Coral Chung’s Incredible Journey from Business to Shaking up the Fashion Industry
Senreve was designed to cater for the professional woman. This is a brand that aims to create a balance between versatility and design, fantasy and every day and innovation and tradition. The handbags made by Senreve simplifies the everyday life of women and empowers them to lead more quality lives. The inspiration for the company’s name came from French names that translate to sense and dream. Senreve bags will carry your laptop, phone, lipstick, wipes, and wallet, among other things. Therefore you get to take everything you need conveniently and in one place. This company was born by prioritizing the needs of women.
About the CEO, Coral Chen
The Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania graduate has always had a passion for consumer brands and luxury retail industries. This passion led her to the Global COO and also holding the position of CEO in America for Prada, working on projects related to commercialization, marketing and distribution. Her career started in Hong Kong at Bain & Company before moving to Silicon Valley.
She currently works as the CEO and founder of Senreve, a company she co-founded in 2016 with Wendy wen to cater to the needs and wants of the working woman. Through her leadership, the company has grown tremendously; it recently closed a Series A investment deal worth $16.75 million.
The Company’s Customer-Oriented Policy
As Coral Chung and Wendy Wen were preparing to launch their company, they received plenty of advice from veterans in the industry. They were to partner with Barneys New York; however, the two ladies were set on taking the direct-to-customer route.
Three years later, the traditional brick-and-mortar establishments are in crisis. This change has made many experts see that the future of the industry lies in the adoption of digital direct-to-consumer strategies. The direct-to-consumer model is designed to offer transparency, affordability and accessibility.
Today, the relationship between customers and luxury brands is different. As more companies transition to e-commerce, customers are missing out on the experience of shopping in a physical retail shop. Customers are drawn to brands they share values with
Senreve aims at maintaining close relationships with its customers by responding to them promptly. The company takes time to gain insights from customers and use the feedback to make changes and improvements.
Breaking the Stereotypes about Women
Using their experience in consulting, finance, tech and retail and trusting on their instincts, Chung and Wen are building a successful company. They are on their way to transforming an otherwise traditional industry of women’s handbags. Sticking to the authenticity of the brand, the cofounders found an investor in Sonya Brown.
The idea to start Senreve was derived from necessity; Coral would not find a handbag that fit her lifestyle. She discovered that the available luxury handbags would often collapse and most of them did not accommodate all the needs of a professional woman.
When she had the idea to start the brand, she had to make a choice; stay at Medalia or trust her instincts and begin her entrepreneurial journey. The brand was set on breaking the idea of women conforming into just one role; women often are forced to choose between their careers or personal lives. Senreve believes that women are multifaceted, and they can have it all.
Today’s woman wears several hats; therefore, her handbag should also meet all her needs. Besides being practical, she also wants to be elegant and stylish. Senreve bags are beautiful, sleek and made in Italy by expert artisans using high-quality products.
Senreve also aims at highlighting the issues that face the working woman; they do so using their social media and also how their brand is presented. Breaking structural problems is also essential. Often, women are criticized for doing one thing or the other, something that men do not usually face.
Filling a Gap in the Industry
Before launching Senreve, Chung sought advice from the people in her life as well as her mentors. The feedback she received was negative. Most of them believed that the market was too saturated, and the idea was too risky and impossible to achieve.
Coral Chung had however seen a gap in the market and was determined to fill it. She took a risk by creating a brand that is modern, intentional, innovative and customer-oriented. Although smaller than others, her company would give her the flexibility of making changes based on the feedback from the customers while creating the ideal handbag.
Coral Chung demonstrates that women can be both vulnerable and fearless. Despite the risks involved, she chose to do things her way, and it paid off.