ASOS, the fashion e-tailer, has launched a Marketplace to offer smaller boutique designers a way of selling their clothing to a wider online audience.
ASOS is already widely renowned as the go-to place to get designer clothing at a reduced price, but the Marketplace is a far more interesting proposition as ASOS is leveraging its brand to help smaller designers get their name out there. Of course ASOS isn’t just doing this out of the good of their heart, and just like the marketplaces on e-commerce behemoths like Amazon and Play.com, ASOS takes a cut of each sale.
Designers can join the marketplace (after agreeing to a very long list of rules) as either an “individual account” where there is limited customisation, but no monthly fee and ASOS takes a 10% fee on sales; or as a Boutique where there is much more customisation, a dedicated account manager and other benefits for a £50/month fee and 15% of sales.
It will be interesting to see how well this works out for the burgeoning independent fashion sector, and whether any extra sales coming from listings on a brand like Asos make it worth the fees they are taking.