Stepping into her own
Nafisa Fazleali
When Nafisa Fazleali quit her job and decided to shake things up a little by delving into the murky waters of online retailing, she knew what she was getting into. “But if you don’t take a few risks in life where will it get you?” she smiles. The travel agent of 8 years had her work cut out for her-in a country like ours, where most of consumers prefer making payments in cash, it’s never easy to start an online payment system. Yet that’s exactly what Nafisa did; a year later, she’s making steady progress with Peeptoe-an online portal for shoes and handbags that’s already earned a name for itself.
A former pupil of St. Bridget’s Convent Colombo, with a degree in journalism and mass communication, Nafisa had never figured herself to be an entrepreneur. She fell into a job in the travel industry and had “eight wonderful years,” but then decided that it was time for a change of scenery. With her husband’s support she embarked on the idea for an online retail store; “I was hesitant at first,” she reveals. “It obviously felt like a very risky thing to do and I didn’t even know if it would be worth my while. But that was a risk I felt prepared to take.”
Planning for the website took almost a year. Setting up an online retail store is no easy business-finding the merchandise is most likely the easy bit! “The internet is a great tool,” shares Nafisa who did some research online and gained a fair idea of what the job entailed. The entrepreneur travelled the continent in search of her ware. Keen on the simple, but classy-“Here you get almost every store selling the same selection of overly glittery, embroidered shoes. If they’re very pretty, then they’re also very expensive! Your average working woman can’t afford to spend that much money on a couple of shoes.” Nafisa travelled to Malaysia, Indonesia and China, established contacts with suppliers and returned home with a selection of what she deemed acceptable.
The inspiration for the website, retailing exclusively in shoes and handbags, comes from the busy working woman mentioned earlier. “These days you see a lot of young girls dressed very smartly for work,” she notes. “It’s a lot different to how it was about ten years ago; now girls take the effort to dress really well.” The problem for most-and Nafisa knows this because she’s been there-is in finding a versatile wardrobe at an affordable cost, with no extra hassle. “I mean, personally I loathe shopping. It’s so tedious, wandering around from one shop to another. An online store where you can choose what you want and have it delivered to your doorstep is a great way of cutting out the extra hassle.”
With Peepstore you simply register and make your selection by adding items to your cart. The items will only be processed once the user has reconfirmed their purchase, at which point shoppers can choose to pay by card or cash (the latter service is available at the moment). Nafisa will have it delivered to your doorstep wherever you are. And if you find those shoes a little too tight or the heel too high then you can exchange them within the day by contacting Nafisa. “I don’t process the credit card payments until a day has passed,” she explains.
She’s assisted by her cousin Amatullah Fakhruddin and husband Thisum and says she’s incredibly grateful for their support. “It hasn’t been easy,” she says. “Setting up any business is hard work and when it’s online even more so. But I’m very glad I went for the idea when the time was right.”
You can find Peeptoe online at www.peeptoe.lk