California Apparel News

One of the challenges of fashion e-commerce is consumers’ need to test the fit and feel of a garment. For many, that challenge is addressed with free returns. For vertical e-commerce company Bonobos, the answer is “showrooming.”

The 5-year-old e-retailer is best known for its men’s chinos. But the company kept getting requests from shoppers for a place to try on Bonobos’ clothes, said co-founder and Chief Executive Andy Dunn.

To answer that need, the company opened Guideshop, a retail showroom where customers can try on clothing, get personal assistance and place orders.

The New York–headquartered company opened its first Guideshop last year and broke even in 90 days. “You can ratchet up service a great deal and give values which would not be considered beforehand,” Dunn said.

There are Guideshops at Bonobos’ New York headquarters and in Boston. The latest Guideshop opened on Sept. 17 in Palo Alto, Calif.

A visit to a Guideshop starts when a customer makes an appointment online. Then the client is encouraged to fill out a survey that will inform the salesclerks or guides on what they are looking for.

Upon the first visit to the Guideshop, the consumer and the guide discuss the information on the survey, as well as the consumer’s fashion likes and dislikes.

The guide will proceed to show clothes that the consumer is interested in as well as new items. Dunn said 90 percent of those visiting the Guideshops make purchases. As with an e-tailer, the consumer’s order is delivered to the consumer the next morning or in the next couple of days

“We thought instant gratification would be a huge problem, but it turns out that people don’t care,” Dunn said.

The Guideshops seem modest. Their footprints range from 600 to 1,000 square feet. They’re designed to look like a friend’s apartment and are not located on fashion streets with expensive real estate. They also don’t rely on street traffic. Consumers find them online and make purchases just like they would buy something at an e-commerce shop.

Without spending money on expensive real estate or on store space for inventory, Dunn said, the company finds savings that it can pass on to consumers by offering lower-priced clothes. Bonobos jeans are manufactured in Los Angeles and retail for $120 to $160. Dunn said costs would be more than $200 per jean if he added in costs for a conventional bricks-and-mortar space.

Bonobos is scouting real estate for several more shops in towns such as San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

—Andrew Asch