With an eye for fashion, and love for distinctive artistry, Elsabe Lemmer, a 29 year old South African entrepreneur, aims to showcase the style, quality, and authenticity of local designer brands with the launch of Wearels.co.za.
We speak to her about her business and journey.
Please tell us a little about your background? Following a fashion design and photographer course in Stellenbosch, I was lucky to get work experience at one of South Africa’s biggest fashion media titles, a clothing designer, and was an accessories buyer - opening the doors to make connections in the fashion industry and to find inspiration from working side-by-side with South African creatives. From the exposure I received, I recognized the talent entrepreneurs in South Africa hold, and the value in supporting this up-and-coming industry.
When and how did you come up with the idea of Wearels.co.za https://wearels.co.za/? I came up with the idea about three years ago, when there weren’t any other online shops focusing on local lifestyle products. While working in the media, I realised that artisans and their skills are vital for our economy and will always be needed. Innovators are constantly coming out with a better solution to creating a product, and this challenges the more advanced manufacturing companies. I felt that South Africa needed to focus more on the training of artisans otherwise we cannot grow the economy like we want to. I also have an undeniable appreciation for rare and beautiful craftsmanship, and a passion for design, which ultimately led me to go out on my own to create a platform for South African artisans to showcase their work, but also be very selective when it comes to style, quality and uniqueness.
Tell us about the designers you stock and how you go about selecting them? I’m very selective on the products I stock, because we want to offer exclusive products not readily available online. If we decide to stock a brand that is better known, it will be selected because of the brand’s style and quality we believe in.
How can one go about creating an online store? There are so many ways these days, but I would recommend using a platform with templates if you have a small business and just want to test online shopping.
A number of consumers are still sceptical about shopping online, what would your advice to them be?
I completely understand that most people are still unsure about online shopping. I would recommend you check the payment method that’s being used, eg Payfast, Paypal and also check out the seller’s contact details to ensure it is legitimate.
How do you track the success of Wearels?
At the moment we go on how many orders we receive and who orders from what part of the country/world. It’s still the beginning, so we are still seeing what works and for who.
Can you talk about some of the challenges during the early phases of your business? Every day I face different challenges. Starting a business on your own with not much experience in business is challenging as a whole, such as diversifying your customer base, and learning to manage your money, but if you’ve set your mind to it, you will find ways to deal with your challenges. There are new and more hurdles since I have launched, but it’s exciting and we have great ideas for the future.
How did you get customers into your shop early on? At the beginning it was just through social media and word of mouth.
Who are your customers? Mainly women aged 28 – 45, who either want to spoil themselves or someone special. We also put more focus on men and kids this year.
Any advice for would be online entrepreneurs out there? Believe in your concept; ensure that the four elements of finance, customer service, quality product and admin are strong. Always work hard and always improve your quality and service. Your customer is always right, and must always be happy with your quality, price and service, and customer satisfaction is more important than profit.
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