What started out as a sole multi-brand luxury store in Munich became a global phenomenon when Mytheresa launched its eCommerce site in 2006. It quickly widened its customer base around the world offering a curated selection of the highest quality luxury goods via an online shopping platform.
Today, Mytheresa.com stocks products from over 200 brands and offers 900 new arrivals each week. They have not been tempted to expand too far beyond this, adamant that their selection only includes the highest luxury brands. Brands on the site today include Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and so many more. Mytheresa is now present in more than 130 countries around the globe.
With so much competition out there, the company is very aware of its need to stay unique in order to stand out from the rest. With this in mind, Mytheresa is constantly looking for new ideas and ways to keep the customer engaged. One way to do this is to offer exclusive products and capsule collections, which is something that they have recently done with Parisian shoemaker Roger Vivier. Michael Kliger My Theresa.com CEO travelled with Gherardo Felloni, Creative Director at Roger Vivier on a recent visit to Dubai to present the latest of these capsule offerings.
Kliger joined Mytheresa in 2015 after it was acquired by American group Neiman Marcus. He had previously worked at eBay so knows his stuff when it comes to eCommerce. Since he joined, the luxury retailer has expanded into markets worldwide and even launched childrenswear. As the latest collection by Roger Vivier launches in the Middle East, we meet with Kliger to discuss the company’s business strategy going into 2020 and the plans to launch menswear on the site.
Mytheresa packaging
What is the vision and direction for Mytheresa in terms of expansion?
Our expansion is more focused on customer acquisition. We want to stay very curated and we don’t want to go beyond the real luxury brands, but we believe there are many customers that we haven’t reached yet. We still have a large proportion of our business in Europe but we are expanding overseas in Asia, The Middle East and America.
How would you define Mytheresa in The Middle East today?
We have seen a real shift to online in the last two years in the Middle East. Our business in the region is more for the locals and people living in the region, rather than tourists. We have seen a dramatic increase in online shopping across the region and we are really enjoying that although we have to remember that if we are increasing so are our competitors. It’s also a very mobile market – the largest amount of sales come from mobile buyers. We believe our selection which is really focused on high-end brands speaks a lot to our customers and we’re working really hard ensure that our delivery experiences are as good as it can be as service expectations are very high in the Middle East.
What is a key selling point that Mytheresa is focusing on to set itself apart from competitors?
What we are doing is investing a lot in exclusive pieces and allowing our customers to have early access to products. The Middle Eastern customer always wants something special and something that you can’t find anywhere else, so in the last twelve months alone we have had around 30 capsule collections that were exclusive to us.
How important is it to offer these capsule collections?
It is very important. Our customer is very important to us. She knows what’s on the runway so she will already know in September what she can expect to see on the site in January or February. So there is an appetite for newness and freshness and we need to offer new ways of presenting products to keep the customer excited. Sometimes we have a pre-launch, we’ve had products that have been packaged in interesting ways, that kind of thing. There is a need for entertainment. Our customer is so deep into fashion and she wants to see something new every day. And then on top of all this, you still have to have excellent service.
What challenges do you face with the business model that you have?
The main challenge is that the consumer has no patience. Once she’s bought the product she wants it to arrive that second and every time we get faster the customer wants it to be faster still. That’s one of the biggest challenges – making it faster, easier. Yes we are a digital business but we still have to physically pack and ship products so it’s still a very physical process in that respect. I think that’s a constant challenge, especially as we move abroad to new regions.
How do you offer an experience through the platform?
Experience is important and we do invest a lot in experiential content. We package our content within fashion films, music videos that kind of thing and through our partnerships with brands, we also offer experiences that money can’t buy. Tonight, for example, we will invite some of our customers not only to have dinner but to meet the designer of Roger Vivier. We’ve done visits to La Scala in Milan with a brand and customers love going to lovely places but what they really crave is to get as close as possible to the fashion and by allowing them to get closer to the brand or meet the designer we are offering that.
Michael Kliger, Gherardo Felloni
To what extent do you think Omni-channelling is important?
I think the shift to online is clear. Today ten per cent of luxury is online but I think in the future that will go up to thirty per cent. That’s huge, but on the other hand, it means seventy per cent will still happen in physical stores. Consumers don’t think in the way that we in the industry do, they care about wanting the product now, it doesn’t matter if that’s in a store, online, on social media etc. The customer wants her problem to be solved and her problem is how to get that product as easily and quickly as possible.
You are here in Dubai with Roger Vivier – how would you describe this brand in one sentence?
I hope Gherardo agrees, but for me, it is truly feminine luxury. We see many trends but the brand has always been really luxurious and always has a level of femininity. That’s a very special spot and that’s why we have a very special relationship with the brand.
What are the common codes between Mytheresa and Roger Vivier?
They are both true luxury from the beginning. Mytheresa has always been very feminine which fits perfectly well with Roger Vivier. Our customer won’t do anything that she doesn’t want to do and the beauty with Roger Vivier is that as well as being feminine and stylish the shoes are comfortable which is what our customer is looking for.
Mytheresa x Roger Vivier Event, Dubai
Tell us about the spring/summer collections that we will see on Mytheresa
For us, spring/summer will be very exciting because we will, of course, have women’s collections but we will also have men’s collections for the first time. This is the next step for us. At the moment I think men’s fashion is even more exciting because it is changing even more than women’s. We had a long and very successful period of streetwear but there is a movement towards suiting, tailing, more jackets and formal wear. It’s a new interpretation rather than going back to what’s been done in the past but I think there is a whole generation of men who loved streetwear who want to know what’s next. There is a gradual move away from hoodies and tracksuits. There will be more tailoring – it may well be deconstructed tailoring. We’ve seen it happening at many brands – Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Dior, Loro Piana. It’s a very exciting movement and we are really excited to have a great choice for men.
Do you think this change in menswear is partly due to the fact that there is a change in the world around the freedom of men?
You cannot impose anything anymore, people make their own choices. I think there are two movements happening at the moment. The first is from more classic men who also want fashion – maybe a classic silhouette but with a more daring colour, or a traditional colour but a more daring silhouette. Then, the second trend is coming from the younger generation of men who grew up with the hoodies and tracksuits and they are asking ‘what’s next for me?’ If you go to China, for example, you’ll see a lot of young customers buying into Loro Piana – and this kind of thing is the next evolution. So I think there are two movements happening at the same time, it’s not just one new silhouette there are so many variations but there is definitely a break up of codes across generations.
What can Mytheresa customers expect in the coming year?
I can promise fantastic products of course! They will find things that they just have to have! We also strive to provide excellence with our customer service. We are lucky to have great customers and we always do the utmost to satisfy them. That can be the speed, inspiration, efficiency – it’s a whole spectrum.
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