Maggie Yan and business partner Chris Rawlings founded Corset Story in 2008, which began life as an eBay store with just $500 worth of stock to its name. Fast forward to 2014 and the duo had transformed their vision into an international company with over $12 million turnover.
Located in the historic town of Warwick, an area steeped in textile industry history, Corset Story works closely with modern and ethical tailoring bases and boasts sales across 40 different countries, with the biggest selling line being the eponymous corset itself. To ensure a range of pricing is available to suit all, Corset Story’s directors regularly visit their team of specialist tailors, experts in corset craftsmanship. With an unfailing dedication to customer care and service, Corset Story’s fan base continues to expand with over 20,000 unique online hits a day.
Born and raised in Southern China, Maggie was passionate about following her dream to create quality design, eventually moving to London to pursue her craft. After meeting future business partner Chris Rawlings they formed their first e-commerce business, selling Burlesque, Steampunk and Victoriana inspired corsetry. Maggie’s debut collection which she described as ‘Sophisticated Rebellion’, reflecting her ambition to create her perfect garment.
Shipping with Air Business
Today, selling to consumers across 40 different countries and with 70% of its revenue generated outside of the UK, guaranteeing a high-quality international service is vital to maintaining Corset Story’s strong customer relationships and brand loyalty. Frustrated with their current shipping suppliers, Corset Story wanted a solution to alleviate the distribution-related pressures so that they could focus on the core of their business.
Corset Story turned to Air Business after experiencing a growing strain of inbound delivery queries on their customer service team. Through Air Business’ multi-carrier solution and wide network of global delivery suppliers they offered Corset Story a large variety of services, spanning from untracked postal service right through to courier delivery, at competitive prices. This has enabled Corset Story to provide its customers with a greater range and more affordable delivery options at the checkout; increasing the retailer’s shopping basket conversion rate.
Air Business’ enhanced tracked shipping software ProShipper, which was integrated with Corset Story’s order management system, has allowed all the e-tailer’s shipments to be managed via one simple interface. Through pro-active monitoring of delivery issues and regular customer notifications on the status of their shipments, ProShipper has directly resulted in the significant reduction of inbound queries to Corset Story’s customer service team since it went live with Air Business in August.
