What's the story with buying fashion online?
WHEN ONLINE fashion retailer Boo.com collapsed in 2000, after blowing nearly €200 million in the six months it was open for business, it proved to be the high-water mark of the dotcom madness that had gripped Wall Street and the high street. When Boo went down, wise heads popped up to say that while the internet was a perfect fit for selling tickets, books, CDs and gadgets, it clashed horribly with clothes.
The tide has turned in recent months, and suddenly fashion "e-tailing" is big business. According to a survey published last month by Nielsen Media Research, more than a third of British web users who shop online are now buying clothes, up nearly 50 per cent in the past two years.
Increased broadband penetration, coupled with the realisation among canny consumers that they have more rights when shopping for clothes online than in-store, has seen the notion that clothes and shoes need to be tried on before purchase fall by the wayside.
Ciara O'Brien is one such shopper. She's been buying clothes online for about three years. "It is an excellent way of taking advantage of the very strong euro against both sterling and the dollar," she says. "A lot of the clothes in Irish shops are way too expensive. I do my research in stores and go and look for them online. For instance, you can buy clothes from the Oasis website and save yourself around 30 per cent."
O'Brien has only had to return items once or twice and has never found returns a problem. "You have more rights as a consumer when buying clothes online and you also have a clear record of purchases through e-mails and order numbers if you do have to return them," she says.
WHILE EBAY'S VIRTUAL garment district is now the top internet destination for fashion, the traditional high-street merchants and design houses are also finding their feet on the web. Next, in particular, is doing well and has the largest online market share for clothes sales in the UK.
Irish shoppers who think they can take advantage of a strong euro by visiting Next's online arm will, however, be disappointed. Unlike Oasis, the store's UK website does not accept orders from the Republic of Ireland and points people to its Irish-based site instead. The two sites are identical, save for the prices.
A pair of men's swimming shorts, for instance, which costs £25 (€32) in the UK, is selling for €38 to customers in the Republic. A linen jacket, meanwhile, which has a price of €75, costs just £50 (€63) if bought in the UK. A print dress that costs £55 (€70) has a price tag of €83 in the Republic and a pair of women's "biker boots" priced €107 costs €13 less in the UK.
It's not only on high-street stores' sites that business is booming. In February, online retailer Net-a-Porter sold two autumn/winter 2008 designs from Halston, just 24 hours after the fashion house's catwalk show ended. One dress had a price tag of £775 (€982) and sold out in 45 minutes, making it the fastest-moving product since the site's launch eight years ago. Shoppers received their hot-off-the-sewing-machine clobber a full five months before they will appear in old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar stores.
IRISH CLOTHES RETAILERS have yet to fully embrace the web, although that may be about to change, with one of the most recognisable names in Irish retailing planning to dip his toe into the e-tail ocean later this year.
Ben Dunne has invested around €1 million in a new online venture, Bendunnedirect.com. The website will sell everything from tights to dinner jackets and from trainers to cosmetic jewellery.
"I don't think jewellers or gift shops have ever come under real pressure from the online marketplace in Ireland in the same way the travel agents did," he says. "People think that because of my background I will be following the Dunnes model but I have no intention of doing that."
He travelled to the Far East last week in search of stock and, if he is "happy with what is available", his site will be up and running before Christmas. "
The important thing is to get it right from the start. We're not going to rush to open and then find ourselves in trouble if we hit a hiccup. It will be difficult to make a go of it, certainly. If I succeed, great; if not, then I'll close and take the financial hit."
He says that if people in the market for a cheap suit don't know their jacket size then they can go into their local Dunnes Stores to try on a jacket, take a note of the size and buy online from him for 20 per cent less, but claims he isn't trying to compete with or antagonise his siblings and former employers.
"If we were in England I'd be telling people to go into Marks & Spencer. I am also telling people looking for trainers to try on a pair of Nike or Adidas and if that size fits you then the trainers we will sell will fit too. All the sizes are the blessed same in the case of running shoes or a normal-fitting men's jacket," he insists.
"People might like to try stuff on before they buy it but their rights are so good when they shop online that they can buy it and try it on at home once it's delivered and if they don't like it they can get their money back, no problems."
An already established brand, A-Wear, is soon to start selling online. The site, Awear.ie, is an "integral part of the A-Wear brand", says Vivienne Bushell, the group's marketing director - although people can't buy anything on it just yet. "We've had a lot of feedback, particularly from the UK, where broadband has quickened the growth of the market, but also from here in Ireland to buy A-Wear products online, and its something that we plan to pursue."
She says "it's not as simple either as just starting to sell online", and points out that creating "a serious revenue channel is a big project". She says this is already under way and adds that the aim, "by close of this year, would be to marry our existing content-rich marketing site with a fully transactional site".
For his part, Ben Dunne is phlegmatic about his new venture's potential. "If I'm still in the business in two years it will be going well, but if after one season or two I have to shut up shop then I will. I don't like failure, but I am not afraid to say I failed."
