Private-sales fashion site Cocosa is to expand into new categories and has hired a new managing director with the aim of becoming a luxury lifestyle etailer.
Chief executive Paul Keenan said the invite-only website will branch into areas such as travel, homewares and experiences.
Cocosa has hired former chief executive of AH Lifestyle Linda Peters, who prior to that was an executive at Sephora.com, to become managing director. She has a background in luxury beauty and lifestyle, as well as fashion.
The etailer, owned by Bauer Media, will start selling gifts, such as spa days, on Monday in time for Christmas. A wider range of categories will be trialled next year.
Keenan said the emotional connection customers have with the site gives it a compelling platform to launch into different sectors.
He said: “We carried out a survey with our users and within 24 hours we had 7,000 responses. That alone shows the kind of emotional connection we have with our customers. Feedback showed there were markets that we could branch into such as travel, treats and experiences that would complement our fashion site.”
Peters, who is also a co-founder of the Centre for Fashion Enterprise at the University of Arts London, starts this week. She replaces Andrew Robb, who left in July to join FarFetch.
Peters said she will be evaluating Cocosa’s categories over the next few months. Certain products will be trialled on the site before the etailer commits to an entire category for different products. Cocosa launched into menswear in November.
Peters is also exploring whether brands could sell full-price merchandise on the site. At present, the site operates by inviting members to join, then runs discounted offers on luxury brands such as DKNY for a limited period.
“Cocosa could be a great channel for straight-through sales. Brands are always looking for more channels to sell,” said Peters.
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