For 30 years, the Jim Bradley Speedball Company has been making speedballs, punching bags and other equipment for gyms and competitions around the world.
The company’s namesake Jim Bradley created the Speedball to train athletes, and it’s considered the fastest ball of its kind.
To this day, the Speedball has barely changed.
“I can probably show you an old brochure from 25 years ago, and you'd say, 'oh, it's the exact same product range',” says Nick Waterman, owner of Jim Bradley Speedball Company.
While the products have changed, the Australian retail landscape has shifted dramatically since the company’s beginnings. With the growing demand of online shopping, Waterman took the business online, running Jim Bradley Speedball as an omnichannel business.
“We get people from all over Australia - Broome, anywhere, saying, I want to buy your products, how do I do it. And we normally push them on the internet, to order online. Saves us keying in the orders and we don't make mistakes then.”
The Jim Bradley Speedball Company shopfront. Source: SBS
However, this has come with its own setbacks. The company was hit by scammers twice in the past year, falling victim to a scam known as “friendly fraud”. Scammers would order a product online, then claim the product didn’t deliver to receive a refund.
“The thousand dollar one, we actually made a big fuss about - because we delivered to this person's house, we saw it online the very next day, it was logged in, online, on gumtree, and he asked for his money back and got a chargeback scam,” says Waterman.
“You've got to pick your fights. Most of our businesses, the boxers we deal with, a lot of working class businesses that we deal with, we just do handshakes, never a problem.”
Waterman has put forward a complaint with the Ombudsman to fight the chargeback scams. Source: SBS
Scams such as this can damage a small business’ bottom line, particularly in such a competitive industry such as retail.
Jim Bradley Speedball Company has also come up against the likes of offshore manufacturing. Many of their clients are sourcing cheaper stock made overseas.
“They're making it with people my grandkids age. We're paying adults, we're making a really good product. Think about, what does it really cost you in the end?” says Waterman.
Jim Bradley Speedball Company products are handcrafted from the welding, sewing and stuffing using locally sourced material.
Skilled craftsmen are employed to make Jim Bradley Speedball Products. Source: SBS
“There are challenges with a small business with small profits. Our wages bill is huge, because all of our people are craftsmen, I don't even say they're tradesmen, they are craftsmen.”
While business is slowing, Waterman says he’s determined to continue his passion.
“It's invigorating, I love coming here.”
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