This is how I see it....in this day and age online is becoming the norm in everything and eCommerce just keeps escalating even during the Great Recession that we've been experiencing and shows no aspect of slowing down, BUT... people will always want to go to a brick-and-mortar store to do their primary shopping. We are very social animals, we like to get out and visit shops, especially our favorite ones, where we can peruse the latest fashions, get feedback from the sales associates, fill a dressing room full of clothes and style away to our hearts content. It's FUN, it's SOCIAL, it fills a need or want, whether to interact with somebody, kill some time (as a retailer THAT is not my favorite thing!) and of course the end result is to find some fascinating, unique, MUST HAVE items to add to our wardrobes.
My new store will be two-fold; a brick and mortar store and an online store or as it is called a "click and mortar". In my mind the physical store will be the anchor, the hub, and out of that will flow the online store which does need time to get up and running but will soon become the driving force of the whole operation. To accomplish this, one needs to do their homework and that is what I set out to do.
In my business, every time I would travel to Paris, Milan, Florence, New York, etc, I would always go out and source other fashion stores,L'Eclaireur in Paris , Corso Como 10 in Milan, Atelier New York to name a few and see what lines and designers they were carrying, always seeking something fresh and new that would fit into the mix of my store. At the same time, checking out the layout of other stores, how they were merchandising their product, how the windows were displayed, was the staff attentive and engaging, the lighting... extremely important!...the traffic flow in the store and could I incorporate any or all of this into my store to improve the shopping experience for my clients. It was always very interesting to see how other store buyers would buy a designer that I was carrying, the depth of the line, the sizing and color direction they would choose and how that collection would be displayed and presented to their customers. This is and was part of the process to keep myself abreast and current in what I was doing. I know how to do this and do it well, now it is time to channel that energy to the Web!
In my business, every time I would travel to Paris, Milan, Florence, New York, etc, I would always go out and source other fashion stores,L'Eclaireur in Paris , Corso Como 10 in Milan, Atelier New York to name a few and see what lines and designers they were carrying, always seeking something fresh and new that would fit into the mix of my store. At the same time, checking out the layout of other stores, how they were merchandising their product, how the windows were displayed, was the staff attentive and engaging, the lighting... extremely important!...the traffic flow in the store and could I incorporate any or all of this into my store to improve the shopping experience for my clients. It was always very interesting to see how other store buyers would buy a designer that I was carrying, the depth of the line, the sizing and color direction they would choose and how that collection would be displayed and presented to their customers. This is and was part of the process to keep myself abreast and current in what I was doing. I know how to do this and do it well, now it is time to channel that energy to the Web!
Well, I jump on the Internet and start Google-ing away, checking out web-sites, searching various boutiques online presence, who had eCommerce and who just had a presence and if they had eCommerce was it 24/7 fully functional or did you have to call the store to purchase. What were they selling, how much, quantities, designers, men or women fashions or both, was the site clean or cluttered?, how easy was it to navigate and check out, did they blog or style on the site, did it use Flash or not. These were just a few of the questions I was searching answers for. Obviously there are a lot of websites selling clothing but it really comes down to the few high end fashion forward sites that I am interested in because they are the ones I will be competing with.
The number one high end women's fashion site is, in my opinion, Net-a-Porter.com , based out of London, founded by a stylist and former journalist, Natalie Massenet, who employs over 500 people and claims to attract over two million viewers a month. Other sites to take note of are Yoox.com from Milan and Farfetch.com, a site that allow stores from all over the world to join showcasing their store products in one site. Now, keep in mind that these are just online stores only with no physical presence but they are doing an incredible business over the Internet. The stores that I will be competing directly with are the brick and mortar stores in Los Angeles, Maxfield, H. Lorenzo, Ron Herman, Fred Segal, etc. All these stores have sites but not all actually sell off their sites but use them as presence to get people interested to call or come in.
Mind boggling isn't it? Well, it is to me and I guess that's what is important. I have to tell you that I am somewhat computer and Internet challenged and this doesn't come second nature to me as it does to my son, Gavin. To him its a second language and pity the fool...Me... who doesn't get it as quickly as he does!...It's a Joke, Gavin, OK?... I have to tell you that he is very patient with his old dad, most of the time.
Anyway, as you can see, I had my work cut out for me and I just wanted to give you an inkling of the process and how my mind works. It is late and I'm going to sign off now.
Next time...
The number one high end women's fashion site is, in my opinion, Net-a-Porter.com , based out of London, founded by a stylist and former journalist, Natalie Massenet, who employs over 500 people and claims to attract over two million viewers a month. Other sites to take note of are Yoox.com from Milan and Farfetch.com, a site that allow stores from all over the world to join showcasing their store products in one site. Now, keep in mind that these are just online stores only with no physical presence but they are doing an incredible business over the Internet. The stores that I will be competing directly with are the brick and mortar stores in Los Angeles, Maxfield, H. Lorenzo, Ron Herman, Fred Segal, etc. All these stores have sites but not all actually sell off their sites but use them as presence to get people interested to call or come in.
Mind boggling isn't it? Well, it is to me and I guess that's what is important. I have to tell you that I am somewhat computer and Internet challenged and this doesn't come second nature to me as it does to my son, Gavin. To him its a second language and pity the fool...Me... who doesn't get it as quickly as he does!...It's a Joke, Gavin, OK?... I have to tell you that he is very patient with his old dad, most of the time.
Anyway, as you can see, I had my work cut out for me and I just wanted to give you an inkling of the process and how my mind works. It is late and I'm going to sign off now.
Next time...
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