51000 4 3 econsultancy_xml <p>Fifteen years ago if someone said they had ordered their groceries at home, you’d imagine it would be a once-a-year Christmas hamper type thing.</p> <p>Now it’s the norm to do your Ocado or Sainsbury’s shopping from the comfort of your home – or the discomfort of your office desk, where you minimise the screen as soon as someone approaches a one metre radius of your desk.</p> <p>We’re now seeing niche crazes becoming viable business models, and last month Rupert Murdoch’s News International launched <a href="http://www.brandalley.co.uk/">Brand Alley</a>, a private designer fashion sales website, in the UK.</p> <p>If you’ve never come across sites like Brand Alley or <a href="http://www.koodos.com/">koodos<strong>,</strong></a> they normally work like this; you become a member of the exclusive club, receive email alerts detailing when a sale begins and what’s on offer, and then you log in, browse and ultimately buy.</p> <p>It’s going to be quite a step change to market this in a culture of fast fashion where we’re used to buying clothes we want whenever we want them.</p> <p>The internet is supposed to make it easier for us to shop when we want. So how does one market a site that only lets you buy certain items at specific periods and only if you’re on the guest list?</p> <p>Perhaps what could confuse and frustrate some (having to be on the guest list and timed sales) is what makes other potential customers happy. </p> <p>Maybe in the culture of fast fashion where anyone can do a certain look, some want that aura of exclusivity around their purchases and the satisfaction that they paid less than 'Belinda in PR' for a pair of Chloe heels.</p> <p>The internet makes this way of shopping commercially possible – can you imagine a bricks and mortar shop only stocking a particular item and opening for a few hours every week to limited customers? It just wouldn’t work.</p> <p> <em> <strong>Leon Bailey is an online marketing, PR and partnerships professional specialising in fashion, beauty and celebrity media. He currently works for OSOYOU.com.</strong> </em>  </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>Fifteen years ago if someone said they had ordered their groceries at home, you’d imagine it would be a once-a-year Christmas hamper type thing.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Now it’s the norm to do your Ocado or Sainsbury’s shopping from the comfort of your home – or the discomfort of your office desk, where you minimise the screen as soon as someone approaches a one metre radius of your desk.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>We’re now seeing niche crazes becoming viable business models, and last month Rupert Murdoch’s News International launched <Link URL="http://www.brandalley.co.uk/" Window="Self">Brand Alley</Link>, a private designer fashion sales website, in the UK.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>If you’ve never come across sites like Brand Alley or <Link URL="http://www.koodos.com/" Window="Self">koodos<Emphasis>,</Emphasis></Link> they normally work like this; you become a member of the exclusive club, receive email alerts detailing when a sale begins and what’s on offer, and then you log in, browse and ultimately buy.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>It’s going to be quite a step change to market this in a culture of fast fashion where we’re used to buying clothes we want whenever we want them.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>The internet is supposed to make it easier for us to shop when we want. So how does one market a site that only lets you buy certain items at specific periods and only if you’re on the guest list?</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Perhaps what could confuse and frustrate some (having to be on the guest list and timed sales) is what makes other potential customers happy. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Maybe in the culture of fast fashion where anyone can do a certain look, some want that aura of exclusivity around their purchases and the satisfaction that they paid less than 'Belinda in PR' for a pair of Chloe heels.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>The internet makes this way of shopping commercially possible – can you imagine a bricks and mortar shop only stocking a particular item and opening for a few hours every week to limited customers? It just wouldn’t work.</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote> <Emphasis>Leon Bailey is an online marketing, PR and partnerships professional specialising in fashion, beauty and celebrity media. He currently works for OSOYOU.com.</Emphasis> </Quote>  </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2008-03-04T08:19:00+00:00 4 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Can online private fashion sales work in the UK? <em>Leon Bailey</em> asks how one goes about marketing such websites.</strong> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Can online private fashion sales work in the UK? <Quote>Leon Bailey</Quote> asks how one goes about marketing such websites.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2234 365182 Can private sales work in online fashion? false 2008-03-04T08:30:00+00:00 can-private-sales-work-in-online-fashion-4 2009-04-28T23:06:22+01:00 2009-04-28T23:06:22+01:00 952