On Wednesday January 24th, COO of REVOLVE David Pujades, a Penn alumnae himself, came to the University of Pennsylvania to discuss how he got involved in the fashion industry and what it’s like being the COO of a major clothing company. In a speaker event presented by PFC, Pujades shared advice and what it takes to make it in the industry with Penn students interested in pursuing fashion.
Without any prior fashion experience, Pujades began working at REVOLVE as a bodyguard for Lindsay Lohan at one of their first events. Now, he’s discussing e-Commerce and the idea of “performance marketing”–the concept of reacting quickly to what customers are craving, knowing the trends, and then producing an excess amount of that item (side stripe pants anyone?) “You have to look at the analytics and see the gaps and trends in the data. That’s why it’s so great everything is online because we have access to all of that.” Pujades explained that the team can see information such as your most-clicked item, what brands you usually buy, how long you spend on the site, what color and size of clothing you usually pick, and more. It may seem a bit creepy, but it actually benefits customers because before you know it, your Revolve.com page is tailored to your interests, featuring clothing you would most likely buy–and then even giving you similar suggested items to buy along with it.
What makes REVOLVE so unique, even among other retail companies? First of all, they are an exclusively online retailer. Sure, they’ve done a few of pop-ups here and there, but Pujades explained that since the future of our society and commerce is technology-based, being online-only is not only a great business decision, but also attracts the most customers. They advertise mostly through social media; their Instagram, for example, has more than 1.2 followers. They’ve also hosted “social clubs”: invite-only events with a little bit of showcasing, but mostly networking and meeting up-and-coming designers and social influencers. Yet another source of advertisement is their #REVOLVEaroundtheworld event, a trip that is hosted by REVOLVE in which they invite models, social influencers, editors, celebrities, and more on an exclusive getaway. Each day of the vacation, there are different brands and themes that the attendees wear, coupled with an Insta-worthy activity so that the influencers and REVOLVE social media team can publish content every day, and fast. Another strategy to spark sales? Collaborations, most recently with social media star Chrissy Teigen.
“We have an authentic and real relationship with each of our influencers, and give them the chance to voice their thoughts on what they like and creative ideas they have because we trust them and value their opinions,” Pujades explained. They also know that consumers trust influencers’ opinions, so what better way to market their clothes than putting them on the people we love and aspire to be?
A second reason why REVOLVE is unique is because unlike other brands, they do not make their own clothing. Stationed in LA, REVOLVE sells more than 500 men’s and women’s brands, each representing an individual voice, personality, and culture. The brands range from Alice + Olivia to Love and Lemons to BCBGMAXAZRIA. The company isn’t afraid to help new designers start their careers because it is often difficult for young brands to establish themselves; in this way, designers at REVOLVE “lift each other up.” He believes REVOLVE and designers support each other, which has been a great strategy and a win-win for both teams. What he likes about the designers they pick is that “they are all authentic and have their own origin story that makes them special, and all of the designers own and showcase that,” which ultimately allows their customers to express themselves and be different as well.
Above all, Pujades stressed the company’s main priority and the key to their success: “REVOLVE is not focused on what the customer buys, but more importantly how that person will feel when they are wearing our brands.”