Today I am presenting a 2nd interview with Candice Galek of Bikini Luxe, a swimwear and clothing store. 
Check out the interview:
1. What gave you the idea to start Bikini Luxe? Share your story.
Bikini Luxe has been a long time dream of mine, it encompasses both my love for the beach lifestyle and for swimwear. I am an avid window shopper, and online shopper. Working hard is my hobby, and what I want is an online shop with it’s own personality. I want women to feel comfortable shopping from Bikini Luxe, knowing that they will be getting great customer service and purchasing quality items for a good price.
2. How did you go about having products manufactured and designed, did you hire a designer or work with companies that specialize in clothing manufacturing to create something you wanted?
We started out focusing on South Florida based brands from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. We love a good face to face meeting. This allowed us to truly get a feel for the brands we were carrying, and they understood what we aiming for. We have recently included some West Coast brands into the mix, and are quickly expanding to feature brands from all over the U.S. and beyond. Our own brand, Bikini Luxe, is an ever expanding name which now includes clothing, cover ups, and jewelry.
3. How have you gone about promoting and marketing your site? What’s working for you?
These days it’s all about Social Media Marketing. SEO is always changing, but we try to keep with the times and change our game plan frequently.
4. Beyond your website, do you sell on other channels such as eBay, Amazon or Etsy? What are your thoughts on selling on multiple sales channels?
We do sell on many shopping websites such as Wanelo, Keep, Fashiolista, Bestie, Socialbliss, the list goes on and on, honestly we have a full time team dedicated to just shopping websites. And a separate in house team that takes care of our social media and SEO. Online shopping is really a numbers game, creating a buzz is something that takes a lot of hard work!
We try to make ourselves available wherever there’s an opportunity. Etsy is great for handmade jewelry and there is a fantastic and supportive community there. Lately we have been focusing our attention on Instagram (www.instagram.com/bikiniluxe) and twitter (www.twitter.com/bikiniluxeswim) to drive our social media. We only recently started with Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/bikiniluxe) but have been getting some decent results.
5. What are your future plans for 2014 and beyond?
As this year ends, we are looking forward to celebrating an amazing first year, which went above and beyond our expectations. In 2015 we plan on expanding to feature many new brands and types of items offered, as well as enhancing our own brand name. I think we will be working on more Guerrilla tactics with social Media, Pop up shops at the local Miami Beach Parties and so on, overall it is a truly exciting job. Every day there is a new challenge and goal!
Thanks for the Interview (insert name of interviewer) please visit our store to see our constantly changing and evolving boutique!
Candice Galek
CEO www.bikiniluxe.com
