By launching his high jewelery brand ex nihilo, selling directly without worrying about distributors and choosing the DNVB model, the gamble was risky. But thanks to his experience in the retail merchandising of Saint Laurent, Sophia Lepourry she didn’t hesitate to take the plunge with her own jewelry brand Sofia d’Agon.
She did well: despite a high price positioning, the designer managed to find her audience through her gemstone constellations. To the point that she had to open a small showroom on rue d’Aboukir in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris to physically welcome her customers. “Some people liked it because they discovered the ‘behind the scenes’ of the brand. Others were surprised that they had to go up to the second floor and find a simple room. I discovered that the experience wasn’t up to par”, confides the entrepreneur. Another limit, his agenda of appointments is overflowing. “It was time to set up shop with an on-site sales manager.” The timing is good: his lease expires.
80,000 euros invested in the store
In order not to burden his cash flow, he looks for a pure rent with a moderate rent. He finds a shop of about fifty square meters on rue Saintonge in the Marais for 3,700 euros a month. “I wasn’t looking for a premium location in a hyper-shopping street: the goal was to make it a destination place,” explains Sophie Lepourry.
The boutique is conceived as an extension of the brand’s universe, an “intimate, feminine and joyful environment” dominated by its favorite colors, green and blue. Total investment: 80,000 euros. The entrepreneur hires a gemologist shop manager and establishes long opening hours. “It allowed me to simplify the customer experience, to let in Internet users who don’t like to make an appointment and to attract passers-by, especially American tourists,” he explains.
Sophie Lepourry founded the jewelry brand Sophie d’Agon in 2017.
– Photo Sophie d’Agon
Sales on the rise
The cross channel is naturally put in place. Customers, attracted by Instagram, who go to the store and then buy a few days or months later on the site. And viceversa. New streams that are right. “E-commerce acquisition costs have skyrocketed over the past year. It is taut for pure DNVB,” notes the designer.
One year after opening the store, Sophie Lepourry is happy with this decision with sales figures growing, 50% online and 50% in-store. At the end of June you closed the year with one million euros in turnover, double from last year. Another positive point: its image with distributors. “Receiving them in the store enhances the brand and allows them to enter Sophie d’Agon’s world”, she underlines. Next step: She finds a left bank address to open a second shop.
