The e-commerce world’s interest in men continues to grow as more tech start-ups turn their attention to creating highly curated experiences for an oft-ignored segment of the market.
Khalid Meniri founded mobile app and design agency SixAgency and did Moda Operandi’s first app and also worked with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Forever 21 and Dsquared, but they were mostly for female-driven experiences. Today Meniri launched his own app, called Curatum, focused solely on selling to men through mobile.
He launches with retail partners that include The Webster in Miami, Just One Eye in Los Angeles and LN-CC of London along with Carson Street Clothiers and ABC Carpet & Home of New York. Brands such as 3×1 and Onia also partnered with Curatum to sell items exclusively through the e-tailer.
Meniri’s strategy is to feature only one product daily through the app. Users can still see other featured items in an archived section.
“There’s so much noise out there and mobile has become our escape route,” Meniri said. “And I wanted to keep this personalized with one product.”
Curatum joins a growing roster of born-online men’s brands that aim to target a new generation of shoppers looking for a more boutique experience on the Web.
Men’s e-tailer École, which aims to nab Millennials looking for quality product but not quite with the financial means to have closets stocked full of luxury labels, made a big push into the L.A. market last month with a pop-up that opened at The Standard hotel in downtown Los Angeles along with the rollout of L.A. designers on the École platform.
The venture-backed men’s suiting e-tailer Indochino is also racing for market share, although it’s now focused on making a mark in the offline world with rapidly expanding retail plans, including its first Southern California store that bowed in August.