Everyone knows net-a-porter.com for fabulous fashion, a bit of cult story in the luxury e-tail business.
The smart lady that she is, Natalie Massenet decided to launch a sister site earlier this year: Theoutnet.com
Net’s little sister promises real bargains – because the recession is really no excuse to be unstylish. A bit like outlet shopping, only online – theoutnet offers discounts of up to 70% on designer labels – dresses, bags, shoes and accessories have never looked so good (and affordable before)
The secret – Natalie buys out consignments orders by the big department stores.. and then cancelled. Great thinking, we say
Here are 4 things that we love most about theoutnet.com
1/ 72 hour pop up sales – rewarding fashionistas addicted to web hunts for treasures. Tick tock, tick tock – up to 80% off
2/ Going going gone sales – make a quick bid for something you like (only ONE item per sale though, ha!)
3/ Giveaways – things look even better when we stand a chance of winning them for free
4/ CHEAPER shipping – we think this is a big plus, given how shipping costs often add huge amounts to the cost of the clothes themselves
It just goes to show that people are still shopping, recession or not – just shopping smarter. Even the glossies like Vogue and Harpers have adapted to this new trend – more to follow on that one
Filed under: General Commentary
… we’re very happy that you obviously think we’re so great and clever and lovely … and we’re over-the-moon you want to be just like us … but before you make a hideous mistake, think about what you’re doing because it’s going to be hard to be recognised as fresh thinkers when you can’t even come up with an original name.
We say this out of love and wish you all the best with your exploits.
Sunshine
x o x o x o
Filed under: General Commentary
So we went out for lunch the other day, one of those tiny little coffee shops that styles itself like a French cafe (yes, a little wannabe) with tiny tables and books on photography scattered around.
Still, they have great cakes and tea so we figured we’d give their sandwiches a try.
Their menu described the lunch choice as..parma ham + mozarella on toasted wholewheat olive bread. Served with a ‘side’ of salad. Sounds good to us, we thought. And promptly ordered it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we present a ‘SIDE’ of salad as defined by Pumpernickel:
The side of salad = a single slice of cucumber topped by a single slice of cucumber. We thought it was barely an apology for a salad, let alone any kind of ‘side’. But ranting aside, what does it mean for the brand?
To over promise and then underdeliver, or worse – not deliver at all – actually ruins any affinity your customer might have had. This lovely salad didn’t leave us wanting to come back more, just annoyed and angry at being over charged and treated like a fool. come on, your customers know what they want and passing off rubbish as chef’s creation is hardly likely to delight anyone.
Rant Over. Stick to sushi + Pret now on!
Filed under: General Commentary
Here’s an ad that was on the back page of TIME magazine.
What do you think?
Is it a gesture of genuine love and sorrow or a desperate attempt to look like Pepsi are a brand that cares?
Filed under: General Commentary
We’ve often said one of the big problems with brands is their ego manifests itself into an obsessive one-way dialogue about how great they are.
Being proud of who you are is one thing … going on about it ad nauseam is another thing.
Anyway, while we know they think they’re saying really useful stuff … stuff people want to hear … quite often the reality is they’re just spouting what THEY want to say … things THEY think are important which is why in the minds of the masses, it’s about as relevant as trying to sell tanning lotion to Michael Jackson.
To best demonstrate this point, we would like to play you something that proves if you create communication that just talks about yourself, you’re basically advertising why someone SHOULDN’T embrace you rather than rush out and cough up their hard earned cash.
Bit of background …
A girl was out with friends having some drinks in Toronto.
A guy – Dimitri – approaches her and won’t leave her alone … saying how cute she is and how good they’d be together.
Frustrated, the girl gives him her business card in a desperate attempt to get rid of him.
What you are about to hear are 2 voicemails the guy left on her voicemail.
After you’ve heard them you’ll realise why she didn’t call him back and why there is a fine line between ego and confidence.