Cocoa Couture

ocoa Couture is the culmination of a dream for Marcella Prieto. She opened the doors to the store in the fall of 2008. Marcella still has the business plan she created for the store while she was in college. Talk about making a dream come true! Marcella studied fashion merchandising at Florida State University where she received a degree in 2001.

Fresh from college Prieto moved to New York to pursue her career at Macy's as a buyer. Her duties there consisted of buying for Men's, Shoes and Suits. After gaining years of experience in the Big Apple, Marcella decided to move back to Miami to be closer to her immediate family. She then entered the world of travel retail as a buyer. She soon began working with cruise lines for a company called Starboard Cruise Services. This opportunity afforded her the experience of working with world famous cruise lines such as Carnival, Holland, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. She was very successful as a buyer and was soon offered an even better position with a company called Travel Traders where she was buying for prestigious hotel chains and resorts. Marcella added to her resume, buying for Westins, Marriots, Hiltons, and Fairmonts. Marcella worked as a buyer for about eight years before she made the decision to step out on her own.

In 2007 Marcella decided to turn one of the guest rooms in her home into
a showroom. She created a mini boutique that served individual clients by appointment only. The little boutique was an instant success and she decided to expand by integrating on-line shopping by creating new web site. After a year of careful planning and much research, Marcella found the perfect location and decided to take the plunge and open up a store.

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