Shoshana Kazab, founder of Fuse Communications, discusses her latest project, Kidswear Collective.
Laura Turner: Can you explain the concept of Kidswear Collective and what inspired you to launch the business?
Shoshana Kazab: Kidswear Collective is an online store selling pre-loved and past season designer kids’ fashion where items are sold at up to 80% off their original retail price. I wanted to find a way to create something very special that could address our urgent need to reduce waste in the fashion industry but also make available designer pieces at affordable prices.
LT: Where do you source the pre-loved items?
SK: We work with influencers who have their own page on the website. As the founder of Fuse Communications, a PR agency specialising in the luxury childrenswear market, I’m very fortunate to have worked with the top influencers and some of the best brands.
Influencers have a huge fan base, so involving them means their followers can shop their favourite looks and also be alerted when new pieces arrive. It’s a real coming together of the industry, which is why we call it a ‘collective’; it’s a great way for us to all support each other. Influencers on the site include The Fashion Bug Blog, Masha The One, Sofia Gouveia and Deborah Brett. When The Fashion Bug Blog’s pre-loved page went live, eight out of her 11 items sold within the first hour.
LT: How do you curate the pre-loved edit?
SK: Anyone can sell on the site. However, all items must pass Kidswear Collective’s ‘eight-step inspection process’ to ensure we stock only the highest quality pieces. Any unsold items are donated to the family charity, Little Village. We also donate up to 5% of every item sold to the NSPCC.
LT: How about the past season stock? Where is this sourced?
SK: We initially approached Fuse Communications’ clients to see if they would be interested in selling past season stock including brands like Patachou, Wild & Gorgeous and Little Wardrobe London.
Since then we have been directly approached by brands and retailers keen to give us their old stock; especially as we store it for them, keeping their stockrooms and warehouses free for new season collections. We also source samples from agents, PRs and garments featured in photo shoots.
LT: How often do you add new stock?
SK: It literally comes in all the time. This is really important as it ensures customers come back to the site regularly to check what’s come in. We also send regular mail-outs informing customers of new arrivals.
LT: What age range and product categories do you cover?
SK: At present we cover birth to 14 years. However, we are considering adding some maternity pieces as well as more baby accessories; babywear is one of our most popular categories. The categories we currently cover are baby, boy and girl, with subcategories relating to the type of product and size. The website is really simple to navigate and customers can also easily choose from pre-loved or past season items.
LT: How many brands do you currently have on the website?
SK: We can’t believe we already have more than 100 brands on the site and over 1,500 pieces of stock. Bestselling labels include Burberry, Gucci, Chloe and Moncler. However, one of the great things about working with influencers is that they also introduce customers to some lesser known brands they may not have heard of yet.
LT: What is your discounting strategy?
SK: All items are at least 55% off the original retail price, with some pre-loved garments selling for 80% off their original price. We also offer first-time customers 20% off their first order as well as a customer referral scheme and flash sales at certain items.
LT: How do you create a ‘first-hand experience’ for buyers?
SK: Providing a first-hand experience was a key consideration for us. Every garment is cleaned, photographed and carefully stored until it is sold and sent out in Kidswear Collective’s luxe signature packaging. We want shopping on Kidswear Collective to feel like a luxury experience, similar to what you’d get when shopping on sites like The Outnet and Farfetch.
By professionally photographing each garment, customers have a clear idea and confidence in the quality of each item. This is reflected in our lower than average returns rate at less than 5% compared to the industry average of around 40%. When the purchase arrives, all beautifully packaged, it generates the same level of excitement as it would when shopping on any other luxury website.
LT: Do you ship globally?
SK: Yes, we do. We are amazed at how many international orders we have already had. Again, that is a testament to the global reach of our influencers. We regularly ship to the US but also have customers in Belgium, France, Finland and as far afield as Japan.
LT: A recent report by the Soil Association revealed pre-loved clothing sales grew by 22.5% in 2018. Is the sustainable element of Kidswear Collective something you heavily promote?
SK: Absolutely, we are passionate about extending the lifecycle of luxury clothes. Sustainability has never played more on our minds than it does now. Of the 80 billion pieces of clothing produced worldwide, it is estimated 75% will end up in landfill each year. In Britain alone we are expected to throw away 235 million items of clothing this year.
A popular hashtag currently trending is #30wears, which encourages us to wear our garments at least 30 times. With a designer kid’s piece we estimate it is only worn an average of six times before a child grows out of it. This means there are four more potential owners for that one garment. There has never been a better or more important time to change the way we shop, but without having to compromise on quality.
LT: How do you engage with customers?
SK: Instagram is a key platform for us; in fact, it is how we launched the website. We asked all of our influencers to post stories sharing their page on Kidswear Collective with their followers, which really helped put the website on the map. We also send regular mail-outs to customers informing them about new arrivals and new influencer collections. Our influencers regularly post stories about their page on their own Instagram accounts, too.
LT: What are the plans for the business?
SK: We wanted to take the first few months to understand what sells best and how to price the products. I think we’re in a strong position now to scale up the business quite quickly as the trend in buying second-hand clothing is only going to increase. We’ve built a solid foundation for the platform so we’ll be looking to add more brands and more sellers to the site. We are already looking at a partner in the US and have had some initial conversations with a group of investors who are very experienced in the fashion-tech sector.
