We have met up with the two founders of Salesgossip, Elizabetta Camilleri and Emilio Sanz who recently set up their office in Rivington Street. Salesgossip is an amazing way of finding out all the hottest sales available at the moment. The website has grown incredibly since it was first launched. With more than 10,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and over 75,000 savvy bargainistas who have signed up to have exclusive access to the service, SalesGossip is the new kid on the block bringing you the best deals around.
Tell us about your company and how you came up with your business idea?
SalesGossip is a digital marketing service that enables fashion retailers to communicate their promotions to targeted customers driving much needed footfall in their high street stores and traffic online. As a shopper you can find out about any fashion promotion going on in your city and online, via the full service online at www.salesgossip.co.uk or by downloading the mobile app from any smartphone.
Whilst shopping one day I realised that all my favourite shops had a sale on and by the time I got to know all the good stuff was gone. I started asking my friends how they find out about any Fashion sale or beauty promotion and the best they came up to was: From each other, whilst walking down the high street or by subscribing to 101 emails. I knew there must be a more efficient way to get to know about the Sales – SalesGossip was created.
What sets your company apart from others?
It is the only digital service that aggregates EVERY fashion sale and beauty promotion in a city. From Hermes to H&M, MaxMara to Mothercare.
How did you finance your business?
Some of the most prominent angel investors in the UK have invested in SalesGossip. The key turn came in 2012 when we won the RBS EnterprisingU competition.
Why did you open your office to Shoreditch? What are your favourite spots here?
Because everyone who is anyone in the UK startup world is here. The overall environment in Shoreditch is amazingly vibrant, full of energy and very collaborative.
Favourite spots – Ali’s the Turkish takeaway in Rivington Street, All the food markets, The Whisperer on Worship Street.
What is it like to run an online business? With rising concerns on online privacy, how do you handle the security of the site and your users’ data?
Since the beginning we decided it was better to rely on 3rd party providers. And we use them for everything, from email delivery and domain name management, to hosting and SSL security certificates. This provides us and our members with the best performance and online security, and makes it easier to support the high growth we are experiencing, with traffic to our site doubling every 3 months.
How do you market your service? Does social media play a big role?
We use a mix of PR, Partnerships, Digital Marketing and of course Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest. Social media is a very important channel for us to reach our subscribers. However, we are not just busy keeping our relationships with the consumers but also with brands and retailers. We love digital and want to make the most out of it to the benefit of everyone.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
A global business used by every savvy customer who is out shopping for clothes, shoes, sportswear and beauty products.
Elizabetta and Emilio are wearing Fenn Wright Manson (cardigan), DVF bought at Precious (dress), Kurt Geiger and Clarks (shoes), Café Coton (shirt) and Gap (jeans). Some of it was bought on sale, because those two lucky ones truly sit at the source of shopping by running SalesGossip.
