Mini Exchange: Online ‘outlet mall’ for kids wear makes waves in MENA region

By Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Kids grow out of stuff fast.

Outgrowing their clothes in no time, shopping for the little ones in your family or friends circle is often an expensive, uphill battle. With the children’s clothing business booming and a wide variety of designer children’s lines such as Little Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney and Burberry to choose from, it’s hard to resist buying that adorable little colorful dresses, ballet flats or sneakers, especially when they’re so small and delicate.

But who says kids’ clothes have to cost an arm and a leg?

Dubai-based, British entrepreneur Sarah Appleton has come up with a solution to these shopping woes by launching Mini Exchange, the MENA region’s first ‘online outlet mall,’ that allows parents to sell and buy new and like-new children’s clothing and accessories with one click of a button at a fraction of their retail price. Since its launch in January, the internet business has gone global with many buyers and sellers from outside the UAE. The startup has also tied up with a multi-brand boutique and some other fashion brands offering their end-of-line products on the website as well.

After discovering Mini Exchange on Facebook, Carine Mouchantaf, a marketing manager and avid online shopper in Dubai, says she was quite intrigued with the idea and was curious to see if it would measure up to the international websites she is used to shopping on online.

“I don’t have kids of my own, but I do have a large family of nephews and nieces as well as a large number of friends with children,” said Mouchantaf. “My schedule makes it very difficult for me to spend hours shopping in a mall and Mini Exchange has enabled me to simply click on a button and have amazing items shipped to my doorstop at great value the next day.”

With brands ranging from Abercrombie and Baby Dior to Oshkosh and Tommy Hilfiger, the online shopping experience at Mini Exchange is designed to be quick, easy and hassle-free.

We had a chance to speak to the 27-year-old entrepreneur about her innovative business and the impact it has on parents, kids and even local charities in the region:

Elan: Tell us a little bit about your background prior to establishing Mini Exchange. What compelled you to leave the world of finance and enter the entrepreneurial field?

Sarah Appleton: I grew up in the UK and graduated from Edinburgh University in 2009 with a degree in Economics. During my University years I dipped my toe into the consignment world by running an online store on eBay, which was a lot of fun, however after graduating I thought that I should get a proper job so left the fun of buying and selling clothes to join Deloitte in London in Mergers & Acquisition Advisory.

I seconded to Deloitte in Dubai after two years and then after a further two years in Dubai, I left Deloitte to start Mini Exchange.

Working in finance, I was always working for other people, advising inspiring entrepreneurs how to grow and sell their companies and I was always envious when they left the room. I wanted to be on the other side of the table! So one day, I took the leap and now I’m here, absolutely loving my new role and am excited by all the new challenges that lie ahead.

Elan: When did you establish Mini Exchange and why did you decide to venture into a children’s clothing business?

Sarah Appleton: Actually, I’ve always loved the consignment world and got the bug for it at University. Then seeing a similar concept to Mini Exchange work in other parts of the world coupled with the fact that there is nothing like it in the region gave me the confidence to try and make a success of something I’d always been very passionate about.

Elan: How does Mini Exchange work and why do you think this business is so important in the MENA region?

Sarah Appleton: Mini Exchange is something that’s never been done before in the region; we’ve built an online marketplace for parents to buy and sell new and like-new kids’ clothing, accessories, fancy dress and school uniform and also created a site for brands and retailers to sell their end-of-season items.

We do all the hard work for sellers and give buyers easy access to discounted branded and designer clothes. Items are collected from sellers for free and quality-checked by the team. They are then professionally photographed, described and listed on the site. When they sell, Mini Exchange deposits the profits directly into the seller’s account.

Buyers can order from the comfort of their own homes and are assured that items purchased are nothing less than perfect.

Elan: Tell me about the gifting aspect of Mini Exchange?

Sarah Appleton: This is the great thing about Mini Exchange… sellers really can support some amazing community causes with all the clothes their kiddies no longer wear.

Sellers can either gift their items straight to Mini Exchange, we’ll sell them and then gift the proceeds directly to your chosen cause, or sellers can sell their items and then choose how much to gift to each cause from their Mini Exchange balance in one ‘click’.

So what are “Mini Groups”? Mini Groups are a really fun element of the site. They allow individuals and organisations to support causes that matter to them, whether it be supporting kids in Syria, or raising money for a natural disaster in the world.

Sellers can invite friends and family to clear out their kids’ wardrobes by listing items on the site, and when the items sell they can gift the profits directly to that Mini Group or good cause. These groups can be two people or 1,000 people and allow everyone to group together to support amazing causes that are close to their own hearts.

Elan: E-commerce and online shopping is slowly growing in the MENA region but is still behind the online markets in the US and the UK. What were some of the challenges you faced in establishing your business?

Sarah Appleton: A key challenge of setting up an e-commerce business in the Middle East is that there are still lots of people here that are apprehensive about ordering online. When and where will the item be delivered? Will my credit card details be secure online? These are the common questions that we get from new users and although we believe that the e-commerce market is set to boom out here, it does take time to build user confidence in these areas.

Because e-commerce is still fledgling, a lot of the support services are also still developing – for example, setting up a “payment gateway” so that users can safely input credit card details is very arduous and expensive. I know that in Europe things like that would have been a lot easier.

Things are changing though and I’m proud to be part of the new wave of e-commerce businesses in the region.

Elan: How has the traction been so far in terms of clothing contributions and sales?

Sarah Appleton: The response to the site really has been amazing. Parents love how easy the site makes shopping online and also how easy the site makes selling items that their little ones have grown out of.

In terms of progress to date, we already have over 6,000 users signed up on the site, 1,000+ items listed on the site from parents and a further 4,000+ items listed on the site from brands and retailers themselves, which is really exciting. Those numbers should double over the next six months, so that parents can shop from an even wider range of kids’ fashion on Mini Exchange.

Elan: What’s next for you and Mini Exchange?

Sarah Appleton: Mini Exchange is planning to be the ‘go to’ place for kidswear in the region. The feedback so far has been incredible with mums, dads and stores already loving it.

Next steps are spreading the word to more people in the UAE and then hopefully launching the site in a number of other neighboring markets, which I have no doubt will bring us new and exciting challenges.

Elan: What advice do you have for other budding entrepreneurs in the region? 

Sarah Appleton: The best piece of advice that I was given is: when you’ve got an idea you believe in ‘just go for it’. The downside is you leave your job and it doesn’t work out. The upside is you get to be a part of your own exciting journey for the next period of your life.

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