Talking about the business of fashion, founder of the bespoke e-commerce website, Allure reveals the inspiration behind her unique concept of personalized shopping in the region. Meeting Maria and consultant Miguel at her chic and elegant boutique, it’s clear the stylish pair is a creative force to be reckoned with. Both are quintessential multitaskers and remarkably frank when it comes to talking about trends, designs, and shopping philosophies.
Tell us more about Allure.
Basically, it is a personalized online shopping store currently for women only. To be a member at Allure, users need to register and fill out a comprehensive form. I want to thrive in this business to be as exclusive and personal as possible, so I am completely involved with the services and operations of the website. I’m currently focusing on the Macau market only and will eventually expand further with menswear, home and much more exciting services related to beauty and fashion. I will also be expanding Allure’s own brand name with exclusive products in the next year or two.
How did you get the inspiration for this platform?
I’ve been a frequent online shopper for more than ten years now since I joined the gaming industry. While forming a career at that time and slowly becoming a successful businesswoman, a significant change to my wardrobe was a need but that was also intertwined with my workload and attendance of business events. I didn’t have time to shop around due to time constraints, so shopping online was the best and only choice for a picky shopper like me. I eventually started thinking what if there was a more personalized way of shopping, someone advising me what I needed or someone to decipher all my demands, wouldn’t it be such a huge relief and time-saving? What if I could create something even better? As a working woman who would use the little free time I had looking for products online, I decided to create something different for all the busy women like me. When it finally evolved into the business stage, I thought I had to involve someone significant that had great knowledge and know-how in the field of fashion. Miguel was the first person that came to my mind. He studied fashion development in London for seven years and worked for various brands and companies in HK, UK and the US related to the fashion industry and image consultancy here in Macau. I invited him to the project as a consultant to the company throughout the set-up process and without his input, I might not have been able to put all this together alone. He is currently dedicating most of his time on his own fashion line and we will be cooperating again soon at a later stage.
What do you sell and what services do you offer?
Allure has women’s wear based on six styles—chic, glam rock, sexy, minimal, flamboyant and avant-garde. We also sell accessories, jewelry, and bags. Our suppliers are based in Europe where we source a wide range of international fashion brands and collections. We have all kinds of brands from high street to high end and from famous to emerging names. Because this is a personalized service, we get to know our customers and their needs or demands. Our customers get in touch with us directly, to discuss styles, sizes or even to find specific products that they need for special events or occasions. We also provide seamstress services for products that are purchased at our store that need slight changes.
How does it work?
The guest or customer registers their basic details, and to prevent any identity theft or hackers, they do not need to provide any credit card information nor is it possible to store this information on our website. They are then directed to a page with six styles to choose from, they can choose three of their favorite styles and these will be used as style preferences and references on the overall products that we choose for our website. The acquisition of this first layer of information is to help us understand them a bit more with certain questions that predict their top favorite colors, design, style, trend and more. Our clients communicate with us and we offer to take their measurements to create their profile. They eventually start to see style suggestions that are fit for them with the assurance that these styles and sizes are most appropriate for them.
Who manages and runs the business at the moment?
Maria: I’m managing the business and am involved in the entire operation, including every detail from product selecting to handling or processing orders and customer care. Allure has two teams, one that gives me support on web maintenance and the other that works with me on basic operation logistics.
Are there different kinds of memberships? And what are you offering right now?
Any lady over 18 years old can join us, signing up on our website is free. We will have extended personalized services in the future that relate to in-depth styling, makeup services and much more, these services will then be charged if acquired. Users can also recommend their friends with a referral for their friends to be approved instantly. At the moment, I prefer a slower growth and rely on word of mouth from our clientele. It’s important for our customers to have a reliable store they can trust and it’s also important for us that we can trust who we will be servicing.
What are the current fashion trends? Are we seeing them in the streets? What is Macau’s fashion scene?
For the last decade, the topic of fashion trends is subjective. We have a larger Chinese community in Macau while we also have a small community of Portuguese and other nationalities that have different views and preferences when it comes to trends. There’s not a special or specific trend to follow. Many Chinese locals follow Korean trends, previously Japanese trends as well. Some of the smaller communities follow the Western trends through Hollywood celebrities. Fashion brand names used to be only found in few shopping outlets and boutiques here in Macau. Back in the days, people used to go to Hong Kong for shopping if they were looking for international fashion brands or even clothing from HK designers. There wasn’t a local designer to follow either and access to fashion was very limited. A lot changed when the casinos started booming, they brought in a whole new exposure of brand names throughout their shopping malls and shopping options expanded dramatically at the same time. Nowadays a lot of people from mainland China come to Macau to shop for the diverse range of high-end brands as well that have been marking their presence in this city for the last decade.
Miguel: Macau is unique and diverse. It’s difficult to pinpoint a trend here because the diversity of cultures brings a diversity of trends. The younger generation that follows trends tends to be from social media relating to Korea so the most important thing to understand is what you’re comfortable to wear, what you like. Whatever trend you follow is a personal choice and I think Macau has built that understanding after all these years.
Maria: We personally think that everyone can buy fashion, but style can’t be bought. What suits someone may not necessarily suit another. It’s unique to have your own style and there are no trends for style.
In your daily work, where does your inspiration come from?
We are always updated with the latest fashion shows everywhere else in the world. We are interested in so many views and believe social media has played a key role in the evolution of the fashion scene. The dedicated team reads a lot of blogs, visits a lot of fashion sites and magazines but don’t follow anyone or any site in particular.
Is it hard to run a business in Macau?
It’s definitely hard to run a business, in Macau or anywhere else, but Macau has a lot of opportunities. A lot of people take the easy way out and forget about their dreams. This was my dream when I was 19 years old. I never accomplished it and it took me a long time to be able to do something I’ve always wanted. Young people have an edge because they can afford to make mistakes and start all over again. My advice is that there is no time limit for anyone who aspires to do something meaningful with his or her life. It’s never too late.
How important is customer service?
It’s the most important and the main focus at Allure because I know that our clients are the essentials for the business to work well. This concept originated with me standing with the perspective of a client. What would make me happier about my purchase? What unpleasant experience do I dread? Who can I talk to if something goes wrong with my order? Do I have a door-to-door service? Can I return or refund? We have all of that. At Allure, customers can call us or speak to us to solve their worries and I have also added practical functions on the website to address some of these worries. As we all know, returns and refunds do happen at times. To minimize the waiting time on credit card refunds, I incorporated a store credit function so that refunds can be done on the exact same day. Customers can withdraw this amount immediately or they can choose to use it on their next purchase. At the end of each purchase, it’s always the customer that gets to decide how exclusive she wants to be. We usually only sell one of each item depending on the customer’s choice, so, it’s the customer that decides if she wants this item to be exclusive or not. I think this is very personal.
What do you want Macau Lifestyle readers to know about Allure?
I am local and created the first unique personalized online store in Macau.
I built this platform to provide the most exceptional service when it comes to shopping and fashion. We spend hours and hours daily choosing products with style and quality, at the best prices we can offer, and these are the values that I want our members and “our members to be” to know, and, to understand that it’s our job to make them satisfied with their shopping experiences at Allure.
Allure +853 66177711, www.facebook.com/alluremacau, @alluremacau
