Ruth Chapman, co-founder of Matchesfashion.com, on customer-focused selling

“I had a very glamorous mother and stepmother, so I was always interested in beautiful clothes. I avidly read Vogue, so much so that I would ring up stores in London to make sure I could buy the dresses I had seen in each issue.

“I started my career working at Jaeger, then a brief stint in video until Tom [Chapman, her future husband] approached me to join his retail business. We were dating at the time so I was helping him at weekends and trying to direct the product. He mainly sold unisex, lower-priced clothing so it wasn’t exactly glamorous.

“Many people don’t realise that Matchesfashion.com was bricks and mortar first. We went online later, seven-and-a-half years ago. We already had four physical locations in London, and we had so many international customers travelling to us. When digital started to become big we saw an opportunity to connect with our existing customer base all the year round. We did it more as a customer service proposition.

“Matchesfashion.com offers a perspective on fashion that is extremely focused. We propose an edit of what we feel is relevant and current. It’s about giving them a reason to buy, but offering a strong proposition in every piece. Our customer is not dressing for anyone except herself, and that’s what we want to convey with our selection.

“Online is a more competitive space than ever before. Today it’s important to editorialise and talk to your customer about brands. In the beginning online was about a brand proposition, and people were looking for the big brands. It’s still relevant but now customers are increasingly looking for artisinal, design-led pieces. They want to be the first to pick something up – they need to be informed and understand it. It’s vital we empower the customer with knowledge.

“Online may make up 90 per cent of our business, but bricks and mortar interests me the most. Our stores are transactional but they also are a huge marketing opportunity because the customer can engage with the product. They really serve as showrooms and allow us to experiment with different categories and lifestyles.