Derek
Lam has opened up about launching his own online retail destination. The
designer thinks that customers are after a fully luxurious experience and want
to be wowed by their purchase when it arrives, which includes immaculate
presentation - not just a product thrown in to a box. Derek's own store is set
to open later on this year and he has commented on the experience he hopes
he'll provide to those who buy online: “It has to be a destination unto
its own, it can’t just be a sales mechanism to get someone to buy the clothes
because they can’t find it elsewhere. I’m always the most disappointed person
when I get something online and I find that it’s just thrown in a box and sent
to me with, like, no finesse.”
Chief
Executive Officer for Derek Lam, Jan-Hendrik Schlottman, added that they have
learnt from a past experience with online retail: “We actually tried to do
it ourselves once, and that’s kind of what we learned: you need to be an
expert.” Lam is also working on putting more time in to footwear and says
it does take some time to get the footwear designs the attention they deserve
but they're working on creating more of a focus in the seasons
ahead: “It’s a slow build to create a space and validity for the shoe
collections. While we have shown several seasons of shoes to the buyers, we are
[just] getting traction at retail, so building on that momentum will be the
focus for the next few seasons.”
