Yoox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yoox Group S.p.A
Type Privately held company
Founded 2000
Headquarters Zola Predosa, Bologna, Italy
Key people Federico Marchetti, CEO
Industry Fashion and leisure
Website www.yoox.com

Yoox Group S.p.A is an Italian internet mail order retailer of men's and women's multibrand designer clothing and accessories. Founded by Federico Marchetti, a former investment banker [1], in Zola Predosa [2] near Bologna in 2000, Yoox has become a highly profitable e-commerce company that serves 28 countries worldwide.[3]

Contents

[edit] Name

The name, Yoox, is supposed to be composed of the male (Y) and female (X) chromosome letters linked by OO, the symbol of infinity or “the ‘zero’ from the binary code, the fundamental language of the digital age”.[4]

[edit] Overview

The company’s concept is to buy up overstock or unsold items from previous seasons in "a direct relationship" [5] from renowned fashion houses "including Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel, Gucci, Armani and Cavalli [6], manufacturers or retailers and sell them online at discounted outlet prices. This is to enable "luxury brands to off-load last year's merchandise without undermining their brands or cannibalizing sales at their existing stores".[7] Vintage designer clothing (Chanel, Balenciaga, Pucci etc.) [8] is collected with the help of fashion editor Polly Allen Mellen [9][10] and sold at special occasions. Some fashion designers have even created collections specifically for yoox.com, such as Hussein Chalayan (menswear, exclusively) [11][12] or Alexandre Herchcovitch.

Yoox.com was listed among Time magazine’s list of '50 Coolest Websites' 2004 in the Lifestyle and Culture category.[13]

[edit] Corporate structure

Backed by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital [14], Yoox is a privately held company [15] and achieved total revenues of $26 mio in 2004. By the end of 2005 it had reached $70 mio.[16] The Yoox internet platform is powered by Hewlett-Packard.[17] In 2007, the web site had "three million visitors per month" and "more than one million items [were] delivered worldwide".[18]

The company’s CEO and founder is Federico Marchetti, the head of marketing and sales is Massimiliano Benedetti.[19] Marchetti, who had worked for "Bain & Co. as a strategic consultant, Lehman Brothers as an expert in luxury goods and as a banker in mergers and acquisitions" [20] studied economics at Bocconi University in Milan [21] and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.[22]

The company's US subsidiary, YOOX CORP, is a Delaware corporation based in Hoboken, New Jersey.[23]

In addition to its eponymous web site, the company, through Yoox Services (formed in 2006) [24], operates the online stores of Italian fashion houses Emporio Armani, Marni, Diesel, Stone Island and C.P. Company.[25][26]

[edit] Logistics

All orders are dispatched at a warehouse in the Italian headquarters.[27] “Each item is tagged with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and is tracked to its exact location using a barcode detector”.[28] International warehouses, that serve as hubs, exist in New Jersey and Tokyo.[29]

Yoox maintains "20 studios to make pictures [of the merchandise] with 25 photographers".[30]

[edit] See also

Bluefly

[edit] References

  1. ^ IHT: The Web Opens for Business . . .
  2. ^ fibre2fashion: E-tailer Yoox mulls international expansion
  3. ^ cnn.com: Bargain hunting easy in cyber boutiques
  4. ^ yoox.com: About us
  5. ^ yoox.com: About us
  6. ^ Tech Republic: HP Technology Helps Business Growth for YOOX
  7. ^ Business Week: Yoox - Discounted Luxury
  8. ^ yoox.com: Special editions
  9. ^ Times online: Fab vintage without the scrum
  10. ^ yoox.com: Friends
  11. ^ Wallpaper: Hussein Chalayan for Yoox
  12. ^ The Wall Street Journal: Hussein Chalayan Shows Off Nothingness
  13. ^ Time.com: 50 cooles web sites 2004
  14. ^ Becnchmark Capital: Our portfolio
  15. ^ Womens's Wear Daily: E-tailer Yoox Continues to Expand, Sees IPO on the Horizon
  16. ^ Times online: Fashion's best kept secret
  17. ^ Tech Republic: HP Technology Helps Business Growth for YOOX
  18. ^ Quova.com: YOOX.Group Sets a Trend in Fraud Management with Quova
  19. ^ IHT: Footwear dot-coms stride ahead
  20. ^ Internet Retailer: Federico Marchetti, Founder & CEO, Yoox.COM
  21. ^ Internet Retailer: Federico Marchetti, Founder & CEO, Yoox.COM
  22. ^ Goliath: Profile Federico Marchetti - Dressed to impress
  23. ^ yoox.com: Privacy policy
  24. ^ Internet Retailer: YOOX adds an e-commerce customer, builds toward IPO
  25. ^ IHT: High-fashion shoppers turn to the Web
  26. ^ yoox.com: Press Room
  27. ^ UPS Fashion case study: Yoox
  28. ^ cnn.com: Bargain hunting easy in cyber boutiques
  29. ^ IHT: Global brands revise local strategies
  30. ^ The New York Times: $7,900 Valentino Gowns, a Click Away

[edit] External Links