Developing an Online Store for the Niche Market

This chapter explores the possibilities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find their way to success in e-business. The basic assumption of this chapter is that the Internet allows SMEs to access the niche markets which have not previously been accessible to them. We are presenting a case study of one Croatian online store developed as a portal which targets the niche market and our focus is on the following issues: subcultures as niche markets, criteria for selecting suppliers, developing a new brand, designing an online store as a portal in order to attract visitors, and opportunities for growth. The authors hope that presenting this particular case will help small companies to take into account niche markets when designing their online stores, but also it will help researchers to further explore niche markets as a possible business strategy for SMEs while entering the e-commerce arena. IntroductIon The development of the Internet and e-commerce as interrelated phenomena has given small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a new opportunity to present themselves to the global market, both to businessto-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets. However, it is not realistic to expect SMEs to be able to compete on the mainstream markets with major players like Fortune 500 companies. Therefore, most SMEs found their way to success in e-business by entering niche markets (Barnes, Hinton, & Mieczkowska, 2004). Firms that pursue niche market strategy are able to make extra profit (Porter, 1998). Those firms focus on the smaller part of the market which is growing fast and which is not yet captured by other firms. The Internet allows SMEs to access the niche markets which have not previously been accessible to them. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-064-6.ch006