With strong investor support, Seasons looks to get men to rent clothes When Regy Perlera first began pitching his streetwear rental startup in early 2019, Seasons, to investors, he was met with a healthy amount of skepticism. The popular conception was that men don’t rent. Rent the Runway, for one, has no immediate interest in men’s rental, said COO Maureen Sullivan. But Perlera,...
‘An extension of the brand’: Inside Peloton’s apparel ambitions Peloton is placing a bigger emphasis on its retail and apparel offerings. The athletic brand, known most widely for its stationary bikes and workout classes, released a collection of men’s and women’s apparel on January 15 in collaboration with Gap subsidiaries Hill City and Athleta. Peloton vp of apparel Jill Foley...
‘Allbirds is an outlier’: Why VC-backed direct-to-consumer brands are hitting a wall Throughout the 2010s, numerous fashion brands popped up with a simplistic business model: focus on a single product or small suite of related products, sell direct and online-only, and advertise aggressively on social media. This model worked for brands like Warby Parker and Bonobos, and countless brands followed suit. But...
DTC brands’ growth-at-all-costs strategy is stunting product development Cost-per-acquisition on social media is much higher than it used to be, meaning that the Warby Parker approach to aggressive expansion is eating up the budget that could otherwise go toward product development.
Fashion is linking with travel to offer customers new convenience Colin Hunter, co-founder of bespoke menswear brand Alton Lane, has a goal is to integrate his brand’s custom suit-fitting into travel. Right now, the brand is working on a cruise partnership where customers get fitted on the first day of a cruise and have a custom suit waiting for them...
Resale and rental platforms are becoming department store staples This week, Rent the Runway announced its latest partnership with Nordstrom: RTR Revive. At 24 Nordstrom Rack locations, customers can purchase (not rent) worn items from Rent the Runway’s catalog, essentially hosting a small resale section within the store.
As Gucci’s sales slow, Bottega Veneta is emerging as Kering’s new star Prior to ex-Celine designer Daniel Lee’s appointment as creative director at Bottega Veneta, the brand was a sore spot on Kering’s earnings sheet, with several years of declining sales. Now, less than two years since he joined, the brand is growing faster than its sister brands including Saint Laurent and...
Payless emerges from bankruptcy with a plan to focus on Latin America, other international markets When it filed for its second bankruptcy last year, the company closed more than 2,000 stores throughout the world. Its massive overhead was a contributing factor in the company shutting down. Upon its return, Payless will shift its focus away from the U.S. to pour more resources into Latin America,...
Collaborations are providing fashion brands a gateway to the Chinese market As the Chinese market continues to slow down after several years of being the fastest-growing market in fashion, collaborations can provide the necessary boost brands need to keep Chinese customers engaged.