Yuppiechef was an innovative online business focused on the home cook, launching this unique service eleven years ago. Now the online retailer is making a move into traditional retail, opening a store at Willowbridge in Durbanville on 1 October.
Yuppiechef began as a business run from the home of Co-founder and CEO Andrew Smith, with no stock, staff, or high rental costs. Now the company has a staff complement of 85, and stocks thousands of cooking and home-related products, offering its service 24/7, throughout our country.
Smith admits to reading the market incorrectly: ‘We still love selling online — the huge range we can offer, delivery to every corner of the country, 24/7 convenience and world-class service. For a long time we believed that ecommerce was the future of retail, and that eventually this channel would “win” and the others would “die”. We were wrong. For many South Africans shopping is one of our favourite past-times — spending a Saturday at a mall, meeting friends and eating out. Or perhaps for certain products you prefer the physical shopping experience — browsing, getting advice and the immediacy of the purchase. Shops and malls are not going to disappear any time soon’.
He added: ‘We believe that the future of retail is ‘omnichannel’, which means a combination of physical stores and ecommerce. From 1 October you shouldn’t have to see Yuppiechef as either an online retailer or a physical store. No channel has to win or lose. In your mind we should be a single retail brand, and you should have the freedom to interact with us on your terms, whenever and wherever you are’.
The new Yuppiechef store has been designed by ARRCC interior design, and stocks the worldclass Yuppiechef products. The store combines the best of their online and retail attributes, shoppers being able to research Yuppiechef products online and then check them out in the store. At the Yuppiechef store one can look up reviews on the Yuppiechef site. One can have one’s shopping delivered to one’s home. Yuppiechef is offering the best of both retail worlds, to create the ultimate shopping experience.
Yuppiechef.com Tel (021) 702-4969. www.yuppiechef.com Twitter: @Yuppiechef Instagram: @yuppiechef
Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein
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