Over the last year or so, I’ve seen a number of new startups launching brand aggregation platforms that, among other benefits, provide consumers with curated product discovery. Many of these aggregation platforms are online marketplaces (the recently announced high profile… Continue Reading
When I first started investing in DTC startups over five years ago, most were following the classic DTC playbook – once they developed their product, they would add social content, get SEO right through blog content and site design, collect emails and… Continue Reading
What is retail today? After all the dire warnings of the “retail apocalypse,” store closings, zombie malls and retail bankruptcies, “retail” is a loaded term. But in reality, retail is changing – and the definition of the very word “retail”… Continue Reading
Over the last few years, we’ve seen dozens of startups tackling the problem of fit in women’s apparel.* Whether it’s creating a better/custom fit or understanding how a product will fit the shopper, it’s a big space. And no wonder… Continue Reading
Retail AI-powered chatbots are relatively new for most retailers and brands, but chatbot fever is here. There’s a lot of excitement around the technology, but most agree, it’s still early days for chatbots. Early commerce chatbot functionality has been… Continue Reading
I recently wrote about the massive shifts in the retail landscape we’re going to be seeing over the next 5-20 years. Many of the changes we’ll see will be focused on disrupting legacy systems and processes, recreating the supply chain… Continue Reading
Over the last few months, the headlines have been dire: Stores are dead. Malls are dead. Chain stores are dead. Retail is dead. Ecommerce is dead. Millennials are looking for experiences, not more stuff. Younger consumers prefer to rent, not… Continue Reading
I’ve been fascinated by the luxury space for a while now, and have been looking to invest in a luxury startup. Obviously, there have been a few notable successes in luxury ecommerce, including Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi and Yoox, to name… Continue Reading
I’ve been an angel investor now for about a year and a half. And since I primarily focus on fashion tech and retail, I tend to see a lot of startups that are attacking the next big thing in commerce,… Continue Reading
The sharing economy (also known as collaborative consumption) has been top of mind for many start-ups. Since the success of Rent the Runway, many fashion tech start-ups have been focusing on how to bring sharing to the fashion and retail… Continue Reading
It’s been all about menswear for the last few years, as the US menswear market has been growing faster than the women’s market, both in stores and increasingly online. Mall-based retailers like J. Crew, Nordstrom, Lululemon, Coach and Lord &… Continue Reading
There’s a new look for spring and it’s a hybrid of fashion and activewear (sporty fashion? fashionable activewear?) and it is officially everywhere. It started with sporty looks all over the runways for Spring Fashion Week, continued with active/fashion hybrid… Continue Reading
You’ve seen the stats – the 2013 holiday season showed 12% growth in e-commerce and a slowdown of 15% in mall foot traffic. Put them together and the answer is obvious. E-commerce wins and stores and malls everywhere die a… Continue Reading