Mitshi Rodriguez of Chichi Mary Boutique: Bringing World Fashion to Pinoy Moms

Inspired by her young daughter, U.S.-based Mitshi Rodriguez started her online boutique, Chichi Mary. This mom of one started to get interested in children’s wear when she first dabbled in the world of online shopping. What was essentially a hobby eventually turned itself into a business — and a truly chic one indeed! Chichi Mary’s inventory features a repertoire of hard-to-find designer couture for young girls, giving shoppers, including momma-fashionistas here in the Philippines, a taste of international brands.

How did you get involved in the kids fashion industry?
Having a four year old daughter got me really interested in children’s wear and online shopping. As a mom, it is very convenient for me to shop online for my daughter, and as long as I have her accurate height and weight, I ‘m confident that I will get the right size for her. Online shopping gives me a wide variety of options and lets me discover more unique clothing for my daughter, which gave me the idea to open an online boutique shop. We also realized that having this kind of business will be the best set-up for our family, so my husband can focus on his corporate work, which is really demanding, while I can pursue something for myself and at the same time, be a hands-on mom to my daughter.

You run the business from the U.S., but you cater to an international clientele. How are you able to manage this?
I’m also lucky that I have a supportive family in the Philippines. My brother oversees the operations in the Philippines. I think one of the skills I developed through the years is how to collaborate online so I am confident that I can manage my business remotely while keeping the core of my business here in the US, which is the buying part.

What kind of parents would most benefit from Chichi Mary?
I target Moms and women who love to dress up their kids or nieces — someone who also loves to shop designer children’s wear. These are the women who usually shop abroad or shop on international shopping sites. I’m already bringing some of these beautiful brands without the hassle of dealing with international shipping. Because the operations is in the Philippines, you can easily return and exchange the item. If you’re unhappy about your purchase, you can expect refund within 10 days.  

What kind of fashion and style should we expect from Chichi Mary, as a whole?
I’m carrying children’s wear fresh from New York City and Boston showrooms. These are in season collections of different European and US brands. The brands that I carry in my store cannot be found in outlet stores or discount stores here in the US -- these are usually available in boutiques only, making each piece really special. As a buyer, I’m always on the hunt for something unique and special. For some brands, I coordinate directly with the designers making me more knowledgeable about how they manufacture the clothes and the work behind the textiles/fabrics they used. The fabric prints are exclusively done for these brands, which is why they’re unique.

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What platform did you use to set-up your shop?  How do you maintain it, do you have a team, etc?  Please tell us how logistics work, briefly.
I have my own domain, chichimary.com. I use Instagram and Facebook to constantly communicate with our followers / customers regarding our promotions, collections and latest trend in children’s wear. I manage the website myself..    

Also, I’m very fortunate that I have an in-house tech support and that is my husband! My husband works as a technology innovator in one of the biggest microprocessor companies in the US. He’s also very creative and we both enjoy doing the promo ads at night. Truly, Chichi Mary is one of our babies.

When it comes to logistics, since I have a background on Supply Chain Management, I’m the one coordinating with my suppliers regarding delivery arrangements to the Philippines to make the movement of goods more efficient.  Photography, operations and customer coordination in the Philippines is handled by my brother. We’re really a family-run business.


Tell us about your current line. What kind of labels and brands are available, and what are your best-sellers?
For this year, I purchased from US showrooms but in the near future, we are going directly to Europe and even some parts of Asia to discover brands that are not represented in NYC. It will be more exciting. Each season, we are targeting to introduce new brands.

Sophie Catalou is our bestseller for the season. It’s a Spanish brand and well known for its custom-designed fabrics. It’s amazing how people have their own preferences when it comes to the brands.  

Some really love Djaknemala. The brand is known for its bubble dresses, which are made of 100% woven cotton. The design is simple and yet very stylish. It’s also a personal favorite.  

Me Too is also a favorite of my customers. It’s a very popular Scandinavian brand. We also have Nohi Kids, which is an organic clothing for kids. What’s so good about Nohi Kids is that you can wear their sash dresses for years. First as a dress, then as a tunic.  

I can say that all my dresses in the store are good quality. These are not clothes that start looking old after 5 wash cycles. When you’re talking about children’s wear, the fabric is very important, as it influences the beauty, wearability and durability of the dress.  My dresses are usually made of premium cotton and they are treated to achieve maximum softness. I usually offer woven dresses, which is more breathable and suitable for children especially in a tropical country like the Philippines. My concern is not just about being stylish but for the kids to be comfortable as well. I guarantee that these clothes can be passed on from one child to another.  

What were some of the challenges you faced in setting up the online shop?
Business registration! I had to register my business both in the US and in the Philippines. Since I’m based in Massachusetts and I’m getting my clothes from US showrooms, I had to register my business in the US. On top of that, I had to go home and do the same in Manila. There was a lot of legwork. I had to do it myself to ensure that I understood the legal aspects, including talking to consulting firms. I just hope that our government will improve how business registration is done in our country in order to encourage more people to be entrepreneurs. Availability of information and consistency of processes are two things that I hope will be improved in the government agencies involved in business registration.

Another challenge is finding the right company to process credit card payments.  It’s simple enough if you’re willing to have your customers incur extra transactional costs like foreign transaction fees and or/currency conversion penalties, but one of the goals of Chichi Mary is to provide as much convenience as possible to consumers. We spent quite a bit of time to find a company that will process credit card payments that will not charge the consumers extra fees and we are now paying a premium to enable that.

Lastly is curating the products that I will sell in my shop. I had to look for designer brands that are unique but at the same time will still be affordable to the Philippine market. I had to ensure that the products I sell are truly worth the price and investment.

What are some tips you can give for mompreneurs who want to start their online business?
Start with your passion. I have learned that when you love what you’re selling, doing things or advertising your business is not a daunting task because you keep talking about the things you’re passionate about and fresh ideas just keep popping up.

Be heard always. As an online business, it’s important that you’re always visible and constantly advertising to maintain healthy traffic in your online shop. It’s not a brick-and-mortar store that has well-defined foot traffic so it’s important to have a steady flow of interaction with your customers.

When I get tired, I just look at my website or even just Chichi Mary’s Facebook page and it relaxes me. I believe that the Philippine market deserves more options when it comes to children’s wear, and I’m happy knowing that even in a small way I bring something different to the Philippine market through Chichi Mary.

Visit Chichi Mary's website at www.chichimary.com.