By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop
Images
Details
http://www.magazines.com/by-invitation-only-how-we-built-gilt-and-changed-the-way-millions-shop/853366-BK,default,pd.html
Item# 853366-BK
About By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop
On a warm September night in 2002, former acquaintances Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis reconnected at a mixer for new students at Harvard Business School. Alexis had just ended a four-year run at eBay during the dotcom boom and bust. Alexandra had just spent three years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Now they were entering the country's top training ground for future titans of Wall Street and the Fortune 500. Little did either suspect that five years later, they'd become famous not in finance or consulting or corporate management, but at the bleeding-edge intersection of fashion and technology. Gilt Groupe - launched by Alexis, Alexandra, and three colleagues in 2007 - is one of the most fascinating startups of recent years, with a valuation of more than $1 billion. And it all began with one bold idea: to bring sample sales online and change the way millions shop. As Alexis and Alexandra write about the day Gilt.com went live: "We had created a website that could potentially change the rules of retail, for both shoppers and brands. If shopping was traditionally a slow, leisurely activity that might consume an entire day, it would now be competitive, addictive, urgent, thrilling--a rush delivered at the same time each day. Shopping would become not just easier, but so much fun." But turning that vision into reality wasn't easy. Designers had long controlled their own sample sales by staging them in anonymous, makeshift locations and strictly limiting invitations. Those lucky enough to hear about a Marc Jacobs or Hermes sample sale would drop everything and run for dramatic, fleeting bargains. Why should elite brands support a new startup trying to replicate the experience online? And even if brands like Valentino, Christian Louboutin, and Zac Posen got on board, would shoppers embrace such a website? Would the kind of people who love high-end fashion really visit a new online sale each day? Was "accessible luxury" a breakthrough idea or an absurd oxymoron? Alexis and Alexandra share their perspective in this dramatic story of Gilt's birth, rise, and evolution. They show how they juggled the conflicting needs of their suppliers, engineers, marketers, and potential investors. They explain how they blended their individual strengths and weaknesses and managed their rapidly growing team. They cover the growing pains of expanding into new categories like housewares, travel, and menswear. And they take us through the darkest moments of the recession when Gilt might easily have died. As you'll learn from the true story of Gilt, anything is possible for those with the creativity to recognize a new opportunity and the perseverance to make it real.
$22.05
Hardcover
ISBN:
9781591844631
Additional Information
Print
About By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop
ISBN: 9781591844631
Publisher: Portfolio
Page Count: 266
Language: English
Dimensions:
6.30 X
9.10
Inches
Create A Personal Gift Announcement Card to send to someone special.
You will need a printer connected to the computer in order to print the Gift Announcement Card.
If you would prefer to enter your information by hand after printing, just leave these fields blank and select "Print Gift Announcement".
Other Gift Options
Postcard Announcement
On the Review step during checkout, you will have the option to mail a FREE postcard to the recipient announcing that a gift has been purchased for them. You schedule the date the card will be mailed; send it immediately or hold for perfect timing with a special occasion.
eGift Announcement
Perfect for last-minute shoppers! On your order confirmation page you will have the option to send a FREE email gift notification. Choose from hundreds of E-Card designs and several delivery options. See an example.Interested In More Gifts? Visit the Gift Center to discover great gift suggestions for everyone on your list.