Peter Ruis, Director of Buying for Fashion at John Lewis has played a major role in the development of the recently revamped online offering. Here we find out more about the strategy and plans for online retail.

What is it about the John Lewis online environment that makes it appealing to the brands you have on board?
John Lewis’s revamped fashion site is all about choice, inspiration and brands – with a focus on bringing the quality in-store John Lewis experience to the website.

This unique shopping experience is appealing for brands and they have been attracted to the concept which is proving successful. As an example Hobbs is now taking twice as much online as it is in our next biggest shop (Oxford Street).

We have also created specific brand environments or ‘brand boutiques’ for the likes of Mulberry, Ralph Lauren and Orla Kiely, to name a few, which feature their own imagery, ranges and general brand feeling.

Would you consider brands that are a good fit for one retail channel only, or must they have cross appeal to your department store and online customer?
John Lewis is a multichannel retailer – and that will continue to be our focus. 

However, the online channel provides more opportunities to enhance the volume and variety for customers such as offering a broader range of sizes or more (and newer) brands.

With online, there aren’t the same space constraints as one would naturally find in-store. However, the different channels won’t be hugely different in terms of brands.

The revamp has seen a emphasis on style focused content, is this something you’ll involve brands with more?
We are excited to bring added value to our customers by offering seasonal trend advice and commentary from our Edition magazine editor (and former editor of Marie Claire) Marie O’Riordan. 

In addition, at John Lewis we have strong relationships with brands and can give our customers the inside line on the season’s hottest fashions.

We have a special team dedicated to liaising with brands to create and improve online content.

Tesco is soon to join Asda in retailing clothes online. Do you see a time when John Lewis would use the Waitrose brand to retail fashion online?
We are exploring better ways for our customers to shop with John Lewis and throughout the wider Partnership (including Waitrose). 

For example, we are currently trialling a ‘Click-and-Collect’ service which enables customers to purchase online and pick-up at two Waitrose shops. Customers can already purchase online and collect from any John Lewis branch.

Visit the John Lewis website

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Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run the Drapers Online website? Keely Stocker has been managing the fashion business magazine’s website since the beginning of this year.

Keely, what are your main responsibilities as Digital Content Manager for Drapers?
As Digital Content Manager I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the site.

This includes uploading content and optimising with key words, links and general SEO.

I also work with the editorial and commercial teams to develop new ideas and launch new areas of the site. An example of this is Ask the Expert which is a great tool to allow users access to experts.

I am also in charge of all video content on the site including the filming and editing for Drapers own videos. On the social networking side, I have now set up Drapers, Facebook and Twitter pages which allows us access to people that might not have been aware of Drapers before.

We also have 3 groups on LinkedIn (one for Wholesalers, one for Independents and one for Etailers) where members can network with others in their specific field and start discussions which enables me to see what it is that the industry is looking for and try to provide this on our site.

Which aspect do you enjoy the most, fashion or digital media?
I would have to say both.

I love the digital side of my job because it allows me to be creative and challenges me to enhance the user experience online, but I also have a real love of fashion (especially shoes!) so what better environment to do this in?

How did you get to the position where you are now? What career steps did you take?
I started at Emap four years ago as an administrator. During those years I have always tried to show enthusiasm and initiative (even when filing!) and always volunteered for everything!

I then moved into ad operations but soon realised I was more interested in the development and content side of online which is how I moved into this role.

Myself with Keely at the Online Fashion 100 event

What advice would you give to someone wanting work experience at Drapers?
I would advise them send in their CV with as much information as possible including any previous work experience they have.

If they are given an opportunity to do work experience they should make their most of that time, meeting as many people as possible, showing eagerness to help out whenever they can and having the confidence to take on any task that is given.

And finally, what can we expect in the coming months from Drapers Online?
Drapersonline.com is going to continue to evolve over the coming months with aims to develop a clearer online prospect for specific channels and encourage more interaction on the site.

I am looking at how I can develop our Ecommece channel online to cater for this ever growing audience. We will continue to be the first to bring all the latest fashion news including breaking news updates and are planning more catwalk coverage over the coming fashion weeks.

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Which online fashion stores does NOW magazine editor Abigail Blackburn rate?

Read my latest Drapers blog, ‘Interview with NOW magazine editor Abigail Blackburn (Part 2)’

See Part 1 of the interview here

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What does the internet mean to the editor of Britain’s premier celebrity weekly?

Abigail Blackburn, editor of NOW magazine, reveals her must-read websites, views on blogging and the role of showbiz gossip forums.

So, what are your favourite websites?
Abigail: I’m a regular on Wonderwall, The Superficial and People.com (and its Celebrity Baby Blog).

My guilty secret is First Lady of Style because I actually don’t feel my week’s complete if I haven’t checked out what Michelle Obama’s been wearing - I obsess about all her belts and most of her dresses.

First Lady of Style & Deadline Hollywood Daily

I also check out Deadline Hollywood Daily for US industry gossip, Girl With A Satchel to keep up with Aussie media gossip and The Style Editor because, in all seriousness, NOW’s Alison Tay is an enigma whose blog is always full of surprises, even though I can see her desk from my office.

It’s the only way I can keep up with her. 

The Digital Spy Showbiz forum has a huge user generated blind items thread. What part, if any at all, do gossip forums play in getting new stories for NOW?

A: They play a role if there’s suddenly a big interest or outcry over a celebrity who’s key for NOW’s cast list.

So if there’s a massive reaction over Jennifer Aniston or Cheryl Cole then we may well pick up on that and mention it as part of a feature.

However forums don’t generate complete stories for us as they’re still one step too removed from the celebrity and tend to be litigious. Our news team always work with great sources or they wouldn’t get any story past our lawyers.

Do you see blogs as a way to spot new writing talent for the magazine?
A: Mainly in the sense that it helps to loosen up the writing of staff who are currently blogging as well as writing on the page for the print mag.

Blogging lends itself to a much more informal style and letting that filter through to the magazine makes it feel more contemporary.

I get lots of emails from people asking me to check out their blogs, but I’m afraid I don’t always find the time to take them up on their offer, thanks to the 100+ emails I receive daily.

See Part 2 of the interview here on Drapers Online.

The new look NOW is on sale. See more on www.nowmagazine.co.uk

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What did you think of Online Fashion 100?
A great idea. My mum couldn’t understand why I wasn’t at number one though!

Who in the list would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?
For stealing style tips, definitely Natalie Massenet. I suppose with net-a-porter as your own private wardrobe, it’s not difficult to be well-dressed, but she always looks so effortlessly chic.

If I’m going to be there for ages, probably Maria Milano; we’re old friends, having sat next to each other for three years when she edited GQ.com and I edited Glamour.com, so always have plenty to gossip about.

You worked with My-Wardrobe on a trends channel, would you like to work more closely with retailers on content in the future?
We’re always on the hunt for new partners and have done some great partnership work this year with Wallis, Uniqlo, Lastminute.com and i-escape.com, to name just a few.

Carla Bevan is the editor of MarieClaire.co.uk

Some say in a recession sales of shoes, make-up and accessories grow faster than that of other fashion items. Do you believe this theory, and is it impacting your content plans?
Yes, definitely, it’s far easier to update your wardrobe with a few well-chosen accessories, than expensive top-to-toe outfits.

We’re ensuring we include plenty of shoes and bags in our ever-popular Buy of the Day slot and our What to Wear This Week feature. Having said that, our readers seem to love reading about dresses, too, right now.

If you could choose a fashion blogger to do your job for a day who would it be?
Tavi, of tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com - she’s ace.

Visit the Marie Claire website

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I recently had lunch with Miriam Lahage and Nicola Grylls, CEO and Marketing Manager respectively, of Koodos.com.

Koodos has a blog called Bargainista where they publish discount codes of competitors to encourage repeat visits to the website (see my previous blog on it here).

Miriam and Nicola mentioned that some people thought they were “crazy” to promote their competitors.

It’s undeniably a risky strategy, but the best ideas have to be a bit crazy and it’s all about taking risks to establish a position in the market.

It was pleasing, but unsurprising given the current economic climate, to hear that Koodos has been doing well selling designer at discount. And even better during the other climate change; the weather.

We chatted about the current trend for discount codes, and the future challenge for retailers when the economy picks up, as shoppers will be accustomed to discounts.

It will continue to be a good time for discount sites, whilst full price retailers will have to up their offerings to compete.

I think Koodos could make more of its service to brands, where it can act as an outlet for product in its later life stage.

Ted Baker recently commissioned M And M Direct to create the discount store Ted’s Shed, but for brands that want a low cost option to shift excess stock Koodos has a brilliant platform and audience.

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I recently met up with Vanessa Knox-Brien and Baukjen de Swaan Arons, the founders of online success story Isabella Oliver, at their office in north London.

With a day packed full of meetings, lunches and international conference calls, back to back and all timed to precision, I waited patiently for my time with the entrepreneurial pair.

In the few minutes I was sat in the waiting area, which is part of the open plan office, I could hear the creative team discussing the wording of the next newsletter.

As you would expect my 360 glance of the office uncovered every fashion company must-have; magazine and product cut outs plastered to the walls. Isabella Oliver’s office was everything people outside of the industry imagine the fashion business to be – glamorous, exciting and everything but dull.

But as we know fashion retail is a challenging business and whilst glamour’s good, it doesn’t get you everywhere.

As I moved into the meeting room to chat to Vanessa and Baukjen it quickly became obvious why Isabella Oliver turned over £800k in its first year when the company began in 2003.

Their shrewd business acumen blends well with their determination to build a brand that puts the customer first; Isabella Oliver always delivers above and beyond expectation. It’s this attitude that has driven the brand’s word of mouth appeal, something ever so crucial to the success of a start up brand.

During our meeting I asked where they would take the brand next, given that other big players in online retail have considered launching flagship stores, but this particular avenue it seems isn’t on the agenda.

Vanessa and Baukjen believe that whilst you can expand into other areas (like the non-pregnant collection they have recently launched), a brand must have some core values, and one of those for Isabella Oliver is online retail – and don’t they do it well.

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Gemma Cartwright, founder of Catwalk Queen, is one of Britain’s most popular fasion bloggers. I asked Gemma about Catwalk Queen’s editorial process, the influence of fashion blogs and what items, available online, she’s coveting.

Who is the Catwalk Queen reader?
She’s a young woman interested in fashion, shopping and celebrities who wants mainstream fashion news in an easily accessible way.

She shops on the high street but aspires to buy designer, and she probably loves a bit of quirky vintage too.

How do you decide day to day which stories to cover?
We have a calendar of big events; award shows, fashion weeks, big movie premieres, album releases and so on, and tailor content to fit that.

We also look at seasonal trends, so we’ll cover swimwear in the run-up to Summer, coats in Autumn etc. But a lot of it comes from what happens on a daily basis. What we see on the news wires, picture agencies and our RSS feeds each day.

I’d say about 60% of the content is unplanned, and is a reaction to what’s happening at the time.

What’s your take on email press releases sent to multiple editors using the BCC field?
Not a problem at all, so long as it’s well-targeted. I understand that no PR has the time to personalise every single email.

But you’d be amazed at the amount of useless press releases I get because people haven’t read the site before adding me to their mailing list.

Also, if they forget to blind copy, that’s another matter!

Do you think retailers understand the growing influence of fashion blogs?
Most of them. The shift is still happening, but it’s so much better now than it was a few years ago.

I remember one particular high street store once told one of my writers flat out “We don’t do online” when she called for information. A year later, they were schmoozing me with lunches, freebies and competition prizes, and to credit them, they were very open about the fact they didn’t ‘get it’ in the past.

The important thing to remember is that it’s not just the PR you need to persuade, it’s their client!

What is your top tip for brands that want to feature on Catwalk Queen?
Read the site and understand what it is we write about (for example, we don’t cover accessories or shoes outside of our outfit picks because we have other blogs devoted to them on our network). And then give us something interesting to write about!

And finally, which fashion items, available online, are you coveting this season?
Firstly I’d love an Esther Williams bikini. She used to star in films in the golden era of Hollywood, and her swimwear range is made to vintage patterns like the ones she wore. The photos on the site are awful but the bikinis themselves are perfect for that pin-up girl look!

Secondly, Kurt Geiger Fashionistas ‘Mayfair’ shoes, which have hat netting on the vamp. They’re gorgeous!

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Ever wondered what it’s like to work for Topshop boss Philip Green? Well I recently interviewed a woman who knows.

Sarah Maskell is described as the billionaire’s protégé. Since working for Arcadia, she’s gone on to produce her own collection of lingerie for plus-size women.

She has plenty of experience of retail, which she has learned from the best, and now she’s applying the principles of selling online with the Oola Lingerie website.

Read my interview with Sarah on my Drapers blog.

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I was recently joined by Chantelle Znideric for lunch at Sushinho restaurant in Chelsea.

Chantelle is a stylist who works with clients on a one-to-one basis to revamp their wardrobes and create looks that work for them.

When she’s finished making her clients feel good about themselves the Surrey based stylist is working behind the scenes with digital marketing professional Hayden Allen-Vercoe on a series of web projects, including those which promote her styling service.

Just type ‘personal stylist’ into Google and you will see the hundreds of personal shoppers across the country appear in the search results all vying for attention, but Chantelle’s TopStylista website www.personal-stylist.co.uk takes the #1 prime position.

Teaming up with Hayden, who is also her fiancé, has seen Chantelle benefit from the huge amount of website traffic that being #1 for personal stylist brings.

With that achievement under their belts, the couple are also focusing on bringing personal styling to the masses through iStylista, a virtual service where you can download a customised style guide after answering a few questions.

Understanding that the success of an online application or service is based on continual innovation, Hayden and Chantelle are making some very exciting developments to iStylista which will link personal styling with online retail.

And if that wasn’t enough you’ll also catch Chantelle and Hayden reviewing luxury brands (including the Sushinho restaurant where Chantelle and I dined) for their website Lussorian.

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My-Wardobe.com’s co-founders Andrew and Sarah Curran joined me to have lunch at Bentley’s Restaurant in Mayfair.

Me with My-Wardrobe CEO Sarah Curran

Innocently humble (probably a result of living outside the London fashion and media bubble) the couple oozed a work hard, play hard, have fun mentality. Complete without the airs, graces and complacency that sometimes follows successful entrepreneurs.

If anyone lives by the “you get out what you put in” mantra, it’s these two. They, and the team at My Wardrobe, have put in three years of hard work to build one of the biggest successes in British online retail, now recognised by the industry at the Drapers Etail Awards.

I am always interested in hearing the motivations of online entrepreneurs for starting their businesses, and the Curran’s told a story that would read well on the pages of Tatler.

A combination of love, business, family and of course fashion, it’s one of a couple who cleverly capitalised on a growing industry at the right time, in the right way and for the right reasons.

Online designer fashion store My-Wardrobe.com

I admired the fact that their interest in the creative and financial aspects of running the business was equal – something rare in this industry.

I will end on my suspicion that some of the success must be down to the epitomising of their own customer somewhat.

You’ve seen all the makeover shows where the stylist lives the life of the person their dressing, and not only do Andrew and Sarah eat and breathe My Wardrobe they certainly live the lifestyle too.

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Aiming to connect brands with the top 10% of bloggers in the web’s most lucrative sectors Tailsweep is on a mission to change the online advertising landscape in the UK.

By offering advertisers more insight into the buzz their online campaigns have created, the company’s UK Sales Director Dan Britcher and Operations Manager Duncan Chamberlain are optimistic Tailsweep can emulate its Swedish success in Britain.

I recently interviewed Dan to find out just how they differentiate themselves from Glam and how they can ensure advertisers appear next to quality content.

Glam has been adopted by many fashion and lifestyle publishers in the UK, is this a market Tailsweep is after too?
Dan: Yes. Our experience from Sweden tells us that this is an area that fashion and luxury brands have to engage with.

We differ to Glam in our business model and the fact that we are not an ad network in its traditional sense.

We are experts in blogs and there is a need to educate fashion brands about how to engage with consumers in this area. If brands understand this area it will reap significant returns.

To ensure quality for your advertisers, your publishers must be creating quality content. How do you make sure this happens?

Tailsweep only represents bloggers who are publishing high quality content in the first place.

We make a qualitative and quantitative assessment of their sites – strong editorial, site architecture, content structure, in/ outbound links, RSS, Page Views and Unique Users and then we invite them to join our platform on a non-exclusive basis.

A brand safe environment is obviously important for advertisers but at the same time they have to appreciate that editorial integrity is sacrosanct and not something to be influenced.

There is still a perception that the blogosphere is somewhat like the Wild West which is far from the reality. Our blog partners are publishing platforms of equal/greater influence than many of the major media publishers and we need to work to preserve that integrity and our role is to educate brands about this space.

Tailsweep would never even try to influence content. If a brand has a compelling product, service or marketing initiative and it is newsworthy our bloggers will pick up on it anyway.

Is Tailsweep only after independent bloggers and networks, or would you partner with a large media title?

We are looking for partnerships with independent bloggers and networks with strong blog platforms.

If we seek the scale of ad networks then we dilute our entire proposition.

We don’t have the ambition to work with as many fashion bloggers as we can, just the best ones.

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After being ill off work for six years Dean Farebrother was forced to do an IT course to keep his benefits.

Who would have guessed that doing the course would have led to the father of one setting up an online store, let alone one that would retail adult toys?

When bosses at a bank he worked for found out about his entrepreneurial activities he was fired on the spot. Determined to succeed Dean said “The sudden loss of income forced my hand and drove me to make a success of my fledgling business”.

He hasn’t looked back. Numerous awards later and SexToys.co.uk is one of the leading online adult retail stores.

I interviewed Dean to get a little bit more background on his motivations behind the business and marketing the website in such a competitive area.

We know your IT course gave you the skills to develop a site, but where did the passion come from for sex toys?

Dean: The passion came from the fact that I always wanted to run own business and be successful.

For as long as I can remember I’ve felt it was my destiny. It was never about the merchandise and ALL about the money and success.

I researched a lot of markets before choosing sex toys. I had a set criteria that I wanted to meet and sex toys seemed to tick all the boxes.

How is your order fulfilment managed?

The business was originally started from my cupboard under the stairs at home (when my daughter was still a baby). This was out-grown within three months when we moved into our first unit on a local enterprise park.

I still remember my wife and I packing the orders, licking the stamps and taking the sacks to the post office every day - one thing about starting your own business is that along the way you will end up doing every single job in the company at some point. 

We now have a large warehouse where we fulfil all of our retail and wholesale orders. Thankfully my stamp licking days are long gone.

The adult sector is extremely competitive, what marketing tactics are you soliciting in to get traffic?

Well that would be telling! But after eight years we are very successful on the SEO side of things and are top in the natural listings for most related search terms.

We are very lucky in that I am very experienced in SEO and another Director’s background is purely PR and Marketing so we have two people that are very experienced and driven in this department.

How are you going to maintain your position in the market?

I think the key is to never become complacent.

We are always looking to improve and reinvent every part of the business.

It’s one thing to be market leader but you can’t stay there unless you are always forging forward and rethinking your direction.

www.sextoys.co.uk

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This week I interviewed Turi Munthe of Demotix, a citizen-journalism website and photo agency.

Firstly, well done with the launch and the coverage you have achieved so far. How do you intend to keep the momentum going?

We’ve only just really started on getting the word out that we exist, and are happy that the process is slow and gentle.

In this first phase, the kind of contributors we’re bringing on is more important than the number. It means we pretty much only have interesting content.

But to answer more broadly, I - as CEO - will be spending the next year running round the globe meeting with journalists, photographers, newspapers and citizen activists to tell them that we exist and can really help them.

I’m off to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan in the first couple of weeks of Feb, then Russia, and then Zimbabwe.

For quality purposes you check all submissions before they appear on the website. How many moderators do you have, and what measures are in place to ensure Demotix is politically neutral?

We have a rotating group of about 7 moderators, but on neutrality we’re a citizen space. We have no politics. No editorial.

If the community sways more one way on a political issue, then we’ll make a concerted effort to bring on the other demographic but can’t guarantee anything.

On Gaza, for example, we’ve had infinitely more pro-Gaza material than we have pro-Israel, and that’s despite contacting the media organisations of Sderot and the IDF. But that’s a pretty good gauge, it turns out, of global opinion on the Gaza offensive.

You make your revenue (50% of the selling fee) when a publisher buys a photo or video. Are you going to look into generating revenue from people who simply browse the photos?

Possibly, but later down the line.

When will you allow people to send photos via Text/MMS?

As soon as humanly possible!

There are tech challenges here, and costs associated to this, but obviously this is exactly where we want to go, as quickly as possible.

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How did online shoe store Shudoo begin? Find out in this interview with co-founder Claire Russell.

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