Today we’d like to introduce you to Reginae Banks. She and her team shared their story with us below:
Simplicit Merchandising is The Fashion House of merchandising and selling apparel for women. The owner, Reginae is a young minority woman from Amite, La, who started her journey after graduating from Louisiana State University in textiles, apparel, merchandising and a minor in business administration. The journey comes from not being able to secure internships or a job in corporate. Instead of losing hope, she saw a way to still pursue her dreams and career in fashion by opening up her own merchandising business while also selling women’s apparel. As stated, “One day I was lying in bed thinking, look at all of the young women who started their business. You need to get up and go to every boutique and show them what you can do and how you can benefit their store and yourself.” It’s amazing because she did just that and ended up with seven clients within two months. She soon hopes to expand worldwide and would love to be a neighboring partner with all small boutiques in Texas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
So far, the consistency has been challenging. I work a full-time job outside of running my own business. It becomes tiring and can take a lot of my time away. Another challenge I faced is that doing freelance work can be difficult. I do not have all the tools I need to help these boutiques, but I do my best. I believe, and the store owners believe as well that I do a great job, but deep down I know there’s more I can do if I had the right tools.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Fashion is a reoccurring cycle that will not end. It repeats itself, and it tells a story in many ways. Simplicit is a fashion house that specializes in creating a story for every person/boutique to tell. A good story, of course. One where you can express yourself through clothes and accessories. By me just starting out, and I don’t have much exposure just yet. I am working on it, but I want to be known for telling a fashion story, whether it is from selling clothes to merchandising boutiques. Seeing people happy makes me happy. What sets me apart from other is that I am a young minority woman who created something that small businesses can benefit from that larger retailers already has, which is visual merchandising. I took my degree, and I put it to use even if no one else could see my vision; I saw my vision, and I believed in myself. Brand-wise, I am most proud of all that I have learned about the different boutiques, such as the size, inventory, etc., and that my brand was able to start something for small businesses that no one else thought of doing. It takes having integrity, wisdom, and knowledge to be able to start something and grow it within seconds. I have a website: www.simplicitmerchandising.com. For non-boutique owners, you can shop our women’s apparel, and for boutique owners who are interested in merchandising, there are two links on the drop-down menu that either allows you to see what services I offer along with pricing or you can book now if you are ready to move forward. I look forward to growing my brand and receiving more clientele.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5-10 years, I see the fashion industry going more into sustainability and maybe reducing a lot of fast fashion. Fashion repeats itself, therefore, more trends will have been recycled, and with climate change, there’s a lot that can happen in that time frame.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.simplicitmerchandising.com
- Instagram: Simplicit_merch
- Facebook: Sunyamerch
