Launching an e-commerce platform allowed Maison Clad, a women’s apparel concept store with three branches in the UAE, to flourish during the coronavirus pandemic, despite its business model’s reliance on the in-store experience, according to its owner Coralie Francois.
“I thought the concept of Maison Clad would not translate well online because it’s all about me and my sales ladies advising our customers on how to style the clothes, what to match them with and so on. It is a very personal experience,” said Francois.
She was therefore pleasantly surprised when the business grew because of the digital retail platform she had launched in April as a response to the lockdown measures.
Through e-commerce, Maison Clad was able to target a global market, delivering worldwide within two days. “We’ve been shipping to Lebanon, KSA, Kuwait etc. so this is really a huge victory for us,” said Francois. “We are excited to see people from abroad ordering from the website,” she added.
Francois said traffic on the website is from existing customers who were stuck indoors during lockdown or unable to visit Dubai as they normally do. They also had new customers who came across the platform through word of mouth.
“We had a lady from Kuwait who used to shop from our branch in Vida Hotel when she used to come for a holiday and she started shopping online when she discovered our website. She also spread the word among her friends so we received more orders and created new customers,” she added.
To be competitive with the many retail platforms out there, Francois focused on the personalised feel which makes Maison Clad unique and sent her online customers WhatsApp suggestions on how to style the pieces they purchased.
She also introduced a service where clients selected items they liked from the website and she would deliver them to their homes along with additional items based on their taste.
Activity on the website has not decreased now that the lockdown measures have eased and people can physically shop in Maison Clad stores again.
“The Maison Clad addicts are still coming to the store even though it is the pandemic but all the new customers that we caught online are still very happy to order online,” said Francois.
For her online customers, Francois continues to send WhatsApp photos of the newest in-store items to keep them engaged.
Another way Francois has adapted her business to the pandemic is the introduction of Maison Clad Lingerie and Home Wear, a fourth store that will open in November next to her original store in The Courtyard. “A lot of companies switched to working at home because of the pandemic. So a lot of my clients from before who used to buy office-wear now ask for comfortable clothes they can hang out in their homes in,” said Francois.
In addition to sleep and home wear, Maison Clad Lingerie will include lingerie items. “I used to recommend lingerie items that would work best with the outfits to my clients all the time. So I thought why not carry these items myself?”
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