Imagine if, instead of spending hours lost in a crowd of weekend shoppers trawling the shops for the latest fashions, you had somebody that did it for you. And imagine if that somebody was actually a team of fashion experts including Grace Woodward, Louise Roe and Arabella Greenhill. Well that’s the fresh idea behind the London based fashion startup Stylistpick which aims to provide the latest accessories without the expensive price tag.
Upon signing up with Stylistpick you are required to take a short quiz to determine your style, and then every month accessories are handpicked and sent straight to your door for just £39.95. If you’re not happy with the accessory picked for you simply send it back for free and receive a full refund.
Founded in 2010 by Felix Leuschner, the company have achieved a large amount of growth and have now signed an exclusive deal with Cheryl Cole who has designed her own range of footwear solely for Stylistpick.
In December 2011 Stylistpick received $8million in Series A funding from Index Ventures and Accel Partners, followed by $11million in Series B funding only three months later. Leuschner explains that the funding has been used to fund expansion into Europe.
Leuschner says that he had seen the subscription model in other areas such as wine clubs and DVD clubs, and he became inspired by the success of personalisation such as this which pushed him towards Stylistpick. He explains “when entrepreneurs see something working well in one market, they will be eager to test it in others. The reason I developed this model was because I saw subscription models in general being successful”. Thus the UK’s first fashion subscription club was born.
From March 2012 Stylistpick have offered customers an alternative payment method to the full membership subscription, a ‘pay-as-you-go’ option which is available at the checkout; the company was also offering customers 25% off their first purchase. Shoedazzle, Stylistpick’s main competitor, announced its upcoming closure after just four months operating in the UK.
Leuschner remains confident of his company’s potential: “We live in a world where there is a lot of communication being pushed in people’s direction and there is too much choice and not enough time. Having a platform that is personalised, curated and at one price point makes sense”.
