All millennials can relate; the trouble you put up with trying to walk through a 12-hour job shift on your best heels, or the burden of having to carry spare shoes so that you save you dear feet? Well, you may as well be saying goodbye to these problems, thanks to Janan Leo, a young UK-based entrepreneur who has come up with something that may work for you.
“I was thinking…what if we had a foldable pair of shoes that can work for women like myself? Trendy shoes, so you don’t feel frumpy on them, but also feel comfortable,” said Leo.
The upcoming entrepreneur was targeting the young professional market knowing that her foldable shoes will go well with today’s lifestyle. And thanks to her calculated risk, Leo and her team at Cocorose London celebrated its 11th birthday this year. She takes us through the journey, acknowledging that it was both rewarding and challenging.
The Power of Knowledge
Leo explains that her idea meant “creating a new product from concept all the way through to launch” which was the first challenge she faced. And being the risk taker she is, seems like she had it all planned. “I didn’t feel there was that barrier in terms of how do I start, how do I do this, etc.,” she said.
So Leo enrolled for a shoe design course at the London College of Fashion to complement her passion for shoes. Ideally, she was looking for the basic knowledge on the art of footwear construction.
Strategic Marketing
The internet is Cocorose London’s central selling platform, and while it has partnered with several boutiques, it has no physical store— it strictly assumes a new-age business model.
It is no surprise Leo introduced her business to the Amazon platform in its early years.
“The undeniable fact is, if you operate an online business, Amazon and Google remain the best places to place your products,” said Leo.
“Who doesn’t want to have their brand in front of where prospects are?”
To ease the work further, Cocorose makes use of Amazon’s Fulfillment service (FBA), which relieves the company the pressure of the complicated logistics. The company stocks its shoes at an Amazon warehouse and leaves all the fulfillment job for Amazon.
And because Cocorose designs shoes in 8 different sizes, handling inventory may be a challenge.
The future of Cocorose
Leo plans to focus more on e-commerce in the coming 12 months, while also expanding the wholesale market of the business.
“We stock with lovely boutiques and shops worldwide. They are very loyal to us, and we want to keep working and growing with them,” said Leo.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about brand awareness – the more we are known, the better. We design really amazing and comfortable shoe. Why wear heels that you can’t get stuff done in when there is a better pair?”
Author Bio: Payment industry expert Taylor Cole is a passionate merchant account expert who understands the complicated world of accepting credit and debit cards at your business. His understanding of the industry has helped thousands of business owners get the cheapest merchant services uk.
