By Linda Roberts

Here at London College of Fashion we’ve seen an increase in the number of entrepreneurs who are planning to start, or have started their own label, and are keen to start selling online.

They see e-tail as an extremely cost effective route to market.

It allows newly established labels to reach a much larger audience more quickly, and it also enables them to demonstrate the vision or ethos of their brand which might otherwise get lost amongst other labels in a store. 

To cater for this growth in the market, we’ve created a unique one-day seminar which will offer delegates the opportunity to understand the benefits of e-tail and learn how to take their brands online.

There will be keynote speakers and online fashion experts, including Leon Bailey-Green and Claire Muir of Amethyst Group, who will offer an insight into what to expect when using the internet to sell or market fashion.

Visit www.fashion.arts.ac.uk for more information.

By Linda Roberts, Senior Business Manager at London College of Fashion

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Myself with Kristina O’Connor

Kristina O’Connor may have studied Spanish and Italian at Birmingham University for four years but her passion is online retail.

Having beta launched Store Society, at the end of last year, Kristina is now tasked with developing phase two of the website with a relaunch which took place last month.

I recently caught up with Kristina (whose father is a TV favourite) to find out more about Store Society.

What is Store Society to the average fashion shopper?

Right now, many would think of Store Society as a social network.

The site connects fashion lovers with each other allowing them to share their latest looks and be inspired by each other’s style.

Members have the standard social network tools available to them such as status updates, messaging, recommending, rating, following and befriending, but Store Society is much more than that.

Store Society relaunched August 2009

How does Store Society help boutiques?

If you are a fashion retailer you can get your store listed on Store Society now, for free, which allows you to engage with our members.

Simply filling in location and opening hours is enough to be useful to a user.

However, upload your logo and add some product, and instantly your store becomes discoverable in our browse and search functions.

Stores can promote products, sales and offers directly to members. This is useful for stores that aren’t yet online; it gives them a presence with the intention of assisting footfall.

Retailers who do operate transactional sites can deep-link their items to product pages on their own websites. All free.

Do you see Store Society as an alternative to a boutique creating a website, or is it more of a promotional tool for them?

I’ve spoken with a number of boutique owners who say that they just don’t have the time or money to build a decent website.

Store Society gives stores a professional online presence that is quick and simple to create and very easy to maintain, with instant traffic from the UK and beyond.

The majority of independents don’t have transactional sites, which is something Store Society is working on.

Stores will be able to sell directly from the site in the near future.

Myself with Kristina O’Connor at the London Fashion Network’s first birthday party

As a new media entrepreneur you must have picked up a few technical learnings on the way.

Every day I’m learning something new! I would say the most significant thing I’ve learned so far is the importance of social media, full stop.

As more people choose to shop online, the use of social media is increasingly important as a way for stores to attract attention in a crowded market place.

Through social media, stores can create a personality and communicate directly with their customers, helping to engender loyalty and generate traffic, which in turn leads to sales. Communicate first, sell second.

Name three of your favourite fashion websites?

Peter Versus Toby - An Australian boutique with a sense of humour and some fantastic prints.

Doc Dog - A Brazilian with some really fresh yet feminine designs.

Billy Boyce Clothing - A London based boutique all about funky contemporary street fashion.

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Check out Store Society

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Q&A with Econsultancy published September 8th.

Read the interview online here

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Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run the Drapers Online website? Keely Stocker has been managing the fashion business magazine’s website since the beginning of this year.

Keely, what are your main responsibilities as Digital Content Manager for Drapers?
As Digital Content Manager I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the site.

This includes uploading content and optimising with key words, links and general SEO.

I also work with the editorial and commercial teams to develop new ideas and launch new areas of the site. An example of this is Ask the Expert which is a great tool to allow users access to experts.

I am also in charge of all video content on the site including the filming and editing for Drapers own videos. On the social networking side, I have now set up Drapers, Facebook and Twitter pages which allows us access to people that might not have been aware of Drapers before.

We also have 3 groups on LinkedIn (one for Wholesalers, one for Independents and one for Etailers) where members can network with others in their specific field and start discussions which enables me to see what it is that the industry is looking for and try to provide this on our site.

Which aspect do you enjoy the most, fashion or digital media?
I would have to say both.

I love the digital side of my job because it allows me to be creative and challenges me to enhance the user experience online, but I also have a real love of fashion (especially shoes!) so what better environment to do this in?

How did you get to the position where you are now? What career steps did you take?
I started at Emap four years ago as an administrator. During those years I have always tried to show enthusiasm and initiative (even when filing!) and always volunteered for everything!

I then moved into ad operations but soon realised I was more interested in the development and content side of online which is how I moved into this role.

Myself with Keely at the Online Fashion 100 event

What advice would you give to someone wanting work experience at Drapers?
I would advise them send in their CV with as much information as possible including any previous work experience they have.

If they are given an opportunity to do work experience they should make their most of that time, meeting as many people as possible, showing eagerness to help out whenever they can and having the confidence to take on any task that is given.

And finally, what can we expect in the coming months from Drapers Online?
Drapersonline.com is going to continue to evolve over the coming months with aims to develop a clearer online prospect for specific channels and encourage more interaction on the site.

I am looking at how I can develop our Ecommece channel online to cater for this ever growing audience. We will continue to be the first to bring all the latest fashion news including breaking news updates and are planning more catwalk coverage over the coming fashion weeks.

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I chaired the final online event for the London Fashion Network; this one was about the power of the blog.

One of the hot topics was making money from blogs.

Charlotte from Glam Media was keen for fashion bloggers to monetise their websites with Glam’s network adverts but the panel of bloggers weren’t so sure.

Some thought it would put readers off, whilst others just didn’t want the hassle.

It is possible to make a living by having affiliate links and adverts on blogs, but it can compromise the content; a lot of bloggers in the fashion space don’t want to risk that.

Blogger Mademoiselle Robot charges for personal styling (see here)

My own view is that blogs can be used to enhance how someone already makes money offline.

Mademoiselle Robot is using the following she has built up on her blog to launch a new online personal styling consultancy.

I think the team at Glam, and many other ad networks, will just have to accept that some fashion bloggers just don’t want adverts.

It doesn’t mean they’re commercially dim or afraid of advertisers, it just means they don’t want to make money from their passion – because then it becomes a job.

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Read my Drapers blog, ‘Improving your online shopping experience: Schway, iStylista and Empora’

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I recently met up with Joanna Perry, the technology expert at Retail Week.

If you’re readinig this you must know Retail Week as a must-read for those in, erm, retail.

Drapers is the staple for the fashion industry, and Retail Week has a particular focus on what’s happening generally in the sector of consumer selling.

Joanna covers retail technology for the publication, everything from IT systems to e-commerce issues.

She quickly picked up on HabitatTwitterGate, and was - albeit unwittingly - quoted in The Telegraph’s coverage of the fiasco.

Joanna and I spoke about some of the hot topics within online fashion retail, including creating blogs.

Setting up and strategising content on blogs is something I help fashion brands with, so I was more than happy to answer the reader dilemma recently sent in to Retail Week (featured here).

Joanna and I at the Online Fashion 100 event / Photo courtesy of Fashshot

Joanna hosted the Retail Week Technology Awards last month and was in work the next day despite the 4am finish.

She made a Twitter plea in the morning for a McFlurry. I don’t know if she got it, but she did have drinks and canapes at the Online Fashion 100 event that evening!

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Retail Surgery: “Lots of our competitors have set up blogs on their websites. If we create one, what should we write about and how successful could we expect it to be?”

See my answer in Retail Week June 12 issue, or on the Retail Week website.

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Last week I chaired the London Fashion Network’s Trading Online event, which focused on Getting Noticed.

L to R: Richard, Barnaby, myself, Joel, Stephen

The panel included Stephen Pratley from Shine Marketing, Richard Thorpe from Screen Pages, Joel Vertes from Olswang and Barnaby Brown from motelrocks.com.

Topics covered included search engine optimisation, paid search, fashion blogs, domain names and email marketing.

There were a mixture of experiences on the panel, and I was most pleased that all agreed on the principle of online PR being the focus for SEO and building traffic.

I’ve said many times before about the importance of finding that interesting unique thing, about a website or brand, to shout about, in order to attract links and attention.

There was also a consensus on using paid search as a research resource, for instance to find out which keywords are the best converters. The panel were keen to stress that campaigns should be managed, or at least set up, by a professional, otherwise costs can spiral.

The next Trading Online event will be on July 9th and focuses on ensuring your website is ‘Looking Good’.

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I like the way online jewellery retail Hiho Silver uses events to epitomise the lifestyle of its brand.

Not only does the Events page work to draw people to the website, by ranking for event related terms on search engines, it also solidifies the brand value, by screaming that it knows the lifestyle of its customer.

I came across Hiho Silver as Nick Ede has just launched his own range of jewellery for the store called Lost & Found.

The collection of statement jewellery is available to buy online now, with a percentage of sales going to The Stroke Association.

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e.g., a new fashion label started by Emma Griffiths (who graduated from Westminster University last summer) and Jeanpierre Kalebic (a former estate agent), is one of the best examples I have seen of a fashion start-up getting on with the business of promoting themselves online, and successfully too.

There are tons of new fashion labels launching all the time, but unlike many of them Emma and Jeanpierre have focused first on getting coverage from fashion bloggers.

The next stage of their plan is to target online fashion magazines before beginning an assault on the fashion magazines, using the buzz from fashion blogs as a way in.

A very clever (and realistic) strategy if I do say so myself.

Every new label wants to be featured in Vogue and Grazia, but there is a lot to be gained by start-up labels from featuring on blogs like Style Bubble and Kingdom of Style.

Queen Michelle features e.g on Kingdom of Style blog

e.g. Sales Director Jeanpierre says “We have been picked up by a number of blogs and this has provided us with a steady stream of new visitors to the site”.

Fashion bloggers offer awareness, visitors to websites, search engine friendly links and post-blog commentary from their readers, often offering constructive insight into what they think of the range.

See e.g.’s press page - pretty impressive work.

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I recently had lunch with Miriam Lahage and Nicola Grylls, CEO and Marketing Manager respectively, of Koodos.com.

Koodos has a blog called Bargainista where they publish discount codes of competitors to encourage repeat visits to the website (see my previous blog on it here).

Miriam and Nicola mentioned that some people thought they were “crazy” to promote their competitors.

It’s undeniably a risky strategy, but the best ideas have to be a bit crazy and it’s all about taking risks to establish a position in the market.

It was pleasing, but unsurprising given the current economic climate, to hear that Koodos has been doing well selling designer at discount. And even better during the other climate change; the weather.

We chatted about the current trend for discount codes, and the future challenge for retailers when the economy picks up, as shoppers will be accustomed to discounts.

It will continue to be a good time for discount sites, whilst full price retailers will have to up their offerings to compete.

I think Koodos could make more of its service to brands, where it can act as an outlet for product in its later life stage.

Ted Baker recently commissioned M And M Direct to create the discount store Ted’s Shed, but for brands that want a low cost option to shift excess stock Koodos has a brilliant platform and audience.

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Guest post by Gareth Townsend, Director of Zanzan

Before Zanzan’s May 2009 launch in stores, we released the limited edition, handmade sunglasses through an exclusive online distribution deal with luxury online retailer farfetch.

We were the first new brand to achieve this accolade - the culmination of months of research into the, sometimes impenetrable, online fashion jungle. So where did we start? Right here!

We found that Online Fashion 100 was the only one-stop shop that explained the whole online fashion world as a complex commercial eco-system rather than a directory of style blogs.

We needed a real insider’s perspective to help us formulate a strategy that would get us seen in the right places.

With reference to the ‘100’ we are engaged in a systematic campaign targeting our favourite independent style blogs and the mainstream fashion sites – both distinct groups represented on Leon’s list.

The Online Fashion 100 is helping us to unscramble the networks of influence that move the online fashion world and as the brand grows we have all the information, from the list, to develop our digital strategy accordingly.

Guest post by Gareth Townsend, Director of Zanzan

Want to guest post here? email me leon [@] reallycontent.com

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Littlewoods.com is heavily promoting its Buy Now, Pay April 2010 offer on its website.

The promotion appears on the homepage of Littlewoods.com

Customers simply need to enter the code XX282 at checkout and fill in an application form, which I would image does an automatic credit check.

It’s in keeping with their traditional values as a catalogue retailer where customers are offered credit.

Perhaps this rather traditional approach to home shopping could see a revival.

Giving the customers what they want, when they want it (now), but allowing them to pay flexibly.

I don’t want to encourage debt, and understand that the realities of credit has hit the nation hard, but let’s be honest, people will still buy and pay later (if it’s offered to them), simply because it’s convenient.

Online retail trades on convenience for the customer, so what’s to say this shouldn’t stretch to payment options too?

OK, so customers can already pay on credit cards and choose to pay later (incurring interest and penalties) but ‘Buy Now On Your Credit Card And Pay It Off Next Year’ isn’t as sexy as the more punchy ‘Buy Now, Pay April 2010’ as a call to action.

Littlewoods provides credit to customers through the finance arm of the Shop Direct Group it belongs to.

Isn’t there an opportunity now for that arm of the group to provide credit services to customers of other online retailers?

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Carly Newnham’s final project concentrates on affiliate fashion sites and social networking. The student, who is doing a Fashion, Media & Promotion course, asks...

“Why does osoyou.com only concentrate on online promotion of the site?”

Leon says...

“Sites such as OSOYOU concentrate on online promotion simply because it’s most effective in terms of result and cost.

By marketing online they are able to attract immediate connection as the user will click to view the website. By marketing offline you’re reliant on people typing in the URL or brand name.

Where you do see websites like OSOYOU promoted offline, it is usually because they are affiliated to a magazine publisher.”

Carly also asks...

“What is a reasonable number of retailers for a start up affiliate site to have?”

Leon replies...

“Nowadays an affiliate website can start up with hundreds of retailers by using feeds. How many a website starts with depends totally on the complexity of the design, and the technology capabilities an affiliate has.”

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