The Outnet in Residence has a four-day return engagement planned for Nov. 7 at 80 Washington Square Park, a private town house in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.
The e-tailer’s October 2016 takeover of Manhattan’s NeueHouse was successful enough to prompt the e-tailer to expand the concept to key markets such as France, Germany, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. “We decided to do something bigger this year,” Andres Sosa, executive vice president of sales, marketing and creative, said of the immersive four-day event.
The multidisciplinary activation celebrates the launch of the site’s Christmas gifting shop, hosts Front Row customers and influencers, and provides opportunities to gain some knowledge. There’s much glad-handing with dinners, lunches and cocktail receptions.
The upcoming In Residence program will closely follow a recent four-day run at One Belgravia in London. In addition to a product preview and panel discussion, featuring Sosa; Alex Taylor, president of digital at Clique Media, and Kate Brindley, global communications director of Nicholas Kirkwood, there was a digital influencer styling suite, RewardStyle’s Liketoknow.it influencer lunch and a private dinner cohosted by Caroline Issa.
Related Galleries
“The holiday season is one of the most competitive times of year especially in markets like the U.S.,” Sosa said, adding that a revelation “is there’s still that self-gifting. The customer likes to treat herself to fashion during the holiday season. It’s important for her to reward herself. We’re segmenting products by [lifestyle or event] such as a party edit.” The Outnet’s on-site campaign is themed, “Go All Out.”
“Having e-commerce and that space to be able to talk to customers and have one-on-one exchanges is really important for us,” Sosa said. “Or top shoppers are chosen by an algorithm, not simply by how much they spend on the site. It’s frequency and the brands they buy. We came up with qualifiers. We never wanted it to be a tier system.”
Sosa said The Outnet frequently looks to consumers for insights. “We launched Front Row and went to a panel and asked VIPs what they wanted,” he said. “They said, early access to brands, events, the editorial team and stylists. We’ll have between 30 and 60 Front Row people. Anything we can say, ‘Thank you.'”
Manhattan’s In Residence program will kick off with a private influencer dinner hosted by Sosa and fashion photographer and creative director, Zanita Whittington, and attended Whittington’s industry friends and The Outnet Front Row members.
Sosa said he prefers friend-of-a-friend guests and VIPs that have a relationship with The Outnet. “In terms of influencers, we don’t like the idea of parachuting people in.”
A private press preview on Nov. 8 will feature the site’s holiday offerings and new spring 2018 collection from Outnet in-house brand Iris & Ink. A digital influencer styling suite hosted by Alyssa Coscarelli of Alyssa in the City will kick off the last day of the activation.
“Creating this umbrella theme, The Outnet in Residence, enable us to execute a cohesive and global brand experience for all of the off-site events we create, wherever we are in the world,” Sosa said.