Like many other businesses, we built our first online store when we started our parenting journey. We wanted to help other parents find the great products that we had found so useful in those first few months. Just after the arrival of our second child, we puchased Boutique Brands, the distribution business that was one of our main suppliers.
When we purchased Boutique Brands in 2014, we had quite a few international brands that we were the exclusive distributor for in Australia and New Zealand. As we got to know the business, we realised that in order to really do the brands justice, and get the best possible sell-through across our region for each brand, we needed to reduce the number of brands we distributed, for a season. So we narrowed the range down and focused on Babiators, worked hard at marketing the brand to truly make them Australia's favourite baby and kid's sunglasses.
Our intention was to create the ideal process for one brand so that we could then duplicate the process and launch other brands sucessfully and sustainably in the Australian and New Zealand marketplace.
In building brand positioning for Babiators we have:
We have maintained a dual focus on advertising and wholesale recruitment and support. Our strong focus on brand awareness and marketing has seen Babiators go from strength to strength in the AUS/NZ region. So much so that all our resources were directed at maintaining the rapid growth of Babiators.
In 2020, we had the chance to put our distribution process to the test by launching The Brushies, the world's first finger-puppet baby toothbrush, into the AUS/NZ market. Strong advertising and brand positioning saw sales jump immediately. Brand awareness has seen significant interest from new and existing stockists, and we are looking forward to launching The Brushies on the wholesale market in the coming months.
Throughout the years we have consistently built effective systems for:
As a result our Fulfilment Services were born.
Whenever we networked with other Australian brands and businesses, we met many business owners struggling to find the time to grow their business. They were so busy packing orders that they had hit a wall, lacking the time and headspace to market and grow their business. They were often outgrowing the limited space they had to store their products, and their houses were overflowing with stock. Employing staff to help them come and pack orders was an option, but quite honestly, it was going to mean they still had to use valuable headspace managing staff and systems; headspace they could have used on growing their business.
So, we expanded our logistics capacity and offered a number of businesses the opportunity to partner with us. We took on the warehousing and dispatch of their website and wholesale orders, in addition to providing customer service for many of them.
We enjoy partnering with our international brands, Australian brands and retailers. Everything we do is based on working together so that everyone grows and everyone benefits. We value close and effective relationships with all our partners.
From very humble beginnings, working out of a single garage while juggling small children and work responsibilities, we have grown to employ over 15 staff and moved to much larger premises.
Our capacity has expanded to the point where we currently have space to take on a number of new distribution brands and fulfilment clients.
If you are interested in connecting with us for:
we would love to hear from you.
Can’t wait to connect with you, and hear how Boutique Brands can work with you to see you achieve your business goals.
Warmest regards,
Kristy and John Rigby