport across this country.    

Skander Malcolm has the best seat in the house when it comes to watching Australian companies go global. And from that vantage point he’s seen the good and the bad. Skander Malcolm is the CEO of OFX – they’re an Australian company that facilitates global money transfers – they’re an essential partner for many domestic companies doing business in other countries. Skander shares what things people need to account for when they start gazing beyond the horizon.  

The world’s hottest stationery brand, was born in 2003. The ultimate creators of colourful, fun, fashion-forward stationery. The first Smiggle store opened in Melbourne, Australia and word spread fast about the bright pens, notebooks and gadgets that filled a tiny, but very special place. The concept took off and the company soon hit 20 stores, where it caught the eye of the Just Group - Australasia's most exciting fashion & apparel retailer. In 2008 Smiggle jumped the seas and opened its first international store in New Zealand. In 2011 Smiggle expanded into Singapore, and in 2014 Smiggle opened its doors in the UK, and in 2016 smiggle says hello to malaysia and hong kong! It's all part of the grand plan to be the world's most exciting and famous stationery brand.

Great design is one of those things that you notice most when it isn’t there, and you can’t always hire a professional designer every time you need to make a document. So… you turn to Canva. In fact, 10 times every second someone in the world is using Canva to create a new design. Co-Founder Cameron Adams tells us how it started, and where it's going  

Budgy Smuggler, that’s the name of an Australian company that is getting all sorts of attention, all over the world. Founded at a backyard BBQ in true Aussie fashion, Budgy Smuggler call themselves the swimmers you always wanted, but never had the chance to buy. This business story has it’s own unique Aussie class, even down to why the brand name is spelt incorrectly. In this episode, Ross Greenwood is joined by Adam Linforth to learn the story behind the budgy.