Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Noriko Oyama. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Noriko, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I launched LUXFINDZ to offer edgy, sophisticated and affordable fashions, catering to busy women looking for unique pieces. Throughout my career, I was a single mother, traveling around the world on business. From packing school lunches, driving my daughter to ballet, piano, soccer and other extra curricular activities, I didn’t have the time or energy to go to the mall to find business wear, casual lounge wear to formal wear. When I would travel abroad, I would find some time to shop and noticed that the European Styles were a bit more edgier and cut better than at home. This is where my journey began through the love of European Fashion.
I not only think about Fashion but want women to feel confident on the inside and out by living a healthy lifestyle and by promoting work life balance. It’s important to me to have women of different sizes feel confident and beautiful in edgy, sophisticated and sexy clothing that is affordable. As a mother, I understand that body shapes change, metabolisms change, so I try on everything at Buyer shows to ensure the areas women want the most coverage is cut in a more flattering way, or the material is thicker to add a better silhouette. I wanted women to feel sexy, edgy, comfortable, the way they may have felt before having kids. I love looking for clothes that are cut really well, hide the tummy or give the thighs or backside a more slimming effect. I’ve always loved the higher end luxury stores like Holt Refrew or Saks but who can afford to shop there all the time? I wanted a platform for busy mothers, corporate women, or just busy people to purchase affordable, good quality, unique pieces they could mix and match with their Louis, Chanel or Gucci bags and look 120%. I have many clients who do just that. They want classic, edgy looks they incorporate into their designer look, without spending excess money.
I also try and support small women owned businesses, so I carry a local jewelry maker in the store. We carry brands from ZSUPPLY, Bishop & Young, Lotus Eaters, Cristina Barros, Lez a Lez, Articles of Society, Pepa Loves, Cara in the Sky, Surkana, Jovonna, Mododoc, Marcellamoda, Kaffe and many more.
The best feedback we get is from customers who say they love everything in the store and always find something they love and always get compliments from people when they wear it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I grew up just outside of Toronto and always loved fashion. I’ve been in the Corporate world, working for software companies my entire life and the idea came from my busy schedule and need. I knew that other women who were busy with kids or working would also be limited in their time and would need a one stop shop where they could get items that they loved and felt really good in. We carry an assortment of clothing from casual basics, lounge wear, work wear, formal, tshirts, jeans, graphic tees, chanel inspired tweed jackets that you can wear with distressed jeans. You can mix and match most anything in our store to dress an item up or down so the items are very versatile.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
We’ve had our brick and mortar store for almost 2 years now and our customers have grown over time through word of mouth and through exposure being on a busy street in Downtown Oakville. We have a great team working with our customers and can provide really good customer service and suggestions. I think customers appreciate that. Some customers need you to suggest an entire outfit so it takes care of the need to put an outfit together and we suggest classic items that they can take from day to night. We are women of different ages and sizes so can suggest items that we’ve all tried on and know would fit nicely on a customer. Being part of the Business Improvement Association with the town also helps as they have helped to promote brand awareness through their social media which has also helped enormously. We network with the other small business owners in the town as well and will send customers to other stores if they can’t find the right item in our store. Our customers range from mid 20’s to late 80’s so it shows how classic, edgy fashion is coveted regardless of age.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I’ve learned that success does not come easily. You may have increasing customers and a great product but things like the economy and brand recognition take some time. I’m passionate and believe in my brand but I’ve had to make many adjustments and look for grants that assist with Digital Marketing and staffing for small businesses. Tapping into local resources that could help in the short term to stay afloat is important and I try and network as much as I can. Cross market or promote with other brands or stores in the area to draw more people to the store.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luxfindz.com
- Instagram: @luxfindz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luxfindz
- Other: TikTok – Luxfindz
Image Credits
Nam Vo @namastevo Kevin @one35events 135mm Photos & Films