design:retail - November/December 2017 - 38

038
Julep

Dollar Shave
Club

B

J

oin the club! That seems to be
a trend from everything from
stylist-selected clothing every
month to weekly meal prep.
California-based Dollar Shave Club
started with razors in 2012 and now
has men's needs covered for
everything in the bathroom. Reviews
talk about quality products at an
affordable price. You choose a razor
set, select a delivery frequency for
replacements and don't have to
make a long-term commitment. And
the brand has expanded to offer
products for the shower, hair styling,
skincare and, yes, even butt wipes.
Obviously, we aren't the only
ones watching this brand. Unilever
bought Dollar Shave Club in 2016 for
$1 billion, and now is set to launch
the club in Europe in 2018. Big
shaves ahead. dollarshaveclub.com

A

comfortable mattress direct to your
door in a small, "how did they do
that?"-size box-that is what Casper,
a global sleep company that was
launched in 2014, is doing to redefine the
mattress shopping experience. In just three
years, the company has amassed a cult
following of happy sleepers. Named one of Fast
Company's Most Innovative Companies in the
World in 2017, it has gone beyond its mattress,
which was crowned one of TIME Magazine's
Best Inventions, to expand its product line to
include sheets, pillows, a matching foundation
and even a dog mattress.
And the company has made big strides to up
its reach in the past year, now partnering with
Target to bring Casper products directly to consumers in-store on a national scale.
And in more recent news, the company just opened a a new concept shop (the first
of 15) at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, featuring staged bedrooms called "nap pods"
that are meant to both showroom and test drive the product. Yes, customers can
actually book a pod, close the curtain and take a 30-minute nap in-store. Now
that's what we call brand experience. casper.com Photos courtesy of CASPER

WAH Nails

Stitch Fix

F

ounder Katrina Lake made personal styling
accessible when she shipped the first Stitch Fix order
out of her Cambridge apartment in 2011 while
attending Harvard Business School. The online
personal styling service saves customers time while offering
guidance to evolve their style sense and wardrobe. In 2016,
the company expanded its offering to service men. In 2017,
the women's offering was expanded to plus sizes and a
Premium Brand offering was launched for men and women.
Fill out a 10-minute online style profile, select a date to
receive a "Fix" and the process begins. Through a proprietary
styling platform and recommendations by the Stitch Fix
styling algorithm, clients are shipped five items of apparel
and accessories. Customers don't have to make time for a trip
to the mall and fret about dressing room lighting and
mirrors. They can try each piece on in the comfort of their
home and see how it works with other items in their closet.
Buy want you want and ship the rest back. Shipping is free. A
$20 styling fee is charged for each shipment, and clients
provide feedback on what they like and do not like to guide
the "stylists." This helps each Fix to get better with time. The
shipment schedule is up to the customers-on demand,
monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly-and selections are tailored
to meet their specific tastes, lifestyle and budget. The
company now has more than 75 data scientists and more
than 3,400 employee stylists giving 2 million-plus active
clients nationwide access to this exclusive shopping
experience. stitchfix.com Photo courtesy of STITCH FIX

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017

Casper

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

F

rom the moment Founder Sharmadean Reid
introduced a fanzine in 2005 to its first nail salon
in 2009 to now having the WAH London Nail Care
Line, WAH Nails is a place for nails as an artform.
Reid wanted to own a salon where customers could
have "whatever you wanted on your fingertips."
Record launch parties, art shows, film nights-this
is a salon at the pulse of the community, a place with
a distinct vibe. In the London Soho salon, the brand
even uses a virtual reality application-the WAH Nails
Virtual Reality Designer-where customers can select
their skin color and experiment with various digital
designs on their virtual hand. An authentic and
functional usage of VR in retail for WAH Nails' Gen Z
and young Millennial demographic, versus the
one-off gimmick. The WAH London Nail Care Line is
full standalone range created by Reid so that
customers have everything they need to perform nail
art and nail care at home. Fashion, street-style art and
technology come together in this nail care line.
wah-nails.com

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

eauty in a box, Julep is a
brand that invites
customers to enjoy
make-up and choose to be
"Brave Pretty." By taking a
beauty quiz and choosing a
subscription type, customers
become Julep Mavens and
receive monthly beauty boxes.
Founder Jane Parker wants
Mavens to look good, but
more importantly feel good.
Maven Meetups and Live with
Jane are ways Parker is
creating a brand community.
The Julep Beauty Lab also
offers opportunities for the
brand to co-create products,
asking customer feedback
and crowdsourcing product
names, colors, textures and
even applicator shapes. In the
brick-and-mortar world, the
brand has also opened three
Julep boutique nail salons in
Bellevue and Seattle, Wash., all
offering parlor memberships
where frequent customers can
pay monthly to get their mani,
pedi and facial pampering on.
And in the spirit of many of the
Brands to Watch, the company
is demonstrating its social
responsibility by supporting
organizations that empower
women, such as Good360,
Habitat for Humanity's
Annual Women Build, Malala
Fund and Dignity for Divas.
julep.com
http://www.dollarshaveclub.com http://www.julep.com http://www.casper.com http://www.wah-nails.com http://www.stitchfix.com http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - November/December 2017
