Special delivery

Janelle Wright’s online gift store, Boutiqueme, supports independent Kiwi businesses.
Wandering around her local weekend market, Janelle Wright was astounded – as usual – by the creativity of many of the stallholders. A professional sales person, she felt they deserved far greater exposure but knew most would be unable to afford their own premises. Before long, she hit upon a mutually-beneficial solution.
She decided to set up an online gift store which would showcase quality, New Zealand-made products to the world.
“I wanted to create a company which would support the many independent businesses making beautiful things,” says Janelle, who worked as a sales consultant for a large FMCG company at the time.
Wanting the store to look as good as upmarket real-world boutiques – and provide superior service – she decided to build the site from scratch.
“The development took more than a year and was no small feat,” says Janelle. “There weren’t any off-the-shelf tools we could buy to create the site we wanted, and luckily we found great ecommerce specialists to help develop the site to our exact standards.”
Janelle says she is immeasurably glad they made the effort, however, saying the site’s distinctive contemporary and user-friendly design is key to its success.
“It’s a beautiful website with stunning imagery and it offers a great, hassle-free shopping experience,” she says.
These days, the store, Boutiqueme.co.nz, stocks more than 700 “unique and wonderful” gifts, including home and garden products, clothing, jewellery and gourmet foods and beverages.
Janelle says they are frequently inundated with applications from small businesses wanting to showcase their products on the site.
“We have quite a strict vetting policy and currently turn away 90 percent of businesses that apply. I don’t like having to turn people away, but it’s really important we maintain consistency on the site.”
Janelle says Boutiqueme’s partners (businesses which sell their products on the site) also benefit from its PR work and search-optimisation skills.
“Small businesses can spend thousands of dollars on their own website but, if it isn’t Google-friendly or generating press coverage, no one knows it’s there.”
She is passionate about bringing together great small business and customers in one place.
“I’ve always wanted to run my own business and I relish the challenges and opportunities it presents every day,” she enthuses. “Discovering new businesses and envisioning their products on Boutiqueme is a constant source of enjoyment.”
She’s quick to point out her success hasn’t come easily. “Being a young female entrepreneur in the technology sector has definitely had its challenges. When I first started promoting the site, nobody would take me seriously and getting our first partners was very tough. When I look back now, I’m so grateful for the support of our first partners: Harriet Falvey, Harneys Teas and Nuts About New Zealand.”
Janelle attributes her success to her “absolute belief in what [she is] doing, the refusal to ever give up and the unconditional support of her friends and family.”
And she’s as ambitious and determined as ever.
“We have exciting plans for the business. Partners have the option to ship their goods anywhere in the world. Ultimately, we want to be one of the most recognised sites in Australasia.”
www.boutiqueme.co.nz