Global demand online is booming

ENTREPRENEURS say the retail sector is still alive and kicking, and their web businesses prove small players can "succeed in the game".

jodie fox

JODIE Fox and Lucie Trinco say they are living proof the retail sector is still alive and kicking, despite doomsayers' predictions.

Ms Fox and Ms Trinco say their separate web businesses are an example of how small players can "succeed in the game".

"It shouldn't matter where a company is based," Ms Fox said yesterday. "It's about realising that your market can potentially be someone on the other side of the world."

Ms Fox is the co-founder of online shoe design website, Shoes of Prey, a company that allows customers to design every aspect of their shoe.

"They create everything from scratch so when women come to our website they can choose every aspect of the shoe from the toe size to the heel," she said.

To the surprise of Ms Fox and her business partners, the company is now more successful overseas than in Australia.

"We are even up for the Oracle World Retail Award in Berlin, which really says a lot about how much our business has grown," she said.

Ms Trinco has also seen her online business expand. Her company, Il Tutto, designs luxury baby bags for style-conscious mums.

"We originally began in Australia, but we're now exporting to many countries around the world," Ms Trinco said.

"We also wholesale to 150 multinational stores, including Harrods in the UK."

Both women, connected by Sydney's Small Business Month, said it was crucial for small businesses to have the right internet model.