WhatSheBuys Background

WhatSheBuys is the creation of the husband and wife team of Raul Pallares and Cathy Kamimura-Pallares. Prior to creating the company, Pallares served as founder and President of the Internet start-up TradingMarkets.com, Inc. Kamimura-Pallares owned and operated Premier Product Sales, Inc., a manufacturer’s rep business focused on beauty.

Pallares had the idea for WhatSheBuys in 1998. As the Internet began to take off, he knew that women would eventually buy products online and that there should be an online store geared towards them. Although Pallares did not have any retail experience, his wife had 20 plus years of it, so he looked to her for her input and guidance. Kamimura-Pallares’ vast retail knowledge and extensive product research led to an overwhelming desire for people to know "what she buys." With that, the company name was born.

Pallares continued to develop the concept with Kamimura-Pallares’ help, and in 2002, he convinced her to come on board as a buyer by promising her that "all she would need to do is shop."

WhatSheBuys launched in April 2003 selling several cosmetic brands that Kamimura-Pallares already represented via Premier Product Sales, Inc. With those initial high quality brands in hand, Kamimura-Pallares was able to go after more brands such as baby products including Kettler trikes and Barefoot Dreams blankets. With the addition of Barefoot Dreams and its subsequent appearance for the Barefoot Dreams Robe and Barefoot Dreams Throw on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" as one of Oprah's favorite things, WhatSheBuys quickly grew from a hobby to a business. In November 2003, a retail location was opened in San Gabriel, California. In 2005, the company expanded to a small warehouse near the store, and the following year, the company expanded into a 15,000 sq. ft headquarters building while maintaining its store location.

Today, WhatSheBuys continues to identify premier brands that it considers to be the best in their category and more often than not becomes one of the larger retailers for each brand it offers. Current brands available on the site include UGG, SPANX, Barefoot Dreams, Longchamp, Wacoal and Britax, among others. Customer service is one of the hallmarks of WhatSheBuys, and it's evident in the company's 5 Star Yahoo! Shopping Rating.