Product Range Selection
Co-founder of Dermastore, Ian Webster reveals how he sources and curates the products for his online skincare shop.
- 17 minutes
- 10 learning bites
- Ian Webster
Insights
- Curate products that fulfil a clear customer need.
- Ensure every product you sell is trustworthy and well tested.
- Listen to customers and refine your range accordingly.
Learning bites
- 1 How Has Your Medical Training And Experience Helped You As An Entrepreneur?
- 2 Why Is Skin Care So Important?
- 3 How Has Providing Free Samples With Every Order Impacted Your Business?
- 4 How Do You Ensure That Each Skincare Product On Dermastore Is Legitimate?
- 5 How Do You Manage Product Recommendations For Customers With Skin Problems?
- 6 Can You Tell Us About Your ‘Mix And Match’ Approach To Skincare Products?
- 7 How Do You Manage Your Stock Of Skincare Products?
- 8 How Has Having An Online Shop Influenced Your Product Offering?
- 9 What Are The Benefits For A Business To Have Sole Distribution Of A Product?
- 10 What Advice Can You Share For Entrepreneurs Who Want To Sell Products Online?
Dr Webster was born in Cape Town, South Africa and matriculated at Kearsney College in Natal. He completed his undergraduate medical studies as well as post-graduate medical studies as a Dermatologist at the University of Cape Town/Groote Schuur Hospital. He completed the Diving and Submarine medicine course at Simonstown, South Africa and was the doctor on the icebreaker, the SA Agulhas during his compulsory military service. He underwent a period of post-graduate training in skin and laser surgery with Professor Jeffery Dover at Harvard Medical School, USA. He was the first Dermatologist to import a skin laser into South Africa and he co-founded the first dedicated skin laser clinic at the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town in 1993. Dr Webster has been in private practice as a Specialist Dermatologist in Somerset West since 1993. He has been a Director of Dermalaser (Pty) Ltd, a medical skin and laser clinic in Somerset West since 2013. In 2015 he co-founded Dermastore with his son Greg – it was the first online skincare store in South Africa that specialises in selling niche, curated skincare products. He enjoys teaching, sharing his vast medical knowledge with various members of staff that includes skin therapists and his nursing sister. He also enjoys writing original content for Dermastore and for the written media, mainly women’s magazines. Dr Webster has been a guest on various radio and television shows including Cape Talk, the Morning Expresso and Afternoon Express shows. Dr Webster is an avid reader of non-fiction and for recreation he enjoys mountain biking in the beautiful Cape Winelands and bird-watching in the African bush.
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