BILL BLASS NEW YORK

After having discovered the complex yet lucrative world of direct sales while working at Worth, I had the opportunity to co-found and be Creative Director of a division of one of the most respected names in American fashion…Bill Blass. We created Bill Blass New York as an extension of the Bill Blass main label but sold exclusively in the homes of socially connected saleswomen by private appointment only. I was surprised an established American designer name had not ventured into the world of direct sales yet and saw an opportunity that I should pursue. Mr. Blass was one of the few names in fashion that concepted the trunk show early in his career. Direct Sales (similar to trunk shows) is a business model that allows the owners to control the success of their business more so than selling to retail. We were able to control inventory liability based on intelligently projecting our sales/inventory numbers on how many saleswomen were signed on to sell. The advantages to direct sales are no charge backs or mark down money being asked from retail stores, control of inventory supply, commission structure for the sales team allows for maximal margins, etc. The result is being able to offer luxury designer level product at much lower prices, and the exclusivity of the collections only available through the private sellers. The customers loved the personal attention, and I loved becoming great friends with many of the sellers that to this day I consider best friends.