It has been a good few months for Diomande shoes, even overwhelming, Olivia tells us, adding that sales tripled in March and that there is also more foot traffic in the shop.

The tools developed by the Imperial College team, such as the income sheet, the quotation, invoicing and stock taking tools in the google docs file were extremely useful and the business is now using these tools on a regular basis. The only tool that does not seem to work is the QR code, Olivia explains, who adds that she has been in touch with the team on this matter.

There has been a huge improvement in terms of marketing, after Diomande changed the way it markets its products online, specifically with regards to the quality of the pictures and images which are being posted. However, the uptake on online sales has been more disappointing, Olivia says, adding that she and Diomande would be very keen to get advice from the team on how to change that. For the moment, there has been very little if any online sales activity, even though traffic on the website has certainly increased and they are receiving more enquiries than before.

Diomande and Olivia are both very thankful for the experience and particularly grateful that some of the team members have remained in touch on a continuous basis. “This experience has changed us”, she adds.