try buying online. The more people tried it, the more they realised there were fewer risks to entering their personal information than they’d thought, and of course it lead to some new shopping habits for many. That is definitely what happened to me. Every time I bought online successfully, I became more relaxed about buying, felt a sense of security and was more willing to come back and shop again, because the process was so straightforward. And I wasn’t alone in working out this entirely new selling platform. In 2017, 24 per cent of purchases globally (for everything apart from food) were made online. That’s a quarter of everything bought, purchased from an online website and delivered to somewhere in the world.
(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(mubus7/Shutterstock.com)
I’m not surprised the population wants to invest in brands from around the globe and dress in apparel from their favourite stores from another continent. Worldwide deliveries, next-day shipments and ubiquitous shopping have opened up a global market for consumers and brands to take advantage of. And I, for one, am all for it.
My Dream Shopping Street
I started thinking about the analogy I mentioned earlier, about this never-ending shopping street with every single brand imaginable lined up along it. What a dream! But, of course, I’m not a fan of every single brand, so I decided to visualise what my ideal shopping street would actually look like. If I had a mile of road available and I could build any stores I wanted on it, this is what my shopping street would consist of. Coming up with this was one of the most fun things I’ve ever had to think up, so feel free to do the same!
It would start with Dior. For the special bag, shoes or couture item you or I might love to own, Dior would definitely be my brand of choice.
Next, there would be a few premium high-street favourites: Joseph, Reiss, All Saints, Whistles, J. Crew, Three Floor, Rixo, Me & Em, Ted Baker and Tommy Hilfiger. These are my go-tos for most of my fashion items.
(pio3/Shutterstock.com)
There would, of course, be a Selfridges store next to a LuisaViaRoma, Matches and Net-A-Porter pop-ups – I don’t want to go changing any brand’s retail strategy here. These are my favourite luxury online and offline department stores and I can’t get enough of the items they stock.
Next to these, a number of my favourite luxury brands for shoes: Stuart Weitzman, Gianvito Rossi, Valentino, Nicholas Kirkwood, Manolo Blahnik, Vetements, Saint Laurent, Malone Souliers, Sophia Webster and Aquazzura.
Then some of my favourites for accessories: a Strathberry store because they deserve to show off their gorgeous bags in more locations. Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, Chanel, Céline, Prada, Chloé, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and a Mulberry store, because I tend to visit every one of these stores whenever I’m walking by.
Then we would have Max Mara for coats to die for. Self-Portrait for dresses that make me feel wonderful. Burberry for beautiful outerwear and knits. Balmain for statement items that give you the wow factor. Coach for T-shirts, knitwear and beautiful outerwear. Saint Laurent for awesome branded tees. Gucci for clothing with colour and recognisable pattern. Zimmermann and Jonathan Simkhai for the prettiest pieces and Temperley for the most feminine clothing.
There would be a Revolve store for amazing holiday clothes with an LA vibe, as well as a Levi’s, Paige, Hudson and GRLFRND Denim for the best jeans ever. Plus a Ray Ban for my sunglasses. If ASOS ever decided to create a store with all of their bestsellers, I’d definitely shop in it. A lot.
An Adidas and a Nike for fitness footwear as well as a Gym Shark pop-up, a Sweaty Betty and a Varley for activewear. I’d get my bikinis and swimwear from Melissa Odabash, Seafolly, PilyQ, Zimmermann, Bond-eye and Mara Hoffman, because they are all totally exquisite and uber-flattering.
I’d also add some of my favourite homeware and lifestyle stores: Urban Outfitters, Zara Home, Made, Oliver Bonas, Anthropologie and & Other Stories.
And because no shopping can be done without refreshment, I’d add Veggie Pret, Pizza East, Farmacy (my favourite Vegan restaurant in Notting Hill), the Burberry Thomas’s cafe, Joe & the Juice, Roka for amazing Japanese food and Australasia (my favourite Manchester restaurant), which again cooks up incredible Japanese cuisine.
Throw in the Plaza Athénée hotel and I would never leave this place.
(@inthefrow)
June 2000
ASOS changes the online shopping game
Kate Moss is photographed exiting a hotel in a beautiful black leather jacket in the year 2000. She looks amazing, but the jacket she’s wearing is the star of the show. Where can you buy it, and more importantly, where you can buy an affordable alternative that looks just as great? And that cute top that Jennifer Aniston is wearing in the latest episode of Friends, season seven. I want it, but I have no idea where to find it and neither do the other 10,000 women who saw the show and also fell in love with it. So sparks the ingenious idea, by Nick Robertson, to create a portal for items As-Seen-On-Screen, and ASOS is launched for every fashion-conscious person in the land. Here you could find and buy fashion alternatives to dress like your favourite star. A commercial idea for a celebrity-adoring population. It was one of the savviest ideas in the history of fashion.
Kate Moss (Steve Azzara/Corbis via Getty Images)
No other retailer had capitalised on the celebrity-outfit-dupes concept and culture in such an easy and affordable way. And by doing so, ASOS built up a loyal audience who would stick with them when they adapted their strategy to a dynamic fashion retail space.
That was in the year 2000. Sixteen years later, after a number of changes to their strategy, ASOS made £1,403.7 million in retail sales. In 2017, they were the biggest online-only (pure-play) retailer by sales in the world. ASOS were pioneers in an open marketplace, driving new ideas and pushing the boundaries when it came to customer service and shopping experiences. They were forward thinking with their delivery and returns processes (they’re the only fashion retailer to offer a year’s unlimited next-day delivery for £9.95 regardless of how much you spend), inspirational with their editorial, blog and social content and ingenious with their product-display techniques. I remember when I first stumbled onto ASOS back at university and ten years later, I’m still just as obsessed. I used to have asos.com as my browser’s homepage, just so that I could check the ‘new in’ section every single day before I even went to Google. The concierge in my building knew me personally because I would check for new parcels every day, and my flatmates almost had to hold an intervention. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little, but I was definitely mocked repeatedly for how many times a week I would place an order.
Nick Robertson (Andisheh Eslamboli/REX/Shutterstock)
(REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett)
Free deliveries and returns, catwalks for every product, style advice, sizing help and one of the biggest catalogues of products on the Internet. There are 4,000 new styles per week! But unlike many online retailers who stock alternative brands, ASOS stocks 44 per cent of