Zucca’s Grit Leads To Success in Trendy, Affordable Modest Wear

Two young entrepreneurs switched focus to pursue a passion in the fashion and apparel industry, and that is how Zucca was born.

“Being more creative, we found that being in the fashion and apparel industry suited us better. Having the opportunity to assess the needs of the consumer base and create items accordingly was exciting,” says the duo who leads the popular brand online.

For Erica Yap, as a creative person, she found that being in the fashion industry suited her better than her previous career in finance.

She joined her parents’ shoe retail store, but soon realized that there were other factors beyond their control that could impact the business. This experience made her aware of the importance of proper management of employees.

Despite these challenges, Zucca’s experience in finance and footwear gave her an edge when she decided to embark on her entrepreneurial journey. Her understanding of the story behind the numbers and the weaknesses in the traditional supply chain allowed her to optimize production processes with technology.

Modest Wear Business

With Zucca, they saw an opportunity in the modest wear industry, which was emerging as a popular fashion choice among Malaysian women. The market for modest wear in Malaysia is large, but there is a lack of trendy and fashionable options that cater to a young and hip demographic.

Global trends are not often incorporated into modest wear, and when they are, they are sold at a high price point. Zucca’s goal was to provide affordable, trendy modest wear pieces that cater to this demographic.

“Modest wear is commonly found in Malaysia and there is a large market for it here. The missing piece is modest wear that caters to the young and hip demographic looking to be trendy and fashionable. Global trends are not incorporated into modest wear often enough and even if they are, those pieces are sold at a high price point.

“What we have found is that there is a high demand for affordable modest wear pieces that are trendy,” she says.

To achieve this goal, Erica Yap, chose to pursue a real-time feedback business model. This model allows her to operate with minimal wastage in terms of expenses and materials. It also ensures that she is creating products that are needed in the market. This, in turn, allows her to price her products appropriately.

“The real-time feedback business model allows us to operate with minimal wastage in terms of expenses and material. Being able to hear the feedback from our loyal customers before placing a full scale production order ensures that we are creating products that are needed in the market.

“This ensures that our overall cost is managed appropriately which in turn allows for our products to be priced in an appropriate manner,” she adds.

Zucca’s online-only store has a growing focus on social selling. While the pandemic brought  its own set of challenges, it  showed her the sustainability of online-only businesses.

Zucca found success on TikTok, particularly in the livestream feature, which allowed her to interact with customers in real-time, saying the favourite aspect of TikTok is the livestream feature which allows them to interact with their customers live.

Zucca’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs making a similar jump across industries is to possess grit. This attribute will help anyone face uncertainties in a new environment.

“To be an entrepreneur in this age, one must possess grit. This is an important attribute that will help anyone face uncertainties in a new environment.”

The inspiration behind Zucca’s business is the positive customer reviews and appreciation messages that she receives. She plans to develop the business further on other channels and is exploring multiple sales channels and considering offline retail in the future.