Click & buy fashion

One in six women in the UK have purchased fashion online according to the latest research. Of these shoppers 18 per cent regularly shop the net and make at least one purchase per month online, as was revealed by Allegra Strategies through its How Women Shop!™ research series. Fashion e–tailing is fast proving to be a successful extension of the high street, bringing new customers, brand awareness and of course profit – particularly in light of the tough trading conditions on the high street this month.

Websites such as Asos.com, net-a-porter.com, topshop.co.uk, next.co.uk and ebay.co.uk all posted profits this year, with the latter setting up a new UK online store called e Bay Express. EBay Express is the new Shopping site from eBay- where the consumer can buy brand new items instantly and get great service from professional sellers. It has all the choice of eBay combined with a new way of finding the items and most importantly an easy checkout function.

The goal of online shopping is to come away satisfied with what you want. The ease is that you can travel from one store to another with the click of a mouse button. The research from Allegra Strategies further showed that prices seem less of an issue online, whereby bargain shopping for clothes and accessories is less important than having a great range of products to chose from and availability in sizes. Niche products such as ethical clothing, maternity fashion and accessories are also popular amongst online consumers.

Familiarity with the retailer and brand awareness play an essential role in a woman's willingness to make purchases on particular websites. Confidence in the reliability of retailer's quality and fit are important factors driving loyalty online as women get the reassurance that they can make purchases without necessarily needing to try.

High Street retailer Next is leading in online fashion, attracting a third of all internet respondents. It achieves high conversion rates with 79% of browsers also purchasing via its website. Next has been successful in establishing itself as a truly multi–channel retailer, achieving high brand awareness across all of its store, catalogue and online channels. Indeed, in many ways it is a role model for the sector. The How Women Shop!™ research highlights that in the majority of cases, browsing websites has a positive impact on shopping behaviour – 69% buy online and 49% of are encouraged to go shopping.

www.next.co.uk
www.ebay.co.uk
1 December 2006

Ebay most successful e-tailer

Ebay clothing shoes and accessories recorded the most traffic of the top 10 clothing and beauty sites in September, with visits increasing 20% to 11.5 million from 9.6 million a year earlier, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Ebay jewelry and watches ranked second, with 4.9 million visits, unchanged from a year earlier; followed by eBay Health & Beauty, 4.5 million, up 18% from 3.8 million.

Ebay has evolved over the past 10 years and it is more than just an auction site. In fact, billions of dollars in fixed-priced items sell there each year. What started as a virtual flea market is now a thriving online marketplace that accounts for almost 10% of the entire world's ecommerce sales.

www.ebay.co.uk
20 October 2006

Ebay launches Ebay Express in UK

Ebay is looking to challenge Amazon and other online shopping malls with the UK launch of Ebay Express, a more regulated environment for professional merchants who want to sell goods at a fixed price, according to The Sunday Times.

Most of the goods sold on Ebay still involve the online auction process for which the American internet giant is best known. However, many of the established companies that use Ebay to trade also offer customers the opportunity to “buy it now” — to pay a fixed price and avoid the uncertain outcome of an auction.

Ebay Express is intended to cater for those who prefer a more traditional retail environment. It will only be available to merchants who are selling new goods, and they will have to meet a minimum standard of commercial behaviour. For example, sellers using Ebay Express will have to ship goods within three days of a sale, answer customer queries within 24 hours and establish a policy on returns.

Doug McCallum, managing director of Ebay UK, said buyers who use Ebay Express will be able to use a “shopping cart”, allowing them to buy goods from several vendors at the same time, instead of having to pay each one separately. McCallum dismissed any suggestion that Ebay Express was a response to the slowing growth of the original auction business. “The core site is growing at 10 times the rate of the retail sector,” he said. Ebay will begin promoting the new website from next Monday. Ebay has more than 15m registered users in the UK. More than 12m Britons visited an Ebay site during July.

www.ebay.co.uk
2 October 2006

Ebay sets up business site

Retailers are able to set up their own transactional website when eBay launches a its new business site called www.ebayexpress.co.uk, in the UK this autumn. The site will enable business to sell new product at a fixed price, as opposed to individuals selling items at a fixed price or by auction on eBay’s main site. Retailers can list as many items as they like, paying a fee for listing and a final value fee for each item sold. Ebay UK has more than 15 million users and 68,000 use it as their main or secondary source of income. The site is due to be operational from October.

10 July 2006

Danish clothier sues eBay

Danish apparel company Aktieselkabet has sued eBay Eachnet for allegedly selling fake clothing. According to Chinese media reports, the company – which owns Only, Vero Moda and Jack & Jones brands – filed a suit with a Shanghai court demanding that eBay stop selling the counterfeit products. Aktieselkabet also insists on a public apology and damages in the amount of $25.000. The company claimed it had purchased the rights to the brands in question in 2004 and had given Chinese production and retail rights to Best Seller Garment (Tianjin) Co.

According to the suit, eBay was selling the garments for the half the price of the genuine articles in stores. Yag Jiging, lawyer for Aktieselskabet, said that the company had initially sent a letter to eBay asking it to stop the sale of the items on its site, but that the e-tailer had ignored the request.

www.ebay.com
29 March 2006

Ebay reports rise in quarter profits

Online auction house eBay has seen its quarterly profits jump 45%, boosted by rising turnover across all its markets. Further aided by strong growth at recent acquisition, phone firm Skype, eBay made a net profit of $279.2m (£158m) in the last quarter of 2005. This compared to $205.4m for the same fourth quarter period in 2004.

Revenue rose by 42% to $1.33bn, with eBay singling out particularly strong growth in its two largest marketplaces - the US and Germany. 'No weaknesses' The auction house's results came in at the top end of market expectations, and it added that it was sticking to its earlier targets for 2006, including annual revenues growing to between $5.7bn and $5.9bn.

"In the fourth quarter - across the board - this business did extremely well," said eBay chief financial officer Rajiv Dutta. "There were no weak points in this business. "We had tremendous momentum and we are very bullish about 2006." Analysts were, however, disappointed that eBay was not increasing its targets for 2006. "The company didn't increase 2006 guidance and I think that would be viewed as a negative," said Scott Devitt, an analyst with brokerage Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Shares in eBay fell in after-hours trading following the results.

19 January 2006

Stella on eBay

Forget the queues and having to fight for a silk jumpsuit from Stella McCarney at Hennes & Mauritz. If you want to browse the collection in peace, just surf to eBay. There you'll find the collection without your favourite piece being grabbed from the rail in front of your eyes, by not one, but a hundred, frenzied shoppers.

Of course, the luxury of browsing in peace means paying a slight premium. Items such as Stellas's skinny jeans, which at H&M retail for £39.99 are fetching bids of over £75. All less than 24 hours after the collection was launched in store.Everything from yellow gem encrusted tops and silk dresses to handbags and chiffon camisoles have been put under offer on the site. Other items up for grabs include trenchcoats, denim skirts, brown tailored jackets, silk knickers and bikinis.But the internet bidding frenzy quickly pushes up the prices. A trenchcoat, which was retailing for £79.99 was going for £122 and a tuxedo jacket that H&M sold for £59.99 had reached £85.

The one-off collection, comprising 40 different pieces and accessories, was launched at 400 H&M stores worldwide yesterday backed by a high-profile TV and magazine advertising campaign. It received an extra burst of publicity when supermodel Kate Moss was dropped from the marketing campaign in the furore surrounding her alleged drug abuse. At H&M's Oxford Street store, apprehensive staff opened the doors at 9am to be faced by a tidal wave of fashion-conscious women who made a beeline for the McCartney collection. Rails of clothes were cleared within minutes as the crowds scooped up armfuls of items and took them straight to the tills.

www.ebay.com
11 November 2005

eBay Posts Profits

EBay Inc. said second-quarter profit rose 53% on sales that topped $1 billion for the second straight quarter, as the operator of the world's largest online marketplace saw its U.S. business and payment service grow faster than expected. International sales grew by 51per cent to $418.8 million. The fastest growing sites were the U.K., which was up 94 per cent, and Korea which was up by 78 per cent. Sales in Germany grew by 21% percent, down from 24 per cent growth in the first quarter however gross merchandise volume had increased.

Online payment revenue grew by 51% to $243.9 million, up from a growth rate of 47% in the first quarter. "We saw the rapid increase based on GMV growth, which accelerated, and the other business was off eBay, merchant service," Meanwhile, eBay's EachNet business in China is doing well. But beginning this quarter, eBay is not disclosing details on this business.

eBay finance chief Rajiv Dutta said: "The accelerating revenue metrics in our key businesses came from acceleration in U.S. and Germany, and PayPal, benefiting from the lift in gross merchandise volume on eBay," Additionally, half of PayPal's growth came from non-eBay transactions.

www.eBay.co.uk
20 July 2005

CFDA and Ebay join forces against AIDS

Who doesn't love to shop? And what is better than spending those well-earned pounds on gorgeous designer clothes, than having them be on sale? Want to top that? What about if the proceeds go towards the battle against HIV/AIDS?

All that is possible now that the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation has joined forces for the first time with eBay. Together with Vogue, Kennether Cole and Dolce and Gabbana, the CFDA and eBay are holding a 7th ON SALE ONLINE. This record-holding event is the largest ever sample sales of designer items for men, women and children and home furnishings. All the proceeds go to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS.

"It's 20 years and more than 20 million deaths later and still no cure," said Hononary Chair Kenneth Cole. "42 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS and the largest statistic of all is '0'. That is the number of people who have been cured."

To reach as many people as possible in this fight, the use of Internet was a logical and uncircumventable conclusion. "When we heard that the CFDA and Anna Wintour wanted to do the 7th on Sale again, it seemed only natural to get eBay involved since it is the number one internet shopping site,"eBay Style Director Constance White told FWD. "We had no hesitation whatsoever in becoming involved. It seemed like a good fit."

The online charity auction will be opened with a black-tie gala on 10 November in New York. During the grand fête, celebrity and VIP guests will have the opportunity to buy some of the auction's exclusive items in a small, temporary boutique set up by Berdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo. There will also be various computer terminals where guests can log onto eBay to shop online.

The auction will run from 19 November until 7 December, in time for the holiday season. Online shoppers will be able to purchase one-of-a-kind designer articles, including handbags, clothing and shoes.

www.ebay.com/seventhonsale.com
18 July 2005

Big Girls on eBay

Jemma Smart's plus size women's clothing company is doing extremely well. Especially considering the fact that it has only been in business for approximately five months. Big-Girls-Wardrobe has sold thousands of items of clothing and accessories to customers from the UK, Europe, the US, Australia and Scandinavia and Smart has received the highest eBay accolade, "Titanium PowerSeller" status, for the extraordinary achievement. Only a handful of other companies received this award.

Smart, who is 28 years old, formerly worked as a buyer for a multi-national retail company in Manchester. She became disilllusioned by the lack of hip clothing for big women and resigned from her job to do something about this. She set up her company from home and started trading on eBay. Meanwhile, the company is thriving.

"I'm thrilled by the instant success of Big-Girls-Wardrobe," she said. "Not just for myself, but also for other larger girls and women who for years have been unable to find funky or even just trendy outfits for various occassions. Some of my smaller friends now say they wish my clothes were made in their size!". With a clientbase in the hundreds, Smart is now developing her own website and is putting together her opening collection of clothing, lingerie and accessories in sizes 16 to 30+.

www.eBay.co.uk
19 April 2005

Bid for Burberry chavmobile

Fashion knows no boundaries. Neither, apparently, does good taste. Take for example the Burberry painted Vauxhall car available on eBay. Chav-tastic bidders have been going crazy for this Burberry-inspired vehical, which, at it's current £1,200 price, is a must-have for any Burberry loving chav (or so we assume).

Serious bidders have the chance to own this fantastic piece of bling - a Vauxhall 1991 GL 5-speed manual. The car comes complete with Burberry-clad check, a bit of GLC gold, a few pieces of choice leisurewear and a boot which doesn't work properly. Still, for that price you'll be the proud owner of a Burberry-branded chavmobile, which will no doubt be the best on the block. Happy bidding!

www.eBay.co.uk
5 February 2005

eBay To Expand With Stores

Retailers already concerned that the growth of online auction site eBay spells problems for the traditional retail model will take no comfort from the news that a US retailer is bringing eBay to stores. Auction Mills plans a chain of franchised stores at which consumers can drop off goods to be auctioned, eliminating the hassle of listing, dealing with potential buyers queries, and packaging and shipping items. Auction Mills takes a commission on each sale and hands over the rest of the cash to the seller. Despite this additional cost, Auction Mills believes that its experienced eBay sellers can maximise the potential of the goods to be auctioned.

Having gone public with the business model earlier this month, Auction Mills has already received enough requests for more information from potential franchisees, both single-store and multiple operators, to set up more than 2,700 stores worldwide. The drop-off store model has the full support of eBay, which believes it will open up business from potential sellers currently unwilling or unable to sell online themselves. eBay chief executive Meg Whitman said recently: "We're excited about this. Clearly they are getting an incremental customer that would never have come to eBay on their own."

With other companies, both independents and retail groups, also considering drop-off stores, one industry estimate has forecast that the model could generate and additional USD10bn in total sales in the first year - which would mean an additional USD700m in revenue for eBay. eBay sold more than USD24bn worth of goods last year, a figure expected to rise significantly in 2004, and has more than 100m active users, more than 40 per cent of whom are active at any time. However, only about 8 per cent currently sell on eBay.

www.eBay.co.uk
21 July 2004

eBay In Court Case Over Fake Jewellery

Online auctioneer eBay is being sued by Luxury jewellers Tiffany & Co, in a claim the e-store allowed counterfeit items to be sold on its website.Tiffany spokesman Mark Aaron stated that tests had shown that 73 per cent of items advertised by sellers on eBay as being from Tiffany & Co were fake.

This marks the first time a prominent maker of brand-name goods has sued eBay in the US. The company has over the past three years faced a similar challenge from Rolex in Germany. A decision in eBay's favour in that case was upheld on appeal, although Rolex was given leave to take the case to Germany's federal supreme court.

According to press reports, eBay has so far declined comment, saying it has yet to receive the lawsuit. However, the company has in place a programme called VeRO, or verified rights owners, to help companies prevent fake goods from being sold on eBay.

www.eBay.co.uk
23 June 2004

eBay Leading E-tailer

In a recent American survey, eBay continues to be the leading online retailer when it comes to the number of visitors to its site for clothing. Last week alone, 2.06 million visitors clicked on eBay's clothin, shoes and accessories section.

Leading retailer VictoriaSecret.com ranked fourth, with 524,000 visiting the site last week.

www.eBay.co.uk
21 June 2004