STORES Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 22)

EXECUTIVE SUITE / COVER STORY Exclusive sites offer fashion deals to those “in the know” BY FIONA SOLTES E ven in hard economic times, Theo Gray likes a little luxury. She likes it even more when the items feel as though they’ve been chosen just for her, laid out on black velvet, offered at a discount — and she can buy them online. ideeli.com and RueLaLa.com claim continuous counter-cyclical sales increases by offering small lots of luxury — and in some cases, premium — brands at deep discounts. Typical shoppers are women in their late 20s to early 50s who enjoy the thrill of a good deal, the excitement of being part of an “in” group — and the abil- Current financial woes have made many a fashion-forward shopper alter her definition of “luxury,” but the Boston attorney adheres to its truest sense: Names like Elie Tahari, Alexander McQueen and Manolo Blahnik fill her red atu closet and roll off her tongue. How does she d tailers feecial afford them? You’ll have to be pervite e. sp e In luxury fering a TORES ’r he sonally invited to find out. Youh of t cle is of ers of S In late January, Unity Marketing d i es Eac is art to rea ! tor h released the results of its most recent ive in t tation pping xclus ?mi=s o i /e edia affluent consumer spending study. The inv y sh om /m a.c pp Ha ruelal com/in res . i. w to el ww .ide om/s w c ww .gilt. w ww survey of nearly 1,200 respondents with an average income of $199,200 showed that “even the richest Americans” are holding off on discretionary purchases. In fourth quarter of 2008, those customers spent 6.4 percent less on luxuries than they did in the preceding three months. But in an otherwise dismal retail environment, there’s at least one spot as bright as a Cartier diamond. Invitation-only websites like Gilt.com, 22 STORES / MARCH 2009 ity to buy fine items in a time-efficient, private manner when others around them may not be able to justify doing the same. “I’m willing to shop if the prices are right,” says Gray, a regular visitor to Gilt Groupe’s Gilt.com. “That’s how I’ve always been. But the other day I was wearing a pair of Tory Burch boots. You don’t want to say, ‘Yeah, they’re a $500 pair of boots.’” Launched less than a year ago, Rue WWW.STORES.ORG http://www.ideeli.com http://www.RueLaLa.com http://www.ruelala.com/exclusive http://www.ideeli.com/in/media?mi=stores http://www.gilt.com/stores http://www.Gilt.com http://www.Gilt.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - March 2009

STORES Magazine - March 2009 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Movers and Spenders What Shoppers Think Take Your Laundry Online 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Luxury for Less Q & A CONCEPT2WATCH Checkout Management Online Entrepreneurs Sustainability POS Online Strategy Online Scheduling SaaS Online Marketing Merchandise Security PCI Compliance LPinformation Supplier Directory Exception Reporting Industry Perspective Theft Research LOEB Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar End Cap

STORES Magazine - March 2009

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