Inspiration comes at the most unexpected moments. As Karen Newton was playing with her grandchildren at the beach, she watched them running about in their lovely little cover-all swimsuits and thought, “I want one of those.”
It was eight years ago. If you were not into the high cut fashion look, you were out of luck.
“There was a real gap in the market for women aged 50-plus who want something to swim in that’s smart; something that gives us confidence to be out there as well as providing protection from the sun.”
She say that we’re so good with our children, making them cover up to avoid the burn, but we have forgotten about ourselves.
Calling on her market research background, Karen set up focus groups with women like herself to find out what they wanted and couldn’t find.
“We pretty much came up with a design based on the unmet need.”
Although she offers options, Covertogs come mostly in two-pieces “because they’re easier to put on and they fit more easily than a one-piece swimsuit”. Most also have a sleeve that covers the shoulder area that tends to burn easily, and legs that are either short or below the knee.
Karen is committed to design and manufacture in New Zealand, but sourcing fabrics proved difficult.
“I would prefer to use natural fabrics but nothing acts quite like nylon and Lycra. Unfortunately, we don’t make any here so we source recycled nylon from an Italian company that recovers and re-uses old fishing nets from the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea.”
It was critical to find a good pattern-maker and sewers, but sadly New Zealand doesn’t have many of these suppliers left because most Kiwi clothing brands choose to manufacture overseas. “It feels good supporting local Auckland suppliers for manufacturing services even though it adds cost to the final product.”
Another challenge was getting cut-through in the media. Tuning to her gut instinct, she steered clear of fashion magazines.
“We’ve tended to advertise offline in atypical publications. I don’t think of Covertogs as being in the fashion market. It’s much more in the activewear, lifestyle and swimwear market. Our target market is women who are out there doing it – very active people. I basically advertise in magazines that I read such as the Listener, and NZ Today. Because I am the target market.”
Trying on swimwear in store is not something women necessarily enjoy. Being able to sell online has worked amazingly well, she says. People purchase online and Covertogs has a really good returns policy. Surprisingly, says Karen, they have very few exchanges.
One of the best aspects of the business is that it ties in with Karen’s lifestyle really well. She can do all the administrative work from anywhere. She even gets to sail in the Mediterranean for three months of the year.
For this small startup with growth funded by cashflow, the response has been amazing. Page after page of website feedback pours in from women who have gained their freedom: “I hadn’t swum for years. Now I have something more comfortable, you can’t get me out of the water.”
“We won’t end up as millionaires,” says Karen, “but I feel as if we have done something really useful for women.”
