In the eyes Clara Bourras, creator in 2018 with Geoffrey Umer, of the online tack shop Ohlala.
Clara, your trademark is more intuition than business plan ?
And despite our business school education! It's true that when we started in 2018, with Geoffrey, it was very intuitive. We wanted the offer to meet our demand, we riders. We started small, with a very basic website, which allowed us to test the products live. On the other hand, we were very demanding in terms of visuals, we wanted beautiful shoots and a very high quality result. And then, what also counted is that we are very complementary in our work with Geoffrey.
In just 4 years, Ohlala has become a brand that counts. What is the secret ?
First of all, our desire, by setting up in Cholet, to be able to test all the products we distribute on our own horses. And as most of our 18 employees are riders, our customers quickly understand that the products we sell are the ones we use. They see this every day on our social networks. For example, we are becoming more and more personally interested in other types of riding, such as ethology, and so we are keen to present products that go in this direction. We are also very attentive to the shipping of our products, with lots of little touches, and to customer service: always available, always providing solutions.
What is your common background with Ekkia ?
We were looking for a partner who could help us find everyday products and who had a wide range. After that, the big strength is also the contact. It's a big company and yet we feel we know everyone. If we have any concerns, we know who to call and we feel that everyone is trying to be efficient. As a small saddlery in the beginning, we also appreciated being considered on the same level as a larger distributor.
What drives you on a daily basis ?
It's being surrounded by good humour and positive, optimistic, determined and persevering people, curious about everything. Giving up is a concept that is foreign to us.
A motto ?
Believe in your dreams and trust your instincts.
Ekkia in a word ?
As there are two of us, there will be two: humanity and efficiency.
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