Millennials are prioritizing experiences over tangible products. More than 75% of Millennials would choose to spend money on an experience over buying a product (Harris Group study – 2016). More than that, the experience is not based on onwnership, but on NOwnership. They (we) want to feel the adrenaline but without ties, and sharing economy is already there to satisfy them (us).
One of the brands that are understanding the experience economy and have created a business model to cover current needs is Le Tote: the “Netflix for Fashion“. Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, LE TOTE is a fashion discovery platform that connects brands with consumers through a rental model. It offers a service of personal assistance, like The Trunk Club (acquired by Nordstrom), and women can keep what they want as long as they want. Le Tote collaborates with influencers too.
But the key value proposition for fashion brands (Nike, Rebecca Minkoff, Levi’s…) is not only being another e-tail channel but a source of customers feedbacks and insights. Thanks to that, brands can adapt the fit or design of their products through a process of machine learning. Now they are developing their private label in collaboration with top influencers and using the data they receive from their customers to decide what design, color, fit…to produce. It’s time to fashion 3.0. You can read more about “ultra-fastion” here.
Find below, an extract from Glossy´s article “How Le Tote used customer data to create its first influencer collection.”
For Le Tote’s first design collaboration, with model Olivia Culpo, the production process was a delicate balance of mining customer data to make decisions and trusting Culpo’s subjective style.
The collection resulted in items more fashion-forward than Le Tote’s typical selection, while still fitting with the subscription company’s core of affordable workwear: a reversible bomber jacket, a frilled leather skirt and a variety of printed blouses. While the company’s e-commerce site is usually only accessible to the company’s members, Le Tote made this collection available for anyone to shop, as a way to capitalize off the buzzy collaboration.
Five years after it was founded, Le Tote is edging into a brand-building strategy that includes Culpo and other influencers. Its business model earned an early reputation in fashion-tech media as the “Netflix for fashion”: Members pay a flat fee for a monthly shipment of clothing and accessories they can wear for a month and return, or purchase at a special price. In 2016, Le Tote shipped $100 million worth of clothing, and Rakesh Tondon, Le Tote’s CEO and co-founder, said business has grown six times its size over the last three years. So far, the company has raised $53 million in funding.
Read more about this on Glossy
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