Built to Move: How KickAss Is Driving Expansion — One Delivery at a Time
From a Sunshine Coast startup to 12 stores nationwide, KickAss’s Domestic Warehouse Operations & Fulfillment Manager, Joel Finnigan, shares about the brand’s extraordinary growth — and the logistics partnership that’s helped make every move possible.
KickAss isn’t a brand that does things quietly. What began as a purely online business on the Sunshine Coast has grown into one of Australia’s most recognisable adventure and outdoor equipment retailers — now operating eight stores across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, with four more set to open before July 2026. That’s twelve stores in a single year!
The engine behind that physical expansion? A genuine belief that customers want to touch, test and experience products before they buy. And behind the logistics of every new opening, every restocked shelf, and every warehouse relocation? A relationship built over eight years with East Coast Freight Distribution (ECFD).
I sat down with Joel to talk about what’s fuelling the brand’s growth — and why trust is the most important item on any freight manifest.
In Joel’s Own Words
Q: KickAss has grown rapidly and is now preparing to open four new stores by July 2026. What’s driving this expansion, and what does it mean for your customers?
A: Stores are thriving in our business. Customers like to come and see how products work before outlaying money, and by opening in all these new locations it gives them more opportunity to do this and expand our brand across the country. We currently have eight stores across Acacia Ridge, Kawana and Toowoomba in QLD, Gosford and Eastern Creek in NSW, Dandenong and Laverton in VIC, and Forrestdale in Perth. Four more will make it twelve stores by July — which is a huge milestone for us.
Q: How has your logistics setup evolved from the early days, and what role has ECFD played in that transition?
A: We started as a purely online business, so we used all the main ecommerce carriers — Australia Post, Toll, TNT — for many years. For the past eight years ECFD helped with storage of our fridges and batteries as we started to expand into a full import business. They then helped with all the moving of warehouses as we moved to a bigger one in Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast, and then the big move to Acacia Ridge in Brisbane three and a half years ago. ECFD has since serviced our retail shop on the Sunshine Coast, delivering pallets to stock up twice weekly. We’ll be using their services for some of our future stores as well — doing regular weekly store deliveries to keep them topped up, and store set-ups too.
Q: How has partnering with East Coast Freight Distribution supported your growth at each stage?
A: Partnering with ECFD has given us flexibility when doing our big warehouse moves — offering a service to get the job done and never letting us down. They always deliver on time to meet timelines in busy shopping complexes and respect opening time commitments. That reliability is everything when you’re launching a new store. You can’t afford a logistics partner who can’t keep up.
Q: You’re now considering a permanent hire truck as part of your long-term distribution strategy. What made that the right solution for KickAss as you expand across Queensland?
A: With five stores in South-East Queensland by July, we’ll be looking at a permanent hire truck later this year to give us more control over driver quality, delivery times and overall service to stock our stores. It gives us real ownership over the process — and peace of mind.
For growing businesses like ours, the leap from shared freight to a dedicated transport solution is a significant one. ECFD’s Permanent Hire service provides a dedicated truck and driver at a fixed rate — handling everything from recruitment and compliance to vehicle maintenance, so you can focus on what you do best. No capital outlay, no fleet headaches. For KickAss, with a rapidly growing store network across South-East Queensland, it’s a model that makes clear sense.
Q: How does having a dedicated transport solution improve the customer experience across your store network?
A: With a dedicated driver who knows the routes, the stores and the stock, consistency becomes the baseline rather than the exception. A permanent hire truck will ensure our stores have stock as quickly as possible from when it arrives at the warehouse — giving customers more options to pick up from store and saving them the cost of having it delivered to their door. The faster we can move product, the better the experience for everyone.
Q: What sets ECFD apart from other logistics providers, and why do you continue to trust them through each phase of growth?
A: Partnerships are built on relationships. I have worked with Tim Mills for eight years now — he always goes out of his way to help when needed, and this has helped our business grow over the years. From the allocators to the drivers, they never have issues getting the job done. ECFD offers a great service, and we will continue to expand using their services all the way.
KickAss’s story is a testament to what happens when product quality meets operational discipline — and when a logistics partner grows alongside your business rather than behind it. As the brand heads toward twelve stores and beyond, our team at ECFD will be right there: on the dock, on the road, and on time.
Ready to move your business forward? Whether you’re scaling your retail network, managing warehouse transitions, or looking for a dedicated distribution solution, we deliver. Contact East Coast Freight Distribution today!