KEY POINTS:
When Suri Cruise appeared in Vanity Fair, photographed asleep in the arms of father Tom Cruise wearing a cream-coloured knit jersey, Aucklander Justine Turner's website went crazy.
Turner runs Just Jussi, an online knitwear business specialising in heirloom knitwear for babies and Suri's appearance in a knitted top gave her valuable - and free - advertising.
"There was a real peak in sales after those photos came out," said Turner.
"I think around the same time a couple of American baby fashion blogs had picked me up."
Although Turner wasn't the creator of Suri's garment, her beautiful and unique handknits are creating a stir in the North American market.
"I think the idea for designer knitwear for babies is catching on [in New Zealand], whereas the Americans eat it up," she said.
Turner started Just Jussi six months ago, building on an AUT qualification in knitwear design and a passion for knitting.
Access to a big global market of high-end consumers drove Turner's decision to take her business online. Plus, her husband's job kept them on the move and she needed to be able to operate from any location.
"Because it's an internet business it just moves with you," she said.
Originally she looked at designing and making women's knitwear, but after researching the market and putting some designs together she narrowed it down to original, heirloom babywear.
"I thought 'there are plenty of people making beautiful garments' and I was making a lot of babywear at the time and it just all fell together that way," said Turner.
"It's turned out to be a nice little niche."
That niche is doting grandparents, clucky aunts and parents with an eye for design.
Turner said the trend in babywear globally is to use vintage knitting patterns rather than new designs.
"That's nice - they're really cute. But I felt that's my point of difference - it's their original design."
Her focus is now on creating a range made from organic merino wool hand-dyed with natural colours - she has produced a yellow-green colour using lichen from the pohutukawa in her front garden - and wholesaling her products.
Turner has already had interest from a Japanese department store and is in the process of negotiating the deal.
Dame Cheryll Sotheran, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise sector director for creative industries says the trend is for companies in this area to be small businesses and focussing on medium to high end products, with key characteristics being good design and high quality.
Initial export targets tend to be Australia, followed by the UK, Europe and Japan.
"The US babywear market is trickier to penetrate. A key reason is that the US market is more complex and made up of many markets divided along state and demographic lines. This means differing state and federal safety and quality regulations concerning babywear products," Dame Sotheran said.
"There could be opportunities in the future. There has been a trend in the US and around the world for mainstream fashion brands to diversify into childrenswear and other product lines and some New Zealand brands have done so. Long-term success for this strategy relies on the existing strength of the brand and the companies ability to clearly weigh up investment in diversification vs projected revenue growth."
TOP TIPS
Justine Turner's top tips for starting an online business:
* Talk to people about your business - you will be surprised at what and who they know and how willing they are to help. Turner had a professional photographer friend take the photos for her website.
* Write a clear, succinct and honest press release. Make it chatty and interesting, then send it to everyone you can find.
* Write a blog, but make sure it meets your market. People are cynical - they want to know that your blog is honest. Marketing is about building relationships and blogging is a great, free tool to help you communicate with potential customers. Blogs like Seth Godin's are full of generous, free ideas just waiting for you to implement them. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
* Research, research, research. Web hosts and online shopping carts vary wildly in price and service, from a simple Paypal generated button to $100,000 shopping cart software. Be very clear about your budget, needs and limitations.
* Squeeze every last cent out of your advertising dollar. Explore alternative advertising methods, for example, café postcards, sponsorship or give away product as prizes. Ask for independent proof of circulation or web traffic.
