Case study:We built the business from the ground up and it feels great to be in control of our destiny. iiNet’s been part of that journey every step of the way.
Joshua Singer
The New Pistol Clothing
"iiNet’s customer service is very good. I think it’s the best thing about iiNet. What I found is that the internet never drops out, never lets the business down, and the great thing is that I have the iiNet Business customer service to help me when I need it. It makes running our business so simple."
The New Pistol Clothing is a fast growing clothing design company offering digital design for the corporate and consumer market.
Over the last six years, the company has created and sold thousands of one-off designs for customers wanting individually-designed garments and T-shirts. Using the latest in on demand digital t-shirt print technology (operating a Kornit digital garment printer) has allowed the company to grow and meet customers expectations.
"To make our mark, we had to find a niche in the market that no one else had thought of…"
Originally bound together by their web development skills, the three young entrepreneurs were able to use their creative talent and carve a place in the fast moving digital printing market. The New Pistol Clothing is a great example of what it takes to sustain the success of a start up.
Start ups are often noted for their courage and entrepreneurial vision when it comes to taking a small idea and developing this into a sustainable business. The New Pistol Clothing is no exception. As one of the three founders of the original Pistol Clothing business, Joshua Singer, who now looks after the sales and marketing for New Pistol Clothing, tells the story of their early beginnings six years ago when the market for digital printing was still in its infancy.
“Our background was web design. Given our collective web development skill we kind of knew our way around the web.
“Six years ago, web development skills were starting to flood the marketplace. We knew we needed to shift our focus and that digital design was the way to go. To make our mark, we had to find a niche in the market that no one else had thought of,” said Joshua.
At the time, one off custom t-shirts and merchandising were not easily available as the offset printing process was cumbersome, expensive, and needed a minimum order of 100 or more to make the cost viable, for both the printer and the customer.
Seizing an opportunity, Joshua and his partners focused their efforts to build a fledgling business based on a new digitally-based printing model.
“The digital software we designed, meant we could customise and print any design that a customer wanted. It was this flexibility and the relative low cost of entry for customers purchasing from us, that allowed our business to grow from strength to strength in the early phase,” said Joshua.
“The exciting aspect for us is that no one at the time in Australia had launched a business based solely on custom digital printing in the garment business. We may have been green behind the ears in the early days, however since we knew we had the development skills to build the software needed for customised digital printing, we were able to establish momentum quickly” Joshua said.
From a start up six years ago, today The New Pistol Clothing has grown into a successful business with long term contracts sown up for some of Australia’s best known consumer lifestyle and corporate brands. City of Sydney, Sony, and Boost Juice are just some of the many brands The New Pistol Clothing now works with in Australia.
Despite the impressive volume of corporate orders, single custom designs are very welcome says Joshua. “We’ve stayed true to the origins of the business, and alongside our corporate orders, we also service a thriving online business for individualised customised garments,” said Joshua proudly.
"What we learnt during the process of growing the business, is that having the right partner for all our business communication needs and web access is critical, especially so in the early phase when we were building the business. In the last six years, we have always relied on iiNet to keep us connected to our customers. They've never let us down," said Joshua.
"Another cost saver is iiNet's Business VOIP services. This means we can use the internet for all our calls and greatly reduces the cost of our international calls. We have numerous suppliers in Israel, China, and Hong Kong, and staying connected with them via VOIP makes this very manageable.
"iiNet have also provided us with a 1300 number which is great for our online website. It gives the customer a level of comfort knowing that they’re dealing with a professional supplier. It makes our customers more inclined to call and that’s great for business!
"As the business has grown, we’ve moved offices three times. There’s so much involved in each move, but all I do is call iiNet and they help us set it up. They know more about our business in that regard than we do. They guide us every step of the way. As a business person this is peace of mind – because we’re busy running the business," said Joshua.