Little Archer & Co goes global as more Sunshine Coast companies eye overseas growth

A Sunshine Coast single mum is taking her baby toys and accessories company into overseas markets as more local businesses look globally for growth. Read how she did it:

A Golden Beach single mum and dual business owner is expanding her online baby toys, accessories, and home items company internationally as more Sunshine Coast businesses pivot to e-commerce to target global markets.

Denise Billsborough launched Little Archer & Co in October, 2018 after struggling to find high quality products for her then newborn son Archer at an affordable price.

Initially, Ms Billsborough began her product line with two baby nests and was able to make $25,000 by the end of her first financial year in business.

Now with 27 items ranging from play gyms and scooters for toddlers to cotton sheets and cloth nappies, her business generated more than $250,000 last financial year.

Ms Billsborough said the build quality and price points for her products allows her to reach a broader customer base compared to other competitors.

“What I wanted to do was create a brand that was suited to families so it was a brand people could trust and it was important for me to have residual income while being on maternity leave because you go down to one wage and that can be challenging for all families in that situation,” Ms Billsborough said.

Little Archer & Co, a baby and toddler toys and accessories business in Golden Beach founded by Denise Billsborough. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“I wanted it so that people could still have those extra little nice items that are affordable for pretty much anyone out there.”

Ms Billsborough runs Little Archer & Co from home and sells her items through Amazon Australia, reaching more than 6000 customers nationally including in New Zealand last year.

She plans to expand her business through the e-commerce giant into Singapore, UAE and the UK by the middle of the year.

Ms Billsborough also aims to establish stockists across Australia by the end of the year while also getting her employment law consultancy firm off the ground in the months ahead.

“I prefer to work in the online space, I believe that’s the future of shopping, people can shop for whatever they want or need,” Ms Billsborough said.

An increasing number of small and medium sized Coast businesses particularly in e-commerce are targeting international markets for long-term growth since the pandemic.

Ray White Commercial Northern Corridor indicates about 25 per cent of leases in commercial development areas have been by e-commerce businesses.

Caloundra Chamber of Commerce chief executive Brady Sullivan said there was rising demand for new commercial and industrial land as more businesses sought to drive sales offshore.

“There’s generally a few different groups of e-commerce businesses that are showing activity or pre-activity leading to expansion and you also get a lot of people working in partnerships,” Mr Sullivan said.

Caloundra Chamber of Commerce chief executive Brady Sullivan

“Saddlery Trading Company are trying to move their business into their e-commerce platforms and My Teddy is another e-commerce business moving into Caloundra and they’re exclusively online and are a global business.

“Wander and Wild is an example of a company where they don’t need office space and are purely working out of their own home, scaling their business and growing a following online.”

The appetite for overseas expansion among businesses on the Sunshine Coast follows statewide and national trends according to new data.

Statistics by a national Amazon Australia survey of about 11,000 businesses found that New Zealand was the most sought after foreign market for Queensland small-medium businesses with more looking to target North America.

Head of Amazon Marketplace Australia Amit Mahto said increasing revenue growth was the key factor behind this trend.

“For Queensland, our research showed us the key motivators for global expansion were looking to increase revenue, followed by expanding their customer base and future proofing their businesses,” Mr Mahto said.

“Unsurprisingly, trans-Tasman business growth was at the top of the list and we have close to about two in five businesses already operating or planning to expand to New Zealand and this was followed by wanting to expand to UK, Singapore and Japan customers.”