Sourcing and Buying in the Decade of Personalisation Fashion Forward April 2014 Kiyan Foroughi CEO & Co-Founder

#boticca Background Boticca is the worlds online destination for jewellery, bags and fashion accessories made by carefully sourced independent designers and small & medium brands from across the world. We currently work with 370 brands from 40+ dierent countries and oer over 11,000 dierent pieces for sale on the website on a curated marketplace business model to customers in 60 dierent countries on any given month.

#boticca Last Decade: The Decade of Mass Production & Fast Fashion In the 2000s, the world became a smaller place and experienced unprecedented growth until the nancial crisis. Brands like H&M, TopShop, Mango and Zara expanded aggressively and lled out the closets of consumers worldwide. Everyone was left buying the same products: Mass produced Low quality Impersonal We were left with mass consumerism...and no dierentiation.

#boticca What Is Changing This Decade Technology has made the consumer savvier and smarter than ever. Smartphones, tablets, social networks, marketplaces and the development of global e-commerce has given users unprecedented amounts of tools to discover products and brands from all over the world.

#boticca What Is Changing This Decade Consumer fatigue is settling in: Same brands Same products Same boring marketing messages Same formulas People are tired of wearing the same products that theyll most likely see on their friends, colleagues and family. Customers are looking for: Something dierent Something unique Something that reects their personality and style Something that allows them to stand out

#boticca This Decade is the Decade of Personalisation

#boticca The Consumer Is More Sophisticated In Its Choices They are not only looking for dierentiation, but they are looking to build a relationship with the brand. They want to know: Who is the maker? How is it made? Where is it made? Where are the materials from? What are the brands values and how does that reect on them? Therefore, a more sophisticated customer in the pursuit of dierentiation needs in evolution in how retailers and boutiques source their brands and products.

#boticca How to Source: There Needs To Be A Story This is where it all starts. Whether it is in: the background of the brand or designer the inspiration of the collection the materials used the techniques employed where it is made There needs to be a story somewhere, and it needs to be communicated to the customer.

#boticca How to Source: Know Your Market Dene your market and target audience Who is your ideal customer? What is their average spend? What are their habits?

#boticca How to Source: Geography The world is already one big village, so make sure your products reect a global style and awareness. Be more creative with where you source your brands. Dont just focus on sourcing from the traditional fashion capitals (Paris, London, New York and Milano) and explore places o the beaten path.

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Seoul, South Korea

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Istanbul, Turkey

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Amsterdam, The Netherlands

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Buenos Aires, Argentina

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Taipei, Taiwan

#boticca New Fashion Capitals Tokyo, Japan

#boticca How to Source: Quality & Production Make sure you do a deep dive into the quality of products and how they are made: Materials: where are they from? Techniques used Workshop & production facilities Quality control

#boticca How to Source: Pricing & Data One of the most overlooked components of the sourcing and crucial to get right. Compare your mark-up and price to what else is available out there. Customers do price comparison shopping, you should too. Make sure your mark-ups are fair customers are savvy and unless youre a premium brand or oering a premium experience, theyll gure it out and take their business elsewhere. Let the numbers be your guide: Rates of sale Sell through percentages Returns vs. Sales

#boticca Laying It All Out for the Customer Online: detailed product descriptions, pictures and details on where the materials are sourced from. Oine: information on tags, an in-store experience that reects the brand and the story. Make sure shop sta are well-versed and can tell the stories. Transparency is key.

#boticca Conclusion Personalisation Stories Provenance Global Numbers Transparency

Thank you! Any questions? kiyan@boticca.com