Aussie dot-com grows from clicks to bricks and beyond

While the trend for retailers to shut their doors and open online outlets continues, business growth has prompted a leading Australian dot-com to reverse the trend and open its third retail outlet, with a fourth underway.

While the trend for retailers to shut their doors and open online outlets continues, business growth has prompted a leading Australian dot-com to reverse the trend and open its third retail outlet, with a fourth underway.

Bad Backs (badbacks.com.au) is Australia’s number one website for back pain relief resources and products.  From its humble beginnings in a suburban empty-nester’s bedroom seven years ago; the business has experienced massive growth, with an over 300% increase in 2005, and now growing steadily at 40% per annum.

As a frustrated chronic back pain sufferer, Felicity Wood identified a gap in the market for products and resources for back pain and seven years ago started badbacks.com.au, offering a combination of products and objective specialist information and research from multidisciplinary healthcare professionals.

Key to the business’ success is its establishment of an online community of users, who are drawn to the site, not only to access information, but to a popular discussion forum, where users can share their own personal experiences and information.

“It’s been a crazy seven years, but an awesome journey”, says Felicity, founder of Bad Backs.  “This business has evolved from my own frustrating experience with back pain, which left me with few places to go for information or solutions.  Bad Backs allows people to access up-to-date information, as well as sharing their experience, because when you are suffering from back and joint pain, you sometimes feel very much alone”, explains Felicity.

Following initial success in an online environment, Felicity developed a business partnership with Sydney-based Jonathan Hulme, and together opened their first showroom in Melbourne in 2004, followed by retail stores in Sydney and Perth (in 2005 and 2008).  The decision to expand the business into ‘bricks and mortar’ retail was driven largely by customers seeking opportunities to ‘try before they buy’.

“It was never part of our original business plan to open retail outlets, however customer service is a large part of our offering and through dialogue with our customers, we uncovered a growing need to ‘touch and feel’ the merchandise”, says Felicity. 

“More so than other online sellers, we believe the nature of our products creates a need for a more tactile experience.  In addition some of our older customers are less confident with online shopping and really value speaking face-to-face with our customer service staff,” explains Felicity.

“The three existing outlets are doing very well and we are looking at developing further retail outlets in other states in 2008 and launching popular product-specific websites”, says Felicity.

Bad Backs Timeline

• 2001 – Felicity Wood starts Bad Backs (www.badbacks.com.au)
• 2002 – Felicity moves into small office/warehouse, sourcing product from local suppliers
• 2003 – Adds ‘discussion forum’ to website and establishes affiliate partnerships to increase web traffic
• 2004
  • Launch of Bad Backs second, more enhanced website
  • New partner Jonathan Hulme comes onboard
  • Extensive expansion of range
  • Exclusive Australian contracts secured with multiple international suppliers
  • Commencement of wholesale arm of the business – Healthezone Pty Ltd 
  • Opening of first showroom in Port Melbourne, Melbourne
• 2005
  • Opened first retail store in Kensington, Sydney
  • Launch of wholesale website – www.healthezone.com.au
• 2005/6 – Bad Backs achieves phenomenal end-of-financial year sales growth of 300%
• 2006
  • Moved to larger Sydney retail store in Alexandria
  • Launch of US-based site, badbackstore.com
• 2007
  • Launch of Bad Backs third website
  • Additional new product innovation releases
• 2008
  • New retail store openings (in development)
  • Launch of new websites (in development)

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For further information please contact:

Rebecca Camilleri
PR Consultant to Bad Backs
Contact via email
Mobile: 0407 832 093