Challenge: Locals Limited launched in 2023 as an Ecommerce brand focused specifically on promoting and preserving Pacific Island culture through apparel. As the brand started to take off they needed a supply chain partner that could help them store and ship their products globally, but also to help them mitigate the impact of tariffs that were an existential risk to their business.
Solution: Locals Limited partnered with Portless to alleviate the burden of managing logistics and fulfillment – including to islands in Micronesia – for their team. This means that Locals Limited now have the capacity freed up to be more agile with their inventory and focus on testing new products that grow their bottom line.
Locals Limited is a Pacific Islander apparel brand specializing in premium hats that celebrate Micronesian culture and heritage. Founded by a team combining design expertise with manufacturing and media backgrounds, the brand creates products that tell the story of traditional navigation, cultural motifs, and the rich history of Micronesia. Kalany Omengkar is one of the founders of Locals Limited and is in charge of design and operations.
The journey began in 2023 when Kalany Omengkar and his co-founders initially approached a local store in Hawaii to create wholesale Micronesian-inspired hats. However, when the retailer only purchased one-third of their inventory, they found themselves with excess stock and a critical decision to make. “So we made a bunch of designs, bought a lot of inventory, and then went up to the store—and they only wanted to take about a third of it. And I was like, what am I supposed to do with the rest of this stock?” Rather than let that deter them, they pivoted to direct-to-consumer sales, creating their own brand identity and website.
After refining their designs with more vibrant colors and deeper storytelling based on feedback from friends and first customers, their first 500-unit drop sold out in two weeks. From then on "…Every time we made a drop, it sold out. But we only made enough to fit in our garage, since that’s where we were working from,” says Kalany.
Locals Limited aims to bridge the cultural gap for the estimated 80-90% of Micronesians living in mainland US, providing them with premium products that spark conversations about their heritage. The brand serves as both a fashion statement and an educational tool, helping people understand Micronesian culture, including traditional star navigation—a lost art that Micronesia has helped restore throughout the Pacific region.
“It gives our customers a sense of pride—they can wear it and also use it to start conversations. A lot of times, when someone says they’re Pacific Islander, people immediately put them into a small box, like, ‘Oh, you must be Hawaiian,’ or assume they’re from Polynesia. Hardly anyone really knows about Micronesia. So this creates a way to open dialogue, like, ‘Hey, this is where I’m from, and these motifs carry meaning.’ For example, the Mwarmwar flower crown we put on our hats represents navigation, connection, and community.” – Kalany Omengkar
Locals Limited faced a perfect storm of operational challenges that threatened their rapid growth trajectory. The primary issue was space constraints in Hawaii, where warehousing costs are prohibitively expensive. “We see the demand—every time we do a drop, it sells out. So the question is, how do we scale? We need more space, but in Hawaii, renting warehouse space is really expensive, and so is the manpower to run it.” said Kalany.
The team also lacked crucial fulfillment and inventory management expertise. "We don’t have a lot of fulfillment or inventory management skills, so trying to find a partner that was cost-effective and a real partner who could help us scale was something we were looking for.”
While space constraints are a challenge for most early-stage Ecommerce brands, the breaking point came with volatility from recently introduced tariffs. The impact was immediate and severe. "And just the volatility of tariff rates and policies—we were at the beginning of our growth and about to get hit with something like a hundred-plus percent tariff, which we just couldn’t afford. It was either put everything on pause or find a warehouse in China to hold it until things cooled off."
“That’s when I started doing more research and came across Portless. The solutions you offered seemed to really align with our business." – Kalany Omengkar
Locals Limited prioritized partnership quality over purely transactional relationships. “What I wanted first was a good partner—someone with open communication, who we could reach out to anytime to understand how our inventory was doing. A partner with a strong internal management system, but also one who could help us preserve cash—whether by deferring tariffs or having a simple payment structure—so we could scale together. That’s what I was looking for,” says Kalany.
Geographic reach was also equally critical to look for in their search for a fulfillment partner, specifically for their Pacific Islander customer base. “Being able to ship to all of our customers is one of our biggest priorities. Luckily, Portless was able to fulfill orders for all of our mainland customers and even some of our Pacific Islander customers. People were able to get their hats—and I didn’t realize you could do that, but you did!”
For Kalany, the decision came down to flexibility and partnership approach versus rigid requirements from traditional 3PLs. "Most of the companies that I was speaking to that were based in the US, They just had very strict criteria. They required a certain volume of shipments throughout the month. Sometimes I'll get into a call that’s supposed to be like a 30 minute call and they asked me what's my volume? And then immediately say “no, sorry, we can't work with you.”"
Portless stood out for their willingness to grow alongside Locals Limited. “Having a partner that understands where we are and where we’re going—and being able to say, okay, we can grow together—that was a big reason I went with Portless. Also, the tariff deferment helped with cash flow. And like I said, just having reliable communication and solid fulfillment quality has been really important.” says Kalany.
“I came across Portless, and the solutions you offer really aligned with our business—tariff deferment for better cash flow, reliable communication, and solid fulfillment quality.”
After 3 months of working with Portless, the cost savings Locals Limited gained have enabled strategic reinvestment and operational freedom for the Locals Limited team. “…the cost of doing business is much cheaper through Portless—enough that we don’t need to use the garage or look for another warehouse. That gives us the ability to invest that money into other products.”
In addition to the savings on storage that Portless affords Kalany, they are now turning operational agility became a competitive advantage, by testing products quickly and using the cash they have freed up to do marketing initiatives. "I can fly down to a pop-up in Palau and test out a line at an event. Then I’ll do a smaller run and realize—these hats sold out fast. Time to ramp up production."
"What’s really nice is we could just call up Portless and say, ‘Okay, we’re doing a pop-up, I need maybe 200 units of this—can you ship it over?’ And they’d be like, ‘Yeah, we can do that for you.’"
Locals Limited also successfully managed shipping expectations while maintaining their premium positioning. A tough thing to do as customer expectations around shipping continue to rise. "We've done our best to manage customer expectations. We let people know that our fulfillment and shipping times do take a little bit longer. We're in communication with our customers constantly so it's nice that we can still be personal with them and it's afforded us time given that our hats are a premium product."
Locals Limited is pursuing multi-channel expansion with confidence they have built in their fulfillment foundation through Portless. "It’s getting to the point where our online side is really growing, and we want to keep building that. Now we’re looking to bring in other partners to help with ads and expand the platform. At the same time, partners in the Pacific who own stores want to buy from us, so we’re growing in that direction too."
For brands ready to scale, Locals Limited emphasizes the importance of finding a flexible partner. "If they're ready to grow and they're ready to scale, I think Portless is a great partner for efficiency and predictability. They don't have a one size fits all model and that’s important.”
“Having Portless gives us the ability to be more mobile and nimble, which is the goal. We can fly anywhere, do business, and not be tied down to a warehouse or managing workers. That sense of freedom—as business owners, that’s something we really value. And that’s what Portless has allowed us to do.” – Kalany Omengkar
