Despite what has been a marked uptick in consumer facing startups over the past couple years, it’s not altogether often that e-tailers make it into VentureWire. If memory serves, 1-800Diapers.com was the last that graced its e-letter. So I was interested to read the scoop yesterday that a shopping site called MyShape received $2 million from angel investors. Here’s the skinny on the company per Erica Owen’s reporting:
MyShape, which launched six months ago and is based in Altadena, Calif., matches shoppers measurements, body shape and preferences with the varying sizes of participating brands to help overcome the fashion industry’s lack of standard sizing which is often problematic for shoppers. The company, which operates like a department store’s personal shopper, is expanding its base of more than 100 brands and 40,000 registered users.
The customized clothing revolution marches on. Internet Retailer covers the movement as far back as April 2002, noting that “mass customization” is a difficult nut to crack. Indeed. And one that Archetype Solutions, a venture-backed company, has been chipping away at for some time by providing B2B customization services to large retailers including JCPenny, Lands End, and QVC. Recently, Archetype went direct to consumer, launching a jeans-specific fitting tool that brings in revenue as lead generator (and B2B account opener, I imagine) - a seemingly smart move.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, MyShape is similarly attempting a bifurcated market approach: the company resells clothing direct via brands it has brought into the fold, but also aims to license the IP (seven body type matching system as far as I can tell) to “outside vendors.” There’s a tricky line to walk here between cannibalizing the core retail business, for which the IP serves as differentiator, and generating an ancillary revenue stream. It’ll be interesting to watch the company’s development play out. I particularly like MyShape’s “personal shop” which displays only those clothes on the site that fit the user.
It can’t be long before someone, be it Archetype, MyShape, or another entrant, works out both the IP and vendor relationships to enable a personalized experience inclusive of more brands and clothing types, likely under a lead generation model. More headaches for “marketplaces with recognizable consumer brands.”
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