women in online retailing

Mark Freidin

28th May 2009

Why  women in online retailing ?

During the strategic planning phase of internetretailing.com.au, I wanted to find areas of interest and topics over and above those covered by other industry websites that focus on internet retailing that were niche focused and did not receive much attention in the press in Australia.

Besides Internet Retailing itself which overall is poorly understood by business in Australia and needs the focus and attention it deserves (and therefore this website),  I settled on three sub topics that I believe deserve attention. They are mobile commerce, e-green, and women in online retailing. The first two topics will be addressed in their own sections.

Over the past 18 months, while researching ideas, material etc I happened to be reading a lot about successful online businesses, run by women. Some had taken the plunge and started selling online through eBay initially then moving on to e commerce platforms and working from home or started websites from home.

Selling online meant to these women that they could still be mothers to their children, and have some degree of flexibility not afforded to working mums while working from home yet create successful businesses.

We will be providing exciting articles, interviews and news on this interesting topic.

Examples of fascinating online  entrepreneurs are:

Maxine Auld of Toot toot trains who  in her own words  said “Toot Toot Toys came about after the birth of my twins (boy/girl). My employer would only let me return to full-time work and the cost of childcare for two was nearly as much as I would earn.” Maxine’s business has successfully been supplying toys online since 2005

Susan McGuiness of brightstarkids who started her business because she couldn’t find decorations for her niece’s room that were to her liking and could be easily removed as the kids grew older. Susan researched this and ultimately started up what is now brightstarkids.com.au.

Sue Rice of Glebe in Sydney who runs Sue Rice Swimwear, a boutique shop selling her own line of exclusive swimwear.  Sue’s value propostion is that she offers specially designed swimwear that cover tummies, lift busts and slim the figure to name a few. The internet has opened the world to Sue and she exports to customers around the world.

Kelly and Abbey Baker  of  Edible Blooms who have demonstrated the successful integration of multi channel retailing, with bricks and mortar stores as well as a very delicious  website.

Naomi Simson of Red Balloon days left a corporate career to start her online gift business. Naomi has been awarded the Telstra businesswoman of the year award

If you would like to contribute an article, sponsor or promote yourself or someone else in this young and exciting industry on this site,  please contact me

Yours in health

Mark

info@internetretailing.com.au