Emerging Fashion Designers Increasingly Rely on the Internet to Gain Market Exposure and Drive Sales

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ -- New York, NY, October 12, 2004 - Now that e-commerce is becoming more accessible to small businesses, emerging fashion designers increasingly rely on the Internet to drive sales and boost market exposure.

Once seen as an expensive venture, new merchant and shopping cart solutions from sources such as PayPal and Yahoo! have made it much easier for independents to establish small online boutiques to sell designs direct to the public. It used to be that designers depended on time-consuming retail and wholesale shows, which often come with a hefty price tag, or local boutiques to sell their merchandise.

“I can't express enough the importance of having a web presence,” says handbag designer and creator of Katydid Collection, Katy Messersmith. “Roughly 50% of my sales are generated through my site and I am able to reach a much greater audience. In addition to retail sales, boutiques have even begun placing wholesale orders online because traveling to shows has become so expensive.”

Now that setting up an e-boutique is an affordable reality, marketing and creating awareness becomes the next hurdle. “There are so many marketing opportunities on the web these days for up-and-coming designers and several sites geared towards them that it has truly made my company blossom,” Messersmith says.

One such site that continues to support emerging designers online is StyleBakery.com, an online magazine featuring style solutions and shopping selections harvested from the Web. Their special feature Designers on the Rise lists over 100 of the top emerging designers and independent boutiques online, offering the public the opportunity to shop directly from the artists, often at discounted prices.

“StyleBakery.com has always been a great supporter of up-and-coming designers and online boutiques,” says TV style expert and StyleBakery.com cofounder, Alison Deyette. “In addition to our bi-annual Designers on the Rise issue, we regularly include merchandise from independent sites in our features alongside more established mass-market sites, thereby giving them equal editorial importance.”

Such editorial mentions are another reason an online presence is essential to emerging designers. “Press and editors are always scouring the Web looking for new products, so I've actually gotten placement in major publications simply by being online,” says Messersmith.

Designers on the Rise can be viewed on StyleBakery.com beginning October 1, 2004. Please visit stylebakery.com for more information.

Launched in May 2003 by Jennifer Davidson, Beth Herbst and Alison Deyette, a team that has covered fashion and lifestyle trends for television for over a decade, StyleBakery.com serves up bi-weekly style advice and online shopping picks to women across the country. A valuable timesaving resource, StyleBakery.com combs the Internet to find the most wearable and affordable fashions, accessories and gift ideas available online while translating the latest trends with an accessible and easy-to-navigate approach. StyleBakery.com editors are regularly featured on such TV shows as NBC Today, Ellen, ABC The View, TBS Movie & A Makeover and Oprah. For further information, visit http://www.stylebakery.com.

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