Are you looking for a high-end luxury dog crate? You’ve come to the right place. The Louis Vuitton Marchien retails for $36,500. But Couture USA in Tampa’s Westchase neighborhood has it in stock at a more affordable price of $24,500.
Catherine Ansel is a French-born businesswoman. The fashion mavens behind Couture USA. She founded her store as a luxury goods reseller in 2004, inspired by her first purchase of a Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene Petit Bucket bag.
In some ways, the high-end retail landscape in Tampa is much the same as it was 20 years ago. “There’s no Hermes store in Tampa, there’s no Cartier store in Tampa, there’s no Van Cleef store. All of that. It’s special,” Ansel says.
Her store is an opportunity for people in certain markets to have access to products that aren’t easily available. Sure, you can buy it online, and couture actually accounts for 35% of its sales through e-commerce, but if you’re going to spend five figures, you want to try it on and see how it looks. Don’t you think about your appearance?
In other respects, the circumstances could not be more different. In 2004, the Tampa metropolitan area had a population of approximately 2.2 million people. It has been increasing year by year, and its area now exceeds 3 million people. Ansel’s goal is to continue expanding the $5 million boutique along that area, as 70 percent of repeat customers are local.
Her strategy is a combination of old and new techniques, combining personal values, organizational knowledge and futuristic technology.
“In France and Paris, we have very small closets, but the classic things that we treasure and those items are usually very expensive,” Ansel recalls. ”
maintain control
Her upbringing serves as a guide to her style and taste, but ultimately it is consumer taste that drives the market. “In Florida, anything sells quickly because I think they like this kind of fashion better and they know what to buy. We buy what and at what price to get the most profit.” “I know what’s going on,” says Ansell.
Plus, being privately owned means Ansell can go through the inventory with a proverbial fine-toothed comb. “We choose what we think will sell, and we have more control over margins and sales trial strategies,” she says.
Katherine Hensel poses with a Chanel bag at the Couture USA store in Tampa.
This is in contrast to some competitors, particularly publicly traded retailers, who can grow too quickly at shareholder expense and make costly mistakes. In fact, The RealReal, an online luxury goods marketplace founded in 2011, has undergone several sudden leadership changes in recent years, as reported by Retail Dive. According to Forbes, the company became profitable for the first time this year after going public in 2019.
In terms of technology, Couture (defined as made-to-measure, custom-fit clothing, which can tend to be expensive) has introduced an AI-powered product validation software called Entrupy. A scanning device that resembles an ultrasound transducer (the official name for a wand) is synced with an app on the user’s phone. Images of different parts of the product are taken and uploaded to Entrupy’s database, which reveals whether the product is authentic or not.
“I think AI and technology is great, but it can’t replace experience. It’s really great to have this as a third-party add-on,” Ansell said, adding that the software is great for both buyers and sellers. , points out that it acts as an additional barrier of trust and not as a substitute for decades of expertise.
human resources business
While Ansel has built a strong foundation for the business, one of her challenges is managing the dozen or so staff currently staffed at the shop. “You have to provide great customer service. It’s not hard. It’s free. You have to smile, you have to be excited to care about your customers, and you have to have the exact same people.” We have to,” Ansell said, adding that it makes sense. If you’re going to follow your ideas, you have to throw them away. ”
Other challenges and obstacles, such as regular market changes, a global pandemic, and several recent storms, do not deter Ansell. She took the necessary precautions to secure her most expensive items, including some iconic Birkin bags, by transporting her items to higher ground during the hurricane. Thankfully, the store was not damaged and was able to return to normal sales activities. 5,000 products per year.
“We want to grow, but it’s local. All over online, of course, but especially in Tampa,” Ansell says. “There’s still a lot of business to be won. As the years go by, the brands and prices get higher and higher.”
