You want a pair of shoes, but you don\u2019t want them to look like everyone else\u2019s. You want them to be a different fabric, suede not leather. You want a different color, red not gray. You want a higher heel, not a standard 2- or 3-inch version.<\/p>\n
You search the internet until you find some options that could work. But you wish that you could see that shade of red with your own eyes, touch the material, walk on the actual heel. Instead, you cross your fingers, place your order and hope that what lands on your front porch is what you envisioned.<\/p>\n
Many of us are used to buying shoes and clothes this way now, and initial sales results from the recent holiday season reflect how much we\u2019ve embraced online shopping. Online sales reached $3.34 billion<\/a> on Black Friday alone. But that affinity for shopping from home continues to have a serious impact on brick-and-mortar retailers.<\/p>\n One Milan-based startup wants to help change that dynamic. The idea: Draw shoppers who want more from their apparel into stores by letting them customize what they want to buy, see and touch the materials in person, and confer with a salesperson (if they want) before they order.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s retail fashion world, \u201cCustomers are tired of being constrained to buy what is available in stores,\u201d says Andrey Golub, co-founder and CEO of ELSE Corp., named one of \u201cThe 10 Startups Redefining Italian Fashion<\/a>\u201d by Forbes last spring. \u201cThey come to a store, and their attitude is, \u2018If we find something, maybe it\u2019s good, maybe it\u2019s not so good, but if it\u2019s discounted, maybe I will buy it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That approach, he says, is not exciting or good for customers \u2013 and definitely not beneficial for retailers and brands looking to build customer loyalty.<\/p>\n To describe Golub as passionate about this is to do disservice to the word \u201cpassionate.\u201d Born in Kazakhstan, he has lived in Italy for more than a decade. He is both a fashionista and a technologist, a former professor of digital retail strategy who also has a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence \u2013 and a fervor to upend the world of retail fashion at a time when it needs it more than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cIn-Store Declines Drag Down Traditional Retailers<\/a>,\u201d \u201cA Horrible Holiday Season<\/a>\u201d and \u201cUnhappy New Year<\/a>\u201d were just some recent headlines pointing to clothing retailers\u2019 woes. Consumers, especially those under age 40, are increasingly interested in more personalized goods and services, and they\u2019re also looking for clothes that are made of higher-quality materials<\/a>.<\/p>\n Golub\u2019s company has developed a system of \u201cvirtual retail,\u201d which he also calls \u201cno-stock retail,\u201d for customers, companies, brands and manufacturers. The goal: To give customers not only what they want, but desire, when it comes to clothing and shoes by offering customized apparel.<\/p>\n