Lioness has set up tags to ensure pre-orders items are not released in the order queue until their arrival date. Order tags can be used in numerous combinations to help accomplish specific tasks and make the shipping process as efficient as possible. ShipStation has also integrated seamlessly with Shopify Plus. According to Brian, ShipStation’s automation rules have helped the label manage pre-orders in a “sensible and logical” way. ShipStation’s automation rules allow retailers to apply specific rules to a set of orders that meet a certain criterion. ShipStation’s customisable automation rules and order tags have been the most impactful features for Lioness due to the brand’s high volume of pre-orders. But, looking at the ShipStation interface during our demo, I could tell that it would be able to do what we needed in terms of flexibility.”

“Sometimes when you see demos of platforms there are aspects that are good, but you’re not entirely sure it’s for your business. If customers want to buy on pre-order, how do you sell something that doesn’t exist yet?”įeeling limited by its existing platform functions, it was the possibilities that ShipStation’s automation capabilities could offer not only Lioness, but its customers, that drove the company to the platform. “We’re fast fashion, but we want to be faster than fast fashion. But we started to find that with the way we wanted to sell to the consumer, especially being in fast fashion, we needed to be a bit more dynamic. That was functional and useful for a long period of time for us. “Our initial journey was with another shipping solution that integrated with our ecommerce WordPress site. This realisation eventually led Lioness to ShipStation, but not before some trial-and-error. We needed to be able to label quicker, pick quicker, pack quicker, and dispatch quicker.” But we began to realise that the systems for wholesale weren’t working in the same way for direct-to-consumer. “When we first started direct-to-consumer ecommerce, we were using a WordPress ecommerce site and using direct plugins. We were receiving cartons of that we were then QCing and sending out. “Our online pathway was wholesale, to ecommerce, and direct to consumer. Lioness implemented ShipStation in January 2020 after Brian was referred to the platform by the brand’s digital agency, Elephant Room. To keep up with increasing customer demand, Lioness also needed a new shipping solution that could automate the fulfilment process and improve delivery speed. We have a dedicated ecommerce coordinator and customer service, fulfilment, and picking and packing is now a separate workstream to the wholesale function.” “We still do a lot of wholesale business, but in the last two to three years we have focused on ecommerce in a very serious way. Some of its key clients include David Jones, Shopbop, The Iconic, Urban Outfitters, and ASOS. The brand is stocked in more than 12 countries worldwide and more than 1000 stores nationally in Australia. Lioness has continued to ride the wave of online success, with the label garnering a host of fans among local and international celebrities and influencers.

So when the ecommerce boom happened, we already had an established brand identity and were well positioned to ride that wave,” said Brian.

“We started as a wholesaler and then became a branded wholesaler. According to Brian Nguyen, director at Lioness, the label has significantly ramped up its direct-to-consumer business over the past three years. Founded by Wendy Lin in 2010 as a wholesale business, the label made its foray into ecommerce in 2014. Australian online retailer Lioness has fast become a fashion force.

Lioness fashion