Kayla Stamboul, the founder of Kayla Stam, has opened a new store in Rosebank Mall’s SOKO District.
She specialises in ready-to-wear, occasional wear and work/office wear. As a result of the pandemic, Stamboul has also expanded into loungewear.
“Initially, I was not interested in having a physical store; with technology taking over our lives and evolving every day, it made sense for people to be able to access our clothing nationwide. However, we still created occasional pop-up stores to create brand awareness.
“Through the pop-ups, we realised that people are drawn to our products more when they can interact with them in a tangible way. It takes a lot more impressions to convince someone to purchase an item online. However, when people see and touch our clothing pieces, they don’t need much convincing because they can experience the quality and fit first-hand. A brick-and-mortar store gives people the opportunity to discover your brand authentically. It’s also a lot easier to get those customers to convert to online customers, which expands our customer base,” says Stamboul.
SOKO District is a big store in Rosebank Mall that houses local brands. It was launched in July this year to enable purpose-driven brands to create meaningful connections with their customers through a flexible digital leasing platform without the significant financial commitments in the traditional retail environment.