he decided to channel her energy into building her own label.  “Now, I’m really thankful I wasn’t successful because that’s what led me to an amazing new chapter; that’s when Rida was born,” Wright told Inside Retail in an exclusive interview.  Rida (pronounced Ree-da) is a deeply personal venture, inspired by Wright’s upbringing in Florida and her desire to help women feel confident in swimwear.  “There was a point in my life, and maybe for a lot of women, when being in swimwear was the last thing I wanted to do,” Wright, who now lives in Sydney, said. “That’s ultimately why Rida exists today – I want to give women the confidence to show up and stand out.” From the brand’s vibrant, hand-drawn prints to its adjustable designs, including a one-piece that can be worn seven different ways, Rida was created to “hug women’s curves,” Wright said.   While sizing is currently limited to XS-XL, Wright hopes to extend this in the future.  A last-minute roadblock Rida Resort soft-launched for pre-orders on May 1 with 30 swimwear styles and a branded hat. The official launch is expected to occur around May 10.  After working on the concept for the past 12 months, alongside her role as chief product officer of Ecommerce Equation, an online retail consultancy, Wright was forced to move her warehouse at the last minute after President Donald Trump announced a 145 per cent tariff on goods coming into the US from China and Hong Kong.  “There are a lot of different things that come up along the way that you don’t anticipate,” Wright said about the process of starting a business.  Rather than shipping products from China to the US, Wright is now using a 3PL in a tariff-free zone in Canada, which allows her to pay tariffs as she sells her products, instead of upfront. In addition, she can pay tariffs based on her cost price, not her retail price.  “I would happily have all of my stock in Canada to service Canada, the US and Australia. Over time, I may look at two separate locations, but right now, I can see that working for several years,” she said.  Like most swimwear brands, Rida will “chase the sun”, targeting US consumers during the northern hemisphere summer and Australian consumers during the southern hemisphere summer. The online shopping experience will be localized to consumers in both markets.  Leveraging a decade of experience Wright’s decade of experience in retail and e-commerce strategy has helped her navigate not only the changing tariff situation, but also decisions around pricing, positioning and marketing channels.   This can be seen in Rida’s website, which Wright built herself based on a deep understanding of what customers need at different touchpoints, and its product range, which she designed with profit and scalability in mind.  “If I had been someone else starting a swimwear brand, I might not have offered something like a hat, which I’ve built in as an upsell,” Wright explained. “The more units you sell, the more profit you make per order – therefore, it gives you the best chance to scale profitably.” She plans to use giveaways during the initial launch for lead generation and is building a ‘bikini horoscope’ feature on the website to acquire first-party data. She is also using TikTok to grow Rida’s organic social media following and tell its brand story.  “I don’t think you can charge $100 or $120 for a swim top, without having that brand story behind it,” Wright said. “That’s why branding is such an important component of Rida.”  The true measure of success Rida is entirely self-funded, and currently, Wright is the only employee. She has brought in contractors for certain tasks, such as designing the brand’s custom prints and managing paid advertising, and will continue to run it while working full-time at Ecommerce Equation.  Long-term, she hopes to launch resortwear and turn Rida into a seven- or eight-figure e-commerce business. More than financial success, however, she is motivated to make a difference in the lives of women.  “I’ve created a brand to give women their main character moments,” she said. “I want it to move beyond a physical product to become a community of women, where they’re inspiring and cheering each other on to harness that energy every day.”