A new website, targeting New Zealand women, is set for launch in the beginning of September. Flossie.com, a masthead network of 17 sites — including nzgirl.co.nz; thewire.co.nz and findsomeone.co.nz — is based on successful overseas models, such as glam.com.
The venture, backed by angel investors Movac and businessman Lloyd Morrison, aims within 12 months to become the single biggest media channel to reach women in New Zealand, says Flossie Media Group chief executive Jenene Freer.
The idea behind the site is to “connect women with the content they are looking for”, says Freer, who founded nzgirl.co.nz. The website combines niche sites dedicated to, for example, fashion, beauty, design, food, sports and relationships, but by having its own content, it is more than a portal, she says.
She plans to launch the site in Australia and Singapore in 2009.
The website is developed in-house by a team of four developers, says Freer.
Movac (one of the early investors in Trade Me), Morrisson and Freer have injected a total of $1.25 million into the venture.
Phil McCaw, one of Movac’s founders, says advertising has become a core business model. “It wasn’t ten years ago,” he says.
Movac saw the value in the Asia-Pacific growth potential of the site, as well as the strong target audience, as women represent 85% of household purchasing decisions, says McCaw.
The local advertising market is dominated by a few large players, with a small, fragmented market underneath, he says. The advantage of Flossie.com is that it pulls together niche players to make them accessible to advertisers, says McCaw.