Very Exclusive targets premium menswear market

Shop Direct’s online luxury fashion retailer Very Exclusive is launching a premium menswear offering for autumn/winter 2016, with brands including Barbour, Kenzo and Aquascutum signed up for the launch.

The online retailer, headed by British Fashion Council patron Sarah Curran, is looking to make premium menswear brands “accessible to more people” in the same way it has for women’s luxury fashion and beauty since its launch in February 2015.

Very Exclusive menswear offering is being headed up former Asos premium menswear buyer and Coggles head of retail Adam Jagger, who was recently appointed to focus on building the online retailer’s men’s clothing, footwear and accessories, and he’s already signed up J Lindeberg, Vivienne Westwood, and Hackett.

The e-tailer is looking to target 26 to 45 year-old “aspirational” males, which it claims a “high number” already shop with Shop Direct’s brand Very.co.uk, and it’s utilising its own market research that Curran states that men are looking “to shop in a stylish, premium and content-rich online environment” and with that in mind, the premium menswear offering will also include magazine-style editorial content offering fashion advice and product recommendations.

Curran, managing director of Very Exclusive, added: “Through what we’ve built at VeryExclusive.co.uk – a stylish, premium retail brand with a curated, accessible customer offer – we’ve been able to attract some outstanding premium menswear brands for our launch in autumn/winter.

“It’s testament to how far we’ve come in just a year. By entering this exciting new phase, brands will benefit from access to an aspirational, male customer base who may not have been able to buy their brands before.”

In 2015, the e-tailer launched with 150 luxury womenswear and beauty brands, including Whistles and Marc Jacobs. The unveiling of menswear is an important milestone in the development of the brand, which is also pushing forward with new womenswear partnerships, such as bringing Kendall & Kylie shoe collection to the UK, sponsoring London Fashion Weekend for the second consecutive year, and targeting 100 new products on the site each week over the coming 12 months.

Very Exclusive launching premium menswear offering

Alex Baldock, chief executive officer at Shop Direct, said: “We’ve successfully democratised luxury women’s fashion and beauty. Our customers love what VeryExclusive.co.uk gives them and now it’s time to do the same for men.

“Men also want to buy premium brands but often feel they’re just out of reach. We’re going to make premium menswear attainable, so men can soon access those Reiss jeans or that Barbour jacket they want by spreading the cost.”

Gareth Jones, group deputy chief executive officer, who oversees Very Exclusive at board level, commented: “VeryExclusive.co.uk’s success has been built on attracting the best luxury brands, helping customers spread the cost and serving up the right products for visitors through personalisation.

“We’ve seen that our male Very.co.uk customers want premium brands and the market for premium menswear in the wider UK is buoyant. We’re confident that by continuing to focus on what’s made VeryExclusive.co.uk successful, our menswear offer will thrive.”

Shop Direct is the UK’s second largest pure-play online retailer, with annual sales of almost 1.8 billion pounds. It’s online brands Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and VeryExclusive.co.uk receive an average of 1 million website visits every day, with more than 59 percent of online sales completed on mobile devices.

Image: Shop Direct - Sarah Curran and Gareth Jones