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Fab x Andy Warhol
Foundation x Quinze
& Milan
© Fab.com
New Distribution
E-commerce is growing at such a pace that
major brands are under pressure to respond to
the demand with creativity and vision. Small
independents, lone designers and creative
collectives have also benefited from the
convenience of buying online and from the
marketing opportunities that social media provides.
Flash sales, third-party retailers and private
members’ salerooms are now well established
in the fashion and home industry, but these
businesses are being forced to diversify to
maintain consumers’ interest. And the gaps
between designer, manufacturer and retailer are
narrowing all the time.
•
Fab.com combines design-focused retail
(third-party flash sales) with social media to
help consumers connect with designers and
makers, share product opinions, and discover
new products that can enrich their lives. Most
recently, it has announced an open call to
design its next branded product and has also
launched its first exclusive product, teaming
up with the Andy Warhol Foundation and
designers Qunize & Milan to launch the Brillo
Box pouf.
•
Etsy, the craft-driven online shopping
platform, reported record sales in December
2012 with a total of $117.8m worth of goods
sold – an increase of 73% on the same period
a year earlier.
•
Today’s Specials, a British pop-up retail brand
run by designers Julia Georgalis and Richard
Brendon, enables young designers to promote
their products through temporary events and
promotion support.
•
Ex.t is an Italian online design community
where talent is scouted from around the
world. Products selected via an online
competition are then handcrafted in Tuscany
by family-run manufacturers.
•
Quirky.com, launched in 2009, aims to
change the way the world thinks about
product development with its trademark, A
Socially Developed Product. Product ideas
are submitted online to the team, which then
evaluates the viability of the concept. The
Quirky team takes on the research, design,
branding and manufacture with input from the
designer. The product is then launched on the
Quirky e-commerce site and retail partners.
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Redefine
Consumer Product