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Couple problems, clothes are not food, you don't new ones everyday. The other is apparel just has too much competition. Each retailer used to have a look and s

by bruceb 4y ago

Couple problems, clothes are not food, you don't new ones everyday. The other is apparel just has too much competition. Each retailer used to have a look and style they were promoting. There was also noticeable difference between low cost clothes and higher ones. If one goes to a mall the differentiation between stores is less than it used to be. I don't have a way to quantify this but that is what it seems. As for cost of garments, go to H&M and go to Nordstrom, is there a quality difference, yes but not that much. Back to stichfix, once customer has a few boxes of clothes and the customer likes the clothes, they can go buy them and a ton of other places. And unlike trying to replicate meal kit companies offerings, there is no preparing of a meal, just clicking the buy button. Hard business.

firstplacelast 4y ago
I never used stitch fix, but remember looking at them several years ago. Agree that it’s a very tough problem to solve, especially for men’s wear. I think it’s a great idea for a company and can work very well, but I don’t think it has the capability for never-ending growth. With women’s wear, I could definitely see a huge number of clients buying monthly-to-quarterly. For men’s wear, I can’t see many doing this on a consistent basis. Seems like most would be up for new clothes 1-2x/year, unless you’re looking to revamp your whole wardrobe. Even then after a year you’ve got a new wardrobe and wouldn’t need them again for a long while. Looking at their website, the brands they tout are essentially mall staples too, nothing special. So the main value-add would be the stylist. Most men would be better served hiring a stylist for a major sale weekend (post Christmas, Black Friday, Memorial Day) and having them take you to the mall to get all of those things at a steep discount.
sylens 4y ago
They definitely should've had an option for a "once each quarter" subscription. Like as summer approaches, you get a box that has some new shorts and polos or t-shirts...and then when fall comes around, a flannel and jeans or something. I'm surprised more subscription services don't try to offer reduced frequency options. Lots of people like the idea of subscriptions but don't need yours every few weeks.

by bruceb 4y ago

firstplacelast 4y ago

I never used stitch fix, but remember looking at them several years ago. Agree that it’s a very tough problem to solve, especially for men’s wear. I think it’s a great idea for a company and can work very well, but I don’t think it has the capability for never-ending growth. With women’s wear, I could definitely see a huge number of clients buying monthly-to-quarterly. For men’s wear, I can’t see many doing this on a consistent basis. Seems like most would be up for new clothes 1-2x/year, unless you’re looking to revamp your whole wardrobe. Even then after a year you’ve got a new wardrobe and wouldn’t need them again for a long while. Looking at their website, the brands they tout are essentially mall staples too, nothing special. So the main value-add would be the stylist. Most men would be better served hiring a stylist for a major sale weekend (post Christmas, Black Friday, Memorial Day) and having them take you to the mall to get all of those things at a steep discount.

sylens 4y ago

They definitely should've had an option for a "once each quarter" subscription. Like as summer approaches, you get a box that has some new shorts and polos or t-shirts...and then when fall comes around, a flannel and jeans or something. I'm surprised more subscription services don't try to offer reduced frequency options. Lots of people like the idea of subscriptions but don't need yours every few weeks.