Giftsandhome.net caught up with Mandeep Singh, founder and ceo of Trouva, at the recent Retail Week Live conference to find out more about the digital opportunity for bricks and mortar independents to connect with customers on a global stage.
What did you do before you started Trouva ?
“I was a retail consultant and retail investor and spent a lot of time working with the large multiples. However, it got frustrating because they couldn’t see the future of retail. Technology is changing retail, and retail itself is changing.”
What inspired you to start a company championing successful independent bricks and mortar retailers?
“I lived around the corner from London’s Oxo Tower, and had always thought that the independent stores not only had beautiful products but also offered a great customer experience. However, these shops were only known to their local customers. When we launched our online marketplace Trouva – a collective of independent bricks and mortar retailers – it was very important to us that every boutique had its own page and location map, so that people who couldn’t get to their store physically could still shop with them online.”
How did you get the company off the ground?
“We started out in 2013 with the aim of building an independent community, enabling the very best independent retailers to expand their reach. We went out on the streets, meeting people and talking about what we wanted to do. In fact, many of our key independents have been with us since the very beginning, joining the Trouva ‘community’ before we’d officially started. The aim has always been to find customers for our boutiques who would otherwise shop with the multiples.”
Trouva has been described as “the web equivalent of those cool, curated shops you find off the beaten track.” How are you helping to drive success for these independents?
“What we take great pride in are the back stories of our amazing boutique owners. An example is Rigby & Mac, the online store for the award winning gift, home and fashion outlet The Dulwich Trader in South London. It was started by Penny Tomlinson in 1989, the mother of Dan Rigby, who now co-owns the business with his wife Katharine Maclaverty. It’s a really interesting back story, and it’s these type of stories that really resonate with Trouva customers. They’re the equivalent of walking into a bricks and mortar store and chatting to the staff.”
How are you getting your message across to consumers?
“We’ve invested hugely in digital marketeers and are getting our message out through social media channels such as Facebook and Google, as well through coverage in the national and international press and consumer magazines. In this way, people are finding out about our beautiful independent boutiques and their unique products. We can only take revenue if our boutiques are doing well, so If we make them successful then we are successful too.”
Top Mandeep Singh, founder and ceo of Trouva.
