Shop Direct’s premium brand VeryExclusive.co.uk is to expand to offer menswear from this autumn.
Brands including Barbour, Kenzo and Aquascutum have already signed up to sell through the retailer. The new initiative is targeted at 26 to 45-year-old aspirational men, and has a strategy of helping customers to spread the cost of luxury purchases through a credit offer with monthly interest-free payments. VeryExclusive aims to ensure customers see the most relevant products for them through its use of personalisation.
Alex Baldock, chief executive at Shop Direct , said: “We’ve successfully democratised luxury women’s fashion and beauty. Our customers love what VeryExclusive.co.uk gives them and now it’s time to do the same for men.
“Men also want to buy premium brands but often feel they’re just out of reach. We’re going to make premium menswear attainable, so men can soon access those Reiss jeans or that Barbour jacket they want by spreading the cost.”
The launch comes a year and a half after Shop Direct launched VeryExclusive, which is headed by managing director Sarah Curran, and whose team now includes Adam Jagger, previously premium menswear buyer at Asos .
Curran said: “Through what we’ve built at VeryExclusive.co.uk – a stylish, premium retail brand with a curated, accessible customer offer – we’ve been able to attract some outstanding premium menswear brands for our launch in autumn/winter.
“It’s testament to how far we’ve come in just a year. By entering this exciting new phase, brands will benefit from access to an aspirational, male customer base who may not have been able to buy their brands before. Meanwhile, our male customers will be able to shop in a stylish, premium and content-rich online environment, which includes the latest style advice and trends.
“Months of market research and testing tell us that this is what men want. We can’t wait to see the reaction when we unveil our menswear offer.”
