Kakadu Tiny Tots owner Kylie Lee Bradford, a proud Murrumburr woman, says the company is 5 years young and is still classified as a startup specializing in Aboriginal clothing, accessories and artwork.
In a conversation with NITV Radio, she recalled that her business was sailing smoothly at the beginning of 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic hit causing the Northern Territory to implement some of Australia’s most stringent biosecurity restrictions.
“Suddenly 80% of our business was gone when airports closed. Airports used to stock our products but suddenly all came to a standstill.”
Faced with a major health crisis together with her team, Kylie-Lee Bradford reacted quickly, rebranded and expanded Kakadu Tiny Tots’ product range.
“It was very challenging. We went back to the drawing board, looked at our market segment, interviewed 150 of our existing online customers to learn more about their needs; what the value of our brand delivered to them.”
She credits their success overcoming the pandemic to a quick reaction and the support from other Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners including PwC.
Kakadu Tiny Tots is one of two winners of 2019 Indigenous Business Month Awards including skills development and expertise package.
A PwC brand specialist was brought onboard to help identify Kakadu Tiny Tots’ brand DNA and target market. Through this support the company has undergone a major strategic shift from focusing on baby clothing to native wellness gifts and food products.
“It appeared that we’d outgrown our initial target audience, our clients are actually more eco-conscious mums, women from around Australia that were more concerned about supporting communities and conscious about the environmental as well as social impact," Kylie-Lee Bradford says.
She believes that to be able to stay in business it is important to reach out to one’s networks, have a look at the people in one’s space and reach out for help.
Kylie-Lee Bradford still mentors other businesses especially Indigenous business women. “People do it alone but there is a lot of people out there that give advice. In business it is great to be able to lean on someone; grow and work on community.”
