Digital Transformation & Leadership with Danny Levy

In the concluding past of my interview with Founder and CEO of Adorn Cosmetics, Briony Kennedy, we get into the impact Covid-19 has had on the business, how they have had to adapt, eCommerce and digital marketing tactics, what you should and shouldn't do on social and we explore the future of eCommerce and Digital marketing. 

On episode 4 we’ve got another of my favourite retail brands on the show, Adorn Cosmetics.  I’m joined by CEO Briony Kennedy, who founded the business in 2009. She's a Melbourne based business woman, passionate environmental advocate, former model & beauty industry veteran. In part 1 you'll hear about Briony's own podcasting journey, her entrepreneurial spirit, the inspiration for starting Adorn Cosmetics, the early days, challenges faced, and what went wrong. 

In this episode we move away from retail into travel. An industry that at the time of recording has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis. With tourism drying up all over the world we wanted to discuss what tourism boards are doing through this period to emerge stronger. Joining me on the show to share his thoughts on this and a lot more is Sisa Ntshona who is the CEO of South African Tourism. He’s worked in the aviation industry for South African Airways and in Financial Services for Money Transfer and Western Union and Manufacturing with Parmalat Food Industries.  South African Tourism is the tourism marketing arm of the South African government. Simply put, they’re job is to promote the country domestically and internationally, whether for leisure, business or events tourism.

In this episode of the Digital Transformation & Leadership series, Danny talks to one of his favorite retailers, Outland Denim, an Australian fashion brand that was founded as an avenue for the training, employment, and career progression for women who had experienced exploitation. Outland Denim’s story began about 10 years ago when Founding CEO James Bartle went to the cinema to see the film ‘Taken’. While a fictional film, it was an introduction to an industry that still exists today: the illicit US$150 billion human trafficking trade, also known as modern slavery. As James began to research, he soon discovered the complexity of the problem and its prevalence all over the world; no nation is untouched. He had the opportunity to travel through Southeast Asia, and saw what the problem looked like on the ground.  James discovered that in addition to sex trafficking, trafficking for labor was also a common threat within vulnerable communities. He learnt that once a woman has been rescued and reintegrated into the community, a sustainable career path is vital for securing her future. Outland Denim was founded to offer that sustainable career path. So can the fashion industry be the solution to some of the world’s most pressing global, social and environmental issues? We’ll hear some answers and a whole lot more on this episode with James Bartle, CEO at Outland Denim.

Today we kick of our series with Love, Bonito. A brand that shed its former blog shop image and is now a 200-strong regional business. Love, Bonito has built a reputation that embodies quality and individuality, rivaling international names such as Zara and H&M. Love, Bonito’s ambition is to become the Asian female brand of the future - thoughtful, considerate, truly omnichannel and a representation of ‘new female retail’. One of the key players in this story is, Dione Song, who joined the company about 3 years ago. Today they have 15 stores across the region, while also shipping internationally and continue to break new ground as a home-grown brand, both externally and internally. Together with the team, Dione has transformed the company and positioned it for broad global expansion. On this episode we'll hear from Dione on what the journey to build the Asian female brand of the future been like so far and a whole lot more.