While many businesses are shifting focus away from traditional retail and onto the online marketplace, Brisbane-based gift and homewares store Dandelyon is doing the opposite.
The idea of Dandelyon Gifts came to Julie Dodge in a dream about an angel handing her a dandelion in July 2010. It sparked her husband Greg Dodge to register the business the very next day, and the pair eagerly embraced the online marketplace and spent the next three months creating an eStore that featured over a thousand gift and homeware products. When they realised that the venture wasn’t supporting them financially, they decided to branch out and hold stalls at local markets to attract more customers.
“We realised when people saw the product they wanted to buy it, even though we were using that as a vehicle to drive more people to the site. We quickly realised we were going to have to get into traditional retail,” Greg Dodge told Dynamic Business.
Greg and Julie then deliberated over where they would set up their retail store, eventually deciding on the West End in Brisbane. Greg, who has a background in retail, attributes the careful choice of location to the success of Dandelyon Gift’s physical store.
“A lot of it had to do with finding somewhere that was eclectic and diverse, that had a range of international visitors, as well as locals who support independent visitors. We realised we could go there and be unique and people would support that,” he said.
Dandelyon Gifts found its retail store sales quickly surpassed those of its online store, which generates just five percent of total sales.
Greg believes the reason his retail store is booming is because customers struggle to properly visualise and get the perspective of size online, preferring to see a product in person.
“Maybe technology will eventually give us an interactive experience but I think at the moment they like to pick it up, they like to touch it, feel it, and see what its made of,” he said.
If a small business has the right story, location and product mix then old traditional retail can still work, he told Dynamic Business.
Greg hasn’t disregarded selling online altogether, but said the hype can convince small businesses that they need to be online when they might be better off with more traditional approaches.
“It’s like the retailer that has to put up with the landlord who wants you to come to his space but won’t guarantee you the customers,” he said.
Dandelyon Gifts has reduced the amount of stock in its online store, but continues to have an online presence on social networks such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.