Having been a fan of My Wardrobe for a few years I am absolutely thrilled to have had the chance to interview Sarah Curran, the founder and CEO of MY Wardrobe.
It is a success story that started in 2006 and since then they never looked back. They doubled sales and site visitors in 2009 and have now developed a strong international following. They also won the ” Best Customer Experience at the Drapers 2010 E-Tail Awards”, which I must say from my own experience of their customer service is not surprising.
- Here is a little background to the company:
They launched 2006 and offer carefully edited ready to wear, shoes and accessories collections from some of the world’s leading and hard to find brands such as Mulberry, By Malene Birger, See by Chloe and Anya Hindmarch. New designers for Spring Summer 10 included Jasmine di Milo, Elizabeth & James, Maje and Designers Remix and the autumn season is ready to go live soon – so stay tuned!
The 27th January also saw the launch of the debut menswear site offering men the latest ready to wear, shoes and accessories from leading mid-range designer brands such as Paul Smith, McQ, Nudie, Acne and Lyle and Scott.
They also provide shoppers with an opportunity to see selected pieces from the collections shown on my-tv – a weekly style advice video with guest presenters from the fashion industry and leading brands.
Here are Sarah’s answers to my questions:
1. If My wardrobe would be your girl friend- how would you describe her and your relationship?
My-wardrobe.com is a 24/7 relationship, but is incredibly exciting and rewarding.
2. What is the first you do when starting work and what is the last thing you do when finishing your day?
I always check my emails, catching up on correspondence and checking the morning sales. Then I meet with my PA to go through the day’s meetings and messages. The day is usually spent in meetings with the team, press or brands, so I will usually finish the day the way I start it by responding to emails and going through the sales.
3. Where do you take you ideas and inspiration from what my wardobe should or shouldn’t be doing or should become or shouldn’t become? How do you keep up to stay in touch and in tune what is going on in the fashion world and also staying ahead competitors?Which magazines, newspapers, blogs do you follow closely?
I have always believed in what the my-wardrobe.com brand is and where it is positioned in the market. It’s extremely important to understand your brand and your customer to ensure that every thing that you do meets your customers’ needs. my-wardrobe.com is all about ‘accessible fashion’, bringing carefully-selected pieces from the latest collection from the accessible luxury fashion designers, so every thing that we do always has an ‘inclusive’ tone, making fashion attainable, as well as aspirational. Every thing from the high street, to blogs, to magazines, art galleries, to brands, and new technology inspires me. Every one is pushing the boundaries, especially with technology and it makes working in the online space incredibly inspiring and exciting.
I read all the weekend newspapers and supplements, glossy and weekly magazines. I also subscribe to many of the online publications and fashion industry blogs, which means that I can access all of the latest news from my Blackberry.
4. My wardrobe has grown so fast in terms of sales and staff. How do you manage that growth without losing control and the ‘founders’ flair . Which responsibilities do you feel you can’t delegate and have to handle personally?
It’s been a phenomenal four years for my-wardrobe.com. We have now seen a move from original base in Nottingham to a new premises with a much bigger warehouse and we are just about to move to a new London HQ. The team has grown from the original two, Andrew and I to 77 across the two offices. We are extremely lucky to have a strong executive management team who manage the departments. I’m very passionate about all areas of the business and I work closely with all of the teams to work on direction of the buying, PR and marketing activity, design, styling and my-tv – our weekly style videos.
5. You have achieved an incredible company culture. Speaking of my own experience as retail partner and customer- your staff are always efficient, helpful, professional but above all just friendly and nice. So, what is your secret when hiring staff? What are you looking at when hiring? What is the deciding factor to offer someone a job at my wardobe?
We are incredibly lucky to have such a strong, passionate team. Culture has always been very important to me and ensuring that every new candidate fits that culture is key. Obviously, experience is a given, but having the personality, drive and passion for the particular role is something that we look for.
6. What are you doing to keep the company culture going? How do you motivate your staff to ensure a happy work environment?
We have tried to create a dynamic and exciting working environment across both of our London and Nottingham offices. With competitive salaries, a good benefit scheme and regular appraisal programme, we ensure that every employee feels that they can build their career at my-wardrobe.com.
7. What do you love to do when not working ” on my wardrobe empire”? What is your hobby?
All of my spare time is spent with my son Jake. He is becoming a bit of a tech enthusiast and loves nothing more than playing with my iPod and iPad. We have just moved house, so I’m really enjoying working on the decoration of the house. Jake already has a good eye, so is helping me to choose paints and lamps.
8. Tell me something what not a lot people know about you?
I love to run. I try to run around five miles per day – it’s a great relaxant after a day in the office.
9. What is happening next for my wardrobe- next 3 months, next 6 months, next 12 months?
We have a very exciting future ahead for the business. We are focused on growing our womenswear and menswear business, with the introduction of new, sought-after brands and building the depth and range of our buy. Being an online retailer, innovation is key to improving the customer experience and making every visit to the website more than just a one off visit, it has to offer something that makes you want to come back time and time again. The launch of our my-tv was an important mile stone for e-tail as we were the first online retailer to launch click-to-buy TV and we are always looking at new ways to innovate.
10. What are your favourite pieces of your current collection? And which items are most popular with your customers?
My must-have pieces from the pre-Autumn Winter 10 collections would have to be the black Mulberry Alexa, the Current Elliot Captain cargo, a D&G black blazer and a Sportmax chunky necklace. The Mulberry Alexa was an instant sell-out success and we now have huge waiting lists for the new collection. We also saw an unprecedented demand for the J Brand Houlihan cargo trouser, which sold out within an hour and prompted a significant re-order.
These are my favourite pieces from my wardrobe:
Michaela
