Yoox

Infobox_Company
company_name = Yoox Group S.p.A
type = Privately held company
foundation = 2000
location_city = Zola Predosa, Bologna
location_country = Italy
subsidiaries = USA, Japan
industry = Fashion and leisure
key_people = Federico Marchetti, CEO
homepage = [http://www.yoox.com www.yoox.com]

Yoox Group S.p.A is an Italian internet mail order retailer of men's and women's multibrand designer clothing and accessories. Founded by Federico Marchetti, a former investment banker [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/10/07/rcom.t.php IHT: The Web Opens for Business . . .] ] , in Zola Predosa [ [http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/fashion-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=10606 fibre2fashion: E-tailer Yoox mulls international expansion] ] near Bologna in 2000, Yoox has become a highly profitable e-commerce company that serves 28 countries worldwide. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/12/23/spark.yoox/index.html cnn.com: Bargain hunting easy in cyber boutiques] ]

Name

The name, Yoox, is supposed to be composed of the male (Y) and female (X) chromosome letters linked by OO, the symbol of infinity or “the ‘zero’ from the binary code, the fundamental language of the digital age”. [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/aboutus.asp yoox.com: About us] ]

Overview

The company’s concept is to buy up overstock or unsold items from previous seasons in "a direct relationship" [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/aboutus.asp yoox.com: About us] ] from renowned fashion houses "including Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel, Gucci, Armani and Cavalli [ [http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?&scname=E-commerce+Security&docid=165821 Tech Republic: HP Technology Helps Business Growth for YOOX] ] , manufacturers or retailers and sell them online at discounted outlet prices. This is to enable "luxury brands to off-load last year's merchandise without undermining their brands or cannibalizing sales at their existing stores". [ [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_52/b3814090.htm Business Week: Yoox - Discounted Luxury] ] Vintage designer clothing (Chanel, Balenciaga, Pucci etc.) [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/areeIstit_1318515.asp yoox.com: Special editions] ] is collected with the help of fashion editor Polly Allen Mellen [ [http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article994314.ece Times online: Fab vintage without the scrum] ] [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/areeIstit_1317704.asp yoox.com: Friends] ] and sold at special occasions. Some fashion designers have even created collections specifically for yoox.com, such as Hussein Chalayan (menswear, exclusively) [ [http://www.wallpaper.com/fashion/hussein-chalayan-for-yoox/2022 Wallpaper: Hussein Chalayan for Yoox] ] [ [http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2007/10/03/ The Wall Street Journal: Hussein Chalayan Shows Off Nothingness] ] or Alexandre Herchcovitch.

Yoox.com was listed among Time magazine’s list of '50 Coolest Websites' 2004 in the Lifestyle and Culture category. [ [http://www.time.com/time/techtime/200406/lifestyle.html Time.com: 50 cooles web sites 2004] ]

Corporate structure

Backed by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital [ [http://www.benchmark.com/portfolio/worldwide.shtml Becnchmark Capital: Our portfolio] ] , Yoox is a privately held company [ [http://www.wwd.com/notavailable/dotcom?target=/financial/article/103442&articleId=103442&articleType=A&industryKw=financial Womens's Wear Daily: E-tailer Yoox Continues to Expand, Sees IPO on the Horizon] ] and achieved total revenues of $26 mio in 2004. By the end of 2005 it had reached $70 mio. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article485445.ece?token=null&offset=12 Times online: Fashion's best kept secret] ] The Yoox internet platform is powered by Hewlett-Packard. [ [http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?&scname=E-commerce+Security&docid=165821 Tech Republic: HP Technology Helps Business Growth for YOOX] ] In 2007, the web site had "three million visitors per month" and "more than one million items [were] delivered worldwide". [ [http://www.quova.com/page.php?id=33&news_id=174 Quova.com: YOOX.Group Sets a Trend in Fraud Management with Quova] ]

The company’s CEO and founder is Federico Marchetti, the head of marketing and sales is Massimiliano Benedetti. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/24/opinion/rnet.php IHT: Footwear dot-coms stride ahead] ] Marchetti, who had worked for "Bain & Co. as a strategic consultant, Lehman Brothers as an expert in luxury goods and as a banker in mergers and acquisitions" [ [http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/top-500-guide/47562-internet-retailer-ir2006-multimedia-cd-rom-speakers-marchetti.html Internet Retailer: Federico Marchetti, Founder & CEO, Yoox.COM] ] studied economics at Bocconi University in Milan [ [http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/top-500-guide/47562-internet-retailer-ir2006-multimedia-cd-rom-speakers-marchetti.html Internet Retailer: Federico Marchetti, Founder & CEO, Yoox.COM] ] and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. [ [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3917696/PROFILE-FEDERICO-MARCHETTI-Dressed-to.html Goliath: Profile Federico Marchetti - Dressed to impress] ]

The company's US subsidiary, YOOX CORP, is a Delaware corporation based in Hoboken, New Jersey. [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/privacypolicy.asp yoox.com: Privacy policy] ]

In addition to its eponymous web site, the company, through "Yoox Services" (formed in 2006) [ [http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=23794 Internet Retailer: YOOX adds an e-commerce customer, builds toward IPO] ] , operates the online stores of Italian fashion houses Emporio Armani, Marni, Diesel, Stone Island and C.P. Company. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/05/business/ecom.php IHT: High-fashion shoppers turn to the Web] ] [ [http://www.yoox.com/corporate/us/news.asp yoox.com: Press Room] ]

Logistics

All orders are dispatched at a warehouse in the Italian headquarters. [ [http://www.upsalamode.com/de/pdf/FASHION_CASESTUDIES_EN.pdf UPS Fashion case study: Yoox] ] “Each item is tagged with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and is tracked to its exact location using a barcode detector”. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/12/23/spark.yoox/index.html cnn.com: Bargain hunting easy in cyber boutiques] ] International warehouses, that serve as hubs, exist in New Jersey and Tokyo. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/21/opinion/rretail.php IHT: Global brands revise local strategies] ]

Yoox maintains "20 studios to make pictures [of the merchandise] with 25 photographers". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/technology/05ecom.html The New York Times: $7,900 Valentino Gowns, a Click Away] ]

ee also

Bluefly

References

External Links

* [http://www.yoox.com Yoox.com - official web site]
* [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/11/05/business/05ecom.600.jpgPicture of Mr. Marchetti]
* [http://www.tgyoox.com TGyoox.com - Yoox Code]