A CPA-turned-entrepreneur is bringing her D.C.-based shoe business to Richmond.
Kassie Rempel, founder of SimplySoles, is opening her third store in Richmond next month.
The company, at one time a catalog and web-only women’s shoe operation, has grown to two stores in Washington and Maryland and will set up shop at Stony Point Fashion Park on March 1.
SimplySoles carries 25 to 30 designer brands of women’s shoes, along with handbags, jewelry, scarves, hats and accessories.
“We work with designers to create something that no one else carries,” Rempel said.
In the fall, a leasing agent from Stony Point approached Rempel about expanding to the area.
“We weren’t looking, but when the opportunity for the space became available it just made perfect sense,” Rempel said.
“We had a customer base in Richmond, and a spring launch is ideal.”
Prior to the shoe business, Rempel worked for Ernst and Young in Richmond for three years until her husband’s job transferred them to Washington in 2001.
“I started looking for an opportunity to combine my skills with my passion.”
Rempel founded SimplySoles in 2004 and initially ran it of her dining room. She sold shoes online and through catalogs.
“I ran around to different designers, telling them I had a store and seeing if they were interested,” she said.
As business grew, Rempel hired nine employees and moved her venture down to her basement, which only lasted a few years.
In late 2009, after investing around $250,000 into her business, Rempel decided it had grown too big to run out of her home.
“People were showing up at my house, thinking they could buy shoes,” she said.
She opened the D.C. store in Georgetown in March 2010. Seven months later, she opened a second store in Oxon Hill, Md.
Her core business is still the catalog/web operation, which has grown from 200 customers to about 16,000. Rempel said it has grown 85 percent within the past year.
The shoes range from $120 to $400 and include brands such as Tory Burch, Chie Mihara, Bettye Muller and Lillybee, Rempel’s own line, which she launched in 2008.
A CPA-turned-entrepreneur is bringing her D.C.-based shoe business to Richmond.
Kassie Rempel, founder of SimplySoles, is opening her third store in Richmond next month.
The company, at one time a catalog and web-only women’s shoe operation, has grown to two stores in Washington and Maryland and will set up shop at Stony Point Fashion Park on March 1.
SimplySoles carries 25 to 30 designer brands of women’s shoes, along with handbags, jewelry, scarves, hats and accessories.
“We work with designers to create something that no one else carries,” Rempel said.
In the fall, a leasing agent from Stony Point approached Rempel about expanding to the area.
“We weren’t looking, but when the opportunity for the space became available it just made perfect sense,” Rempel said.
“We had a customer base in Richmond, and a spring launch is ideal.”
Prior to the shoe business, Rempel worked for Ernst and Young in Richmond for three years until her husband’s job transferred them to Washington in 2001.
“I started looking for an opportunity to combine my skills with my passion.”
Rempel founded SimplySoles in 2004 and initially ran it of her dining room. She sold shoes online and through catalogs.
“I ran around to different designers, telling them I had a store and seeing if they were interested,” she said.
As business grew, Rempel hired nine employees and moved her venture down to her basement, which only lasted a few years.
In late 2009, after investing around $250,000 into her business, Rempel decided it had grown too big to run out of her home.
“People were showing up at my house, thinking they could buy shoes,” she said.
She opened the D.C. store in Georgetown in March 2010. Seven months later, she opened a second store in Oxon Hill, Md.
Her core business is still the catalog/web operation, which has grown from 200 customers to about 16,000. Rempel said it has grown 85 percent within the past year.
The shoes range from $120 to $400 and include brands such as Tory Burch, Chie Mihara, Bettye Muller and Lillybee, Rempel’s own line, which she launched in 2008.
Thanks so much Amy! Super excited to spend more time back in Richmond. Love it there.