Black Friday and Cyber Monday have just passed and after spending a couple of lunch breaks online haphazardly browsing through thousands of items on sale, we learned that e-retailer DailyLook’s simplified method of approaching quick trends with sleek curation was meant for us. With nearly half a million followers on Facebook alone, DailyLook, caters to consumers by showing complete stylized looks, and is the only one of its kind growing at phenomenal speeds while backed by renowned investors like Brian Lee of the Honest Company and styling master and designer Rachel Zoe. Founded in 2011 by CEO Brian Ree, the company initially built as a flash sale site is now a fully categorized ecommerce platform. Though its evolution pushed towards a traditional online catalog model, the promotion of complete ensembles remains the main marketing approach that attracts new followers and members every day.
Quality with shopping made simple remain the backbone for Ree’s approach to online retail. Women can now experience their recently launched Elite personalized styling program. With Elite you can experience having your own wardrobe stylist/personal shopper, but without the hassle of in-store appointments. Ree shares with Audrey readers more in-depth details about his company along with how their newest monthly subscription venture functions and why it appeals to the young professional woman.
Audrey Magazine: When did you first decide to dive into the world of online retail and how did DailyLook come about?
Brian Ree: It was just over three years ago we found this company Dailylook, and the idea actually came about from at the time wanting to create a website that made it really easy to shop entire looks from head-to-toe. The concept was really simple and was really about showcasing one new look every day and having that look available to purchase with just a few clicks.
AM: I understand you started as more of flash sale model. Looking at DailyLook now, what were some of the challenges of transitioning from a “flash” sale e-commerce platform to a more standardized model?
BR: We found customers loved shopping by looks, but they also wanted the ability to shop in a more traditional fashion of by category, so when we launched we didn’t have the ability to shop by any clothing categories. We asked our customers what features they would like, and they wanted a feature that looked like the traditional catalog model. In return, we decided to add more features that would allow this. That was our prompt to evolving the website to cater to our customers’ needs, but we always stayed true to the core of making it easy to browse and shop by looks, and we wanted to remain focused on head-to-toe styling for outfit ideas.
AM: Given the ability to search by category for clothing and accessories and then by look and now by the new DailyLook Elite option, do you feel most consumers find it easier to shop by complete looks or is it half-and-half?
BR: I would say it is half and half. Our most popular area is still the looks. Most of our customers that come to us are generally starting out by viewing new looks, but at the same time if you know that you want a dress only, it’s just quicker and easier going to the direct category. I guess it depends, but it is mostly 50/50 now in terms of consumer behavior and their preferences.
AM: How do you compete against consumer trends that call for more classic, investment style approaches to shopping versus the turnover of fast fashion?
BR: If you look at the way we style our pieces and our pricing, we are introducing new looks every day, so there is an element of fast trends and fast fashion in the way we merchandise our product assortment. We have items that range from $20 all the way to $300, we do have some a bit more expensive. We try to style our outfits in a way that the modern, young professional and contemporary woman does today which is really mixing highs and lows to create whatever look they’re trying to get, and that may be pairing a lower price top and skirt with a more investment statement piece like a nicer jacket or sweater. In terms of merchandising, generally we’re not super low nor on the low price end. We go from a Zara price point to a Shopbop price point without losing quality. We carry some brands that Shopbop and Revolve carry, so we have a bit of overlap there, but we have the in-house DailyLook brands and products that are all under $100. The DailyLook products range between $40 to $100.
AM: What future hopes do you have your current company and what sort of impact do you hope to make on the online retail world?
BR: Our mission was always to inspire women to dress their best and attain the look that they want to create for themselves. We have taken it one step further to make it easier by introducing our online personal styling experience which is what we’re most excited about and we’re seeing the most growth with. Basically, a user signs up and fills out a style profile which is then submitted to the styling team and matched to the best stylist according to their answers. That stylist every month will curate 6 to 8 items in a box set to be sent directly to your home on a date you chose and you get to try on items at home and only pay for what you keep. There’s no risk, because if you don’t like anything you can return everything very easily. It’s an experience that allows personal styling to be accessible. It’s not to say people need styling, but you can think of it as a personal shopper. You might be really busy, and you know what you like but you don’t have time to shop, so to have someone always able to look out for you and think of the best items and have it conveniently sent to you it has resonated really well. In the first month we signed up 1000 elite prescription customers. It’s the fasted growing business we made and it’s surpassed all our expectations. No one else offers it, and hopefully it will continue to grow.
AM: It beats the stress and hassle of shopping at brick-and-mortar retail shops.
BR: Yes, and if you think about it there’s even at this point a hassle shopping at the all the online sites. There’s work involved keeping up with all the products coming out, and with thousands of products already on sites already. Even us, we have almost 3000 items available to purchase at any given point and we’re coming out with new ones every day. Fashion sites come out with products weekly, for example, Zara comes out with 500 products a week and that’s just Zara, so that means you have to check 500 items a week being introduced and figure out what is great for yourself. In our model a personal shopper and stylist is doing the work for you and editing out products while taking into account your feedback and what’s coming up in your life. For example, if you’re going on vacation, but you live in New York City, your stylist can take into consideration your travels and curate resort looks to be sent the month of that vacation.
AM: Finally, if you could turn back time, would you still create a massively growing start-up with all the stress and time involved with building a large following and revenue?
BR: I would, actually. I’ve always had the ambition to try to innovate businesses in a way that is meaningful and can add a lot of value to a lot of people and their lives. Generally it would be technology– a way that you can create technology on a platform that allows you to impact a lot of lives in a positive way. In this case technology and fashion: if you think about personal styling as whole and shopping, it’s something you would only think of being available to those with the financial capability to partake in it, but it’s a fairly cumbersome process even with money because not everyone has time to schedule an appointment and then go there at a specific time. There’s only a handful of select clients that would have stylists come to their house, but it’s a very small subset. We created this model of personal styling and personal shopping to anyone via the internet because we’re able to make the process really efficient and allow the stylist to effectively use their time to help everyone.
P.S. Stay tuned as we at Audrey share with you our very first box set from DailyLook Elite!
Here are two of DailyLook’s most popular Fall 2014 Looks from daytime to a night out, the French Horn Rebellion and Piece Of Me.
Feature Images Courtesy Of DailyLook.com And Sushiismyvice.com
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