Jacynth Basset is the founder of The Bias Cut, the first online premium fashion boutique that truly celebrates style at every age. They launched the blog July 2015, and the retail side in March 2016 and now are growing at 100% year on year.
About the business
- eCommerce Business Structure – Online Only
- Product Range Scale – niche
- In the UK, selling globally
- Platform: Shopify
- Plugins: Yopto, Power Tools, Aftership Returns
Getting Started
Jacynth and her mother helped foster a close relationship with each other through shopping. Although both of them loved fashion and design, her mother found that there weren’t many items that appealed to her in terms of cuts of clothing. Online imagery was tailored to younger women, and it was even a little embarrassing to go into nice shops sometimes as an older woman. When Jacynth graduated from studying law and realized that she didn’t want to be a lawyer, she decided to start an eCommerce business that offered women over 45 years old a space where they could feel just as empowered and good about themselves as younger women.
Listen to learn how Jacynth strategically used her blog to start building a community, get the dialogue going, and network to wiggle her way into the market.
Her Own Label
Although she started with a boutique, it’s always been Jacynth’s goal to introduce her own line eventually. As women age, they become less trend-driven and more individualistic, with different aesthetics and tastes. In making her own label, Jacynth has to make sure that she’s not catering to only one aesthetic. She’s surveyed her customers to find out what is missing, and has polls and questions in a Facebook forum. The Bias Cut is looking to start adding their own label to the boutique in 2018.
Listen to learn how a boutique with a mix of many labels appeals to a wider audience.
The Team
The Bias Cut has two team members, and they do everything in-house except imagery. Their core message is too personal to use PR firms, and the personal touch of a gift and note in every package makes picking and packing too personal to outsource right now as well.
Listen to learn how The Bias Cut got such great press coverage on their website, and how they got into The Guardian.
Most Awesome Thing Right Now
The fact that The Bias Cut is looking to launch its own label in 2018 is a super exciting dream come true, as is the fact that they’re gaining momentum. More and more women are finding that you can be stylish and fabulous no matter how old you are, and that youth is not the only kind of beauty.
Gaining Momentum
Some things that have contributed to The Bias Cut’s growth are the content-driven aspect of the company with both their Facebook group and guest writers on the blog, her networking, and collaborations with other brands.
Collaboration Partners
Jacynth is careful about choosing who to collaborate with, making sure to choose only brands that share the central value of The Bias Cut. Instead of working with anti-aging skincare companies, for example, she works with pro-age companies. She also chooses brands that don’t conflict with them in terms of cross-over market potential, instead choosing brands that are complementary to The Bias Cut.
Listen to learn how Jacynth hunts and hustles brands she wants to collaborate with, and how the collaborations grow organically from there.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Financial Times Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan: How to Win Backing to Start Up Or Grow Your Business by Vaughan Evans
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Collaborations
You can hear about all this on the podcast, for free – right now…
Tool Top Tip
- Synced calendars
- Organized whiteboards
Growth Top Tip
Understand the value of repeat customers. New customer acquisition is fine, but encourage loyalty. Reward people who are already buying from you.
Interview Links
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