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MR. SAIBULLA Farook says that he
will never consider setting up a brick and mortar
store again.
"I don't like the concept anymore. It's too much investment for too little returns," said
Mr. Farook, 38, director of DsignerLuxury.com, which carries designer-brand merchandise at discounted prices.
He sells brands like Christian Dior, Prada and Gucci online. He buys them from suppliers in Europe,
whom he declined to reveal.
He started two retail shops in his early 20s, but they folded in 1987 during the recession. |
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"The rentals at that time were very high. All the money you make goes to the landlords. For a good location like Orchard Road,
rentals can be as high as $10,000 a month," he said.
Mr Farook started DesignerLuxary about two years ago. He spent more than $30,000 to set up the website, including the e-commerce
computer systems.
"I decided to sell online because the overheads are lower, and it's also easier to deliver the goods to customers," he said.
Although he uses e-commerce, he is not fascinated with it either.
"To me, e-business is just another way of selling things. I don't think it is new. Mail order has been around for hundreds
of years. The Internet is just a tool to deliver (business), it does not give you the business."
One of the attractions to his web store is discounts of between 30 and 70 percent for shoppers.
"We managed to keep prices low because we buy in volume. And a lot of our products are past season models which we can get at good prices."
Savings from lower overheads are passed on to customers, he added.
Mr Farook said that he is "very happy with the sales so far, considering the current retail market". His customers are mainly from Singapore
and Malaysia while some are from Brunei, Australia and the United States.
Source: Wed, July 28, 2004, p. 15, Computer Times
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