Family owned and operated business Cadenshae is expanding to the UK and US markets as strong demand for its niche activewear drives sales growth.
The Kiwi company sells stylish activewear specifically designed for nursing mothers and mothers-to-be. From breastfeeding sports bras, tank tops and t-shirts to hoodies and maternity leggings, all merchandise is made from high quality materials and designed to last a long time.
Founder and owner Nikki Clarke says the business is currently celebrating its fourth birthday and is now ready to take on the larger US and UK markets. “Cadenshae has a stronghold in our home market , but most of our sales come from Australia, and Canada is climbing the ranks as well. Now is the time to launch into the US and UK as we have solid logistical systems in place, a wide range of product and a larger team that can handle the influx of customers from overseas.”
Clarke says she’s extremely proud of how far the business has come in only four years, but was always confident her ideas would be well received. “After giving birth to my first daughter, I realized there was nothing for me to wear to the gym and to feed my baby in! Surely I wasn’t the only new mum with this problem? So after a bit of research, I realized there was a major shortfall for this type of clothing, and soon after Cadenshae was born.”
The e-commerce company turned over $4 million in 2018, up from the $300,000 turnover in their first year.
Co-founder and Nikki’s husband, Adam Clarke, says the couple want to “up the ante” in 2019. “Every year revenue has doubled. This year we want to turn over eight million and we think with the new focus on international markets, this is a very real possibility.
Adam Clarke says Cadenshae now has 12 full-time staff and more roles are to be advertised. “At the rate we’re expanding we will need to employ more people soon, and in the near future it would be great to have physical locations in all of our major markets.”
For now though, Cadenshae will be represented at the United States Lactation Association Conference in Arizona in May, and strategic advertising campaigns have been set up to target British mums in the coming months.
