- January 15, 2025
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Are you in the market for a high end luxury dog crate? You’ve come to the right place. The Louis Vuitton Malle Chien retails for $36,500. But Couture USA in the Westchase neighborhood of Tampa has it in stock for the more palatable price of $24,500.
Catherine Ansel, a French-born entrepreneur. is the fashion-maven behind Couture USA. She set up shop as a luxury reseller in 2004 after being inspired by her first luxury purchase of a Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene Petit Bucket bag.
In some ways, the Tampa luxury retail landscape is much the same as it was 20 years ago. “There's no Hermès store in Tampa, there's no Cartier store in Tampa, there's no Van Cleef store, all of that. It's special,” Ansel says.
Her store is an opportunity for those in a particular market to access goods that are not easily available. Sure, one can buy online, and indeed Couture has an e-commerce presence that makes up 35% of its sales, but if you’re going to spend five figures, wouldn’t you prefer to try something on to see how it looks on your figure?
In other ways, things couldn't be more different. In 2004, Tampa’s metro area population was approximately 2.2 million. With year-over-year increases, the area has now surpassed the 3 million mark. For Ansel, the goal is to continue scaling the $5 million boutique alongside the area, since 70% of her return customers are local.
Her strategy is a blend of old and new techniques: a mix of personal values, institutional knowledge and futuristic tech.
“In France or in Paris, we have very small closets, but classic things that we like to cherish and those items are usually very expensive,” Ansel reflects, “And when you can find it at a better price, it's great for the environment.”
Although her upbringing serves as a guide for her sense of style and taste, ultimately consumer taste is what drives the market. “We know in Florida that they like this certain type of fashion better and everything sells fast because I think we know what to buy. We know what to buy at what price to make the most profit,” Ansel says.
Additionally, being privately-owned means Ansel is able to go through inventory with a proverbial fine tooth comb. “We choose what we think is going to sell, and we have more control over the margin and sales trial strategy,” she says.
This is opposed to some of her competitors, particularly publicly traded retailers, that are beholden to shareholders to grow too fast and can make costly mistakes. Indeed, the online luxury reseller marketplace The RealReal, founded in 2011, has had several sudden leadership changes over the years as reported by Retail Dive. It only became profitable for the first time this year after going public in 2019 according to Forbes.
As for the tech, Couture — which is defined as made-to-order, custom-fitted clothes that tend to be expensive — has implemented an AI-powered product verification software called Entrupy. A scanning device that looks similar to an ultrasound transducer (the formal name for the wand) is synced to an app on the user’s phone. Images of different parts of the product are taken and uploaded into Entrupy’s database, where the piece is then revealed to be authentic or not.
“I think AI and technology is great, but it can't replace the experience. It's just great to have it as a third party addition,” Ansel says, noting the software serves as an added barrier of trust for buyers and sellers alike, not a substitute for decades of expertise.
Although Ansel’s built a solid foundation for her business, one of her challenges can be filling the dozen or so staff roles she currently has at the shop. “You have to provide great customer service. It's not hard. It's free. You have to smile, you have to be excited in caring about your customers and you have to hire people that are exactly the same,” Ansel says, adding matter-of-factly, “If somebody is not going to be nice or is not going to follow your idea, then you have to get rid of them.”
Other challenges and obstacles, such as regular market shifts, a global pandemic and several recent storms leave Ansel undeterred. She took the necessary precautions of getting her merchandise to higher ground and securing the highest priced items, such as a handful of iconic Birkin bags, during the hurricanes and thankfully the shop did not sustain damages, leaving her to get back to business as usual selling 5,000 products a year.
“We like to grow, but locally. Of course, online all over, but especially in Tampa,” Ansel says, “There's still a lot of business to get. Over the years, we’re becoming higher and higher in terms of brands and price.”
