Kigurumis are Japanese onesies; they're unlike any pyjamas you've worn before. Doubling as comfy costumes, kigurumis can be found on couch potatoes and party animals alike.
Kigurumi.ca was started on Shopify right off the bat; we were simply a couple of people who had found a product we loved and wanted to start a website to see if others loved it too. Getting set up on Shopify took about a day, so we were live the same week.
Late nights and sheer enthusiasm have made the company a full-time gig and the onesies now permeate every part of our life - we even had a kigurumi photobooth at our wedding last year. We've had to move into a bigger space to accommodate the growing business (so long, guest bedroom!) and we now have a little "showroom" where people can stop by to try on some rad animal onesies.
"I absolutely love my job and I owe so much of our success to Shopify. Thanks to this platform I can focus on my customers and growing the business. " —Maria Pham-Beaupré, Founder
What are the key factors that have helped your store be successful?
I started with absolutely zero knowledge in business and no experience in retail. Everything I've learned since then has been through a combination of instinct, research, and trial-and-error. The only market research we had to go on was a quick search on Google Trends and the fact that all of our friends wanted kigurumis the instant they learned what they were.
A key factor in our success has been our willingness to find any excuse to wear them out; music festivals, dance parties, ski hills, you name it - people can't want your product until they've discovered it.
We provide memorable customer service; people love that they can text us with easy questions and get a quick response. And we back and believe in our products 100% so we always accept returns and exchanges (though we haven't had many!).
Snake and Killer Bear Onsies.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
Don't wait to launch! Your website doesn't need to be perfect before the world can see it; our first sales happened when the site had barely been customized or promoted. Once you've got your products up and configured properly just go for it; I'm a perfectionist but I'm glad we launched even when the website was only looking "decent".
You also don't have to spend a lot of money starting up your website; we started with a free theme and stuck with it for 18 months before re-launching with a new design. Leverage your connections - all of our photography has been taken by talented friends who were willing to work for onesies. And all of our models are just our friends who were willing to do the same.
Any Closing Remarks?
I absolutely love my job and I owe so much of our success to Shopify. Thanks to this platform I can focus on my customers and growing the business, and not have to worry about servers and shopping carts and technical difficulties. We started something from absolutely nothing, and we love hearing stories about other Shopify-ers doing the same.