Tell us a little about yourself, background and what you do currently.
I am joint CEO of Zulu Beauty Ltd, which owns a number of beauty retailers including LoveLula.com (Europe’s most loved Natural Beauty specialist) and Zuneta.com (home to the most exciting new luxury brands to launch in the UK).
I’ve always worked in the Beauty industry, starting my career with L’Oreal. After many exciting years working in global strategy and product development I decided to leave and become my own boss, founding Zuneta in late 2008. The beauty category is one of the slowest to go online and I’m extremely excited to be at the forefront of that movement.
What does being a business owner mean to you?
It means amazing job satisfaction, extremely long hours, very different kinds of stress but above all – freedom.
Where did you get the inspiration for Zuneta?
I was working in New York and trying to get access to a number of young European brands to get inspiration for a project I was working on. It was impossible. When I looked into it I saw that it was very difficult to buy products online. I thought this was just crazy, as everyone wants to be able to replenish their favourite products with the same level of convenience as they would anything else – like jeans, or a pair of shoes. I also thought online was the perfect place to offer unbiased beauty advice, which we all struggle to get at Department Stores.
So I went ahead and set up what I thought was the perfect beauty retailer! Informative, educational, excellent customer service, fast delivery and the world’s best emerging beauty brands!
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
There are constant challenges in my job. One of the biggest hurdles is getting the brands to understand that their customer is well and truly online. Brands are afraid of online as it has historically been about cheap retailers that luxury brands would prefer not to be associated with. But Google did an affluence study which showed that customers are more than happy to buy luxury goods online if it meant convenience and great customer service.
We believe we can offer a much better service to our customer than many offline retailers as we have a history of what she has ordered, which helps us guide her to other products and brands we know she’ll enjoy (thus reducing that opportunity for making costly beauty mistakes!).
We also deliver quickly, so the customer doesn’t have to travel to her nearest Department Store, which can be time-consuming and, more often than not, more expensive than getting her product delivered right to her door.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Every cloud has a silver lining – I have learned from every mistake I have made. Without mistakes, my business wouldn’t be what it is today.
What is your one top tip for women who want to succeed in business?
Just go for it. If you think you have the idea, just go for it.
If you weren’t doing what you do, what would you be doing?
I’d be a marine biologist, specializing in shark conservation.
Who has been your biggest inspiration in life?
My Dad has had an amazing career and has supported me every step of the way in mine.
And I read Richard Branson’s book when I was in my early 20’s and rather enjoyed that too.
What do the next 12 months hold for you and Zuneta?
A lot of big changes actually!! I have learned so much since I started Zuneta that it’s time to shake things up a little in the world of beauty retail…..
Zu Rafalat Profile:
Zu Rafalat is joint CEO of Zulu Beauty Ltd – home to two of Europe’s leading Beauty Etailers: Zuneta & LoveLula. Zuneta dominates the luxury end of the cosmetics market, having carefully curated a range of high end and emerging brands. LoveLula is the original apothecary for organic and natural beauty brands. Zu Rafalat started her career at L’Oreal UK. She soon moved to Paris, where she specialized in International Brand Strategy for L’Oreal Paris before taking up a similar role for Maybelline in New York. Zu was behind the two biggest mascara launches in L’Oreal history, an accolade which won her a Rising Star nomination from Marketing Magazine in 2008. Zu was recently nominated as a business icon in the Top 35 Women Under 35 in Management Today.
www.zuneta.com
www.lovelula.com
