INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moda Operandi, an online marketplace that specialises in right-off-the-runway luxury fashion, accessories and home decor, is today
technology as well as to continue growing business overall
with participation also from the Santo Domingo family (connected to Lauren Santo Domingo, who co-founded Moda with Aslaug Magnusdottir),
2017, Moda Operandi had a post-money valuation of $650 million, according to data from PitchBook
It has raised $345 million to date.High-end fashion might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about online shopping,
but it has actually been a ripe market for the e-commerce industry.While those in the know (and in the money) might attend catwalk shows,
and bijou boutiques in swish locales are likely to be around for many years to come, there is a massive population of people who have the
income and inclination to shop for luxury fashion, but might not be in the right place, or have the time, to do so.For these shoppers,
websites, mobile apps and, most recently, new channels like Instagram and messaging services have become a key route to browsing and buying,
leading to the rise of huge businesses like Farfetch, Net-a-Porter and more.That trend has helped to buffer Moda Operandi up to now, but
played out specifically in the world of fashion, which in turn becomes a new group of competitors to aggregating marketplaces like Moda
Operandi.Similarly, the growing trend of targeting consumers wherever they happen to be also represents a rival business model, with some
fashion retailers now foregoing websites altogether in favor of using third-party messaging apps to reach their target customers
The company got its start in 2010 as part out of an aha-moment from Santo Domingo, a socialite, former model and former editor at Vogue.As
someone who had worked for years in the luxury fashion industry, fully immersed as a consumer to boot, she knew that only a small, rarefied
giving access to a full trunkshows (as the runway collections are called) to a wider selection of possible buyers and improving revenues for
designers and brands in the process, as they no longer had to rely just on more traditional channels, namely buyers for retailers
remit has expanded, covering not only runway collections but also extending into jewelry, accessories and home decor
(We asked what size the business is today, and whether Moda Operandi can share any details on how that has changed over time, but a
spokesperson said the company would not be sharing these or other financial details today.)In any case, it has remained a compelling enough
