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"An individual retailer is too weak for this large and rapidly burgeoning market." Theo Poursanidis
FashionHub is a virtual shopping spree through around 40 of the best high-fashion stores in the country.
buyer. The original store receives ten per cent of the sale price at Shops Unite for his recommendation, he has also offered his customer a service that has exceeded his own warehouse capacity and has helped a colleague to make a sale. Me to You, You to Me
Shops Unite is based on a giveand-take principle. "Retailers nowadays are ready for cooperative models. We provide a system that is of mutual assistance but is anonymous", says Janson. As a result, risks such as unwanted domestic commerce are excluded from the outset. The closed B2B platform and strict controls through the system also preclude direct sales taking place.
FashionHub "We Are the Robin Hood of the Retail Trade"
FashionHub was launched in March 2012 by the qualified investment banker and experienced retailer Theo Poursanidis. His targeted objective was to provide the most prestigious boutiques and concept stores in the premium and highfashion segments with a highly professional joint online shop - regardless of whether they are already operating an online shop of their own or not. Poursanidis, who had established the Pulse & Vogue store in Frankfurt am Main in 2005 himself, straight away won well-known clients such as August Pf端ller in Frankfurt, Bungalow in Stuttgart and
F95 in Berlin. "We have defined an extremely clear target group, and this is the customer in the progressive luxury sector. In this regard, we exclusively cooperate with image stores from the premium and high-fashion sector, with stores that have a certain standing in their city", says Theo Poursanidis, explaining the attraction for the FashionHub user who wanders through 40 of the most exclusive boutiques in the country. From his own experience, he sees the greatest advantage for retailers in pooling the product range, which at the moment has around 300 brands whereby "one reaches a critical mass in terms of width in the amount of brands and depth within the product ranges themselves". Working with Professionals
"We smooth the way for retailers by allowing them to enter into ecommerce gently, with the lowest possible expenditure in terms of costs, staff and time." The costs are a tenth of what an online shop would pay running its own business. Consequently, without any specific know-how, the retailer can immediately conduct e-commerce at a highly professional level since FashionHub takes on all the relevant processes for him. "FashionHub is made by retailers for retailers and considers itself to be a partner with retail expertise, not as an IT service provider." The aim of the start-up established in 2011 was to provide retailers with the opportunity to meet the needs of the changed market- and shopping behaviour and to be able to stand up to the might of the big
e-shops. "Zalando made a billion euros in turnover last year, after returns. Where does such a turnover come from? Is this additional turnover? No, because German consumers haven't suddenly spent more than they had done beforehand. This is the turnover lost by the German retailer. That is the reality of it. An individual retailer is too weak for this large and rapidly burgeoning market. We are the Robin Hood of the Retail Trade, so to speak", says Theo Poursanidis.
Kleidoo Managing Director: Aranga Rahim, Feodor Kouznetsov Online since: June 2012 Staff: 18 www.kleidoo.de Pop Market Managing Director: Oliver Frielingsdorf Online since: 2011 Staff: Team Europe: 8, Team Global: 40 www.pop-market.com Shops Unite Managing Director: Thomas Janson Online since: December 2012 Staff: 3 www.shopsunite.de Fasionhub Managing Director and founder: Theo Poursanidis Online since: March 2011. Staff: 40 www.fashionhub.com
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