Shanghai-born Jimmy Du is the chief executive officer and founder of the successful online furniture company www.tommyswiss.com.au.

At the age of 24 he gave up a career in investment banking in Australia to concentrate on what once was his sideline.

Many friends and family thought he was crazy when he recently ditched his day job, which meant walking away from an annual six figure salary plus lucrative bonus.

"I decided that I wanted a different sort of challenge, perhaps an even greater challenge. Instead of advising and analyzing businesses, I wanted to create one," he said.

Going from a large global investment bank to a startup venture has been a challenge.

"Not being able to rely on the huge resources available at the finger tips of investment bankers, or being able to consult with other bankers for ideas, to having to make key decisions based on my own judgment is a big operational contrast," he said.

Du set up Tommy Swiss in August 2011. It became 100 percent operational in November and has grown a steady 20 percent every month. The response in the short period of time that Tommy Swiss has been up and running has been pretty overwhelming.

Market gap

For example, so far there have been hundreds of orders for mattresses alone," said Du whose company mainly focuses on European-inspired designer furniture and has relied a lot on word of mouth.

Du left China when he was 1 year old. He studied for a double degree in Commerce and Law at The University of Melbourne.

Moving into his own city apartment and having to furnish it made it easy for him to spot a gap in the market.

"After looking around, I found that not only were the prices extremely unaffordable but, when I finally placed an order for a dining table, I was told I needed to wait 2 months for it to arrive," he said.

Creating an online-only platform for buying furniture with no middlemen became his business model. "I realized not only could I beat competitors on price but also on delivery time and customer service," he said.

The steps to purchasing furniture via his website are simple since most of the traditional procedures have been removed. Du works with a number of Chinese manufacturers to make the pieces of furniture that are then shipped directly to his warehouse in Australia.

Then, once an order by a customer has been placed, it is delivered directly to the person's doorstep. He claims customers can save up to 80 percent off prices advertised at bricks-and-mortar retailers.

Made-in-China

All the products sold are made in China. "Being Australian, you could say I prefer seeing our furniture manufactured in Australia but the reality is it is simply not cost-effective," he said.

Working with some of the best manufacturers in China, he said, can keep prices much lower than if the furniture were manufactured anywhere else.

"At the very start I shortlisted and experimented with many different manufacturers and ultimately found that working with reputable manufacturers that often supply to other European labels was worth the additional cost," he said

Although the company is still in its infancy, Du has his sights set on huge company and personal growth.

At the start of any online business, "The more skills one possesses, the cheaper it is, really," he said.

Du claimed he has had to be across all his technology, understand his product lines, be able to market his business, handle customer enquiries, be his own accountant, know his legal obligations, be his own secretary. "The list goes on."

There's plenty of work to be done. Firstly, doubling what is on offer at the store in the coming year. Right now, furniture can only be delivered to Australian homes but Du said he would like to sell to international customers one day as well.

"It is probably too early to be talking about international expansion," he said.

"What I actually want is to see, read, hear back from happy customers who are able to afford something that they previously could not," he said.

tanialee@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/09/2012 page15)