San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
THE SAVVY WOMEN RECODING RETAIL.
Some shoppers swear by online shopping; others prefer to fondle merch in real-time. So whassup? Well in San Francisco, apparently, both are going strong. And the charge is being led by female entrepreneurs and designers, who not only know from design and retail — they’ve got mad software skills, too.
Point-and-discover: Pointing her camera phone at a painting by John DiPaolo in the private room of Spruce in San Francisco, entrepreneur Rachely Esman introduced guests to her new digital platform, Wescover. In an instant, details on the artist, his oeuvre and the restaurant pop up on her screen.
However this is no shopping app, per say. Wescover is akin to a digital gallery for art lovers that’s enhanced by a mapping partnership with the Google Lens app — one of just a handful of companies allowed to push its content onto this search engine behemoth.
Esman, an Israeli native, is a software engineer by trade who cofounded MarketsPulse for the online financial industry after serving in the Israel Defense Force as head of its R&D unit.
“That startup was a fintech trading platform but it wasn’t personally exciting,” she says. “I love design, and Wescover brings the physical world online, allowing admirers to directly connect with artists or emerging brands.”
She and her team have corralled some 24,000 items and 6,200 creators to the site where, with one click, the full range of their wares is displayed.
Explorers cannot make a direct purchase of a geometric wall hanging they fell in love with at Mr. Jui’s restaurant. But, via the app, they can engage directly with the designer of that work.
Wescover currently lacks a monetization model — creators are invited to join the site for free. And users simply point their phone at the object of their desire. That may change in the future. But with low-overhead costs (i.e. digital images) combined with Wescover recently scoring $3.1 million in seed money, this 2-year-old startup is sitting pretty — in a sustainable, repairable chair by Fyrn co-founder David Charne, whose furniture for Flour+Water can be found on Wescover.
“We want consumers to not only be inspired by their surroundings but also connect with the piece and learn about its creator,” Esman says. “And by working with creators, Wescover gives credit to the artists and reveals the stories of their work.”
Tag sale: Though pop-ups often feel like an overplayed gimmick, savvy swans recently flocked to Post Street where Kathryn Lasater hosted a four-day showcase of upmarket designs to launch her new mobile payment app, Codabar — a nod to the ubiquitous bar code symbol adorning retail items.
This company is a natural corollary for Lasater, who is also CEO of mobile grocery checkout app Swift Shopper: “It’s the perfect marriage for me, a high-tech consultant who loves fashion.”
For her pop-up, she joined forces with designer Stanlee Gatti, who tricked-out an empty building he owns into a boutique featuring chic, international Codabar retail partners (including Aerin Lauder, Pippa Holt,
Nusa Indah, D’Ascoli) he curated as shoppers mobile-ordered lunch or gourmet goodies from Gatti’s nearby Meraki Market.
Referred to as “frictionless payment,” shoppers launch the Codabar app (currently iPhone compatible only), scan the product’s tag and hit the payment button. Merch in hand, they waltz out the door.
Lasater thinks brick-and-mortar is back, but in a revamped fashion: In a pop-up, retailers can engage with their customers in real time without the high overhead of brick-and-mortar. Even vaunted fashion house Louis Vuitton is in this game, with 100 popups planned for this year.
“Pop-ups are where it’s at. They’re like theater sets: You can change your theme or location. And pop-ups carry unique lines, which create buzz for, say, a certain dress that sparks a frenzy and sells out,” Lasater says with a laugh. “The temporary nature of pop-ups is great for sales because it inspires #FOMO (fear of missing out).” The Veronicas: In 2010, sisters-inlaw with the same first name, Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard, promised Vogue editor Anna Wintour they’d designed a piece of clothing that would set the fashion world on fire: the Dickey Jacket.
Barely a decade later their eponymous brand, Veronica Beard, grew into a fashion empire from that coveted jacket — a play on the classic blazer with an interchangeable dickey
favored by Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The glamorous New York-based duo, who are also best friends, have successfully balanced ecommerce with seven brick-and-mortar boutiques, the latest of which they launched last month along a chic stretch of Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights.
And fans, family and friends turned out in force to celebrate their femme, flouncy fashions (jeans, shoes and T-shirts, too) followed by a chic Florio Cafe dinner.
“The purpose of opening retail was to give the brand an environment,” explains Veronica Swanson. “That’s something you don’t get online.”
Each store echoes its exact location, not just the city — in Manhattan, Veronica Beard in Soho is no cookiecutter of Madison Avenue.
“Our stores are a reflection of our homes and style. We want our customer to experience the art we love or the music we’re listening to,” explains Veronica Miele. “In San Francisco, we’ve designed a luxe, Bohemian vibe.”
But for Veronica Swanson, an EssEff native who graduated from the nearby Hamlin School and Convent of the Sacred Heart, the Fillmore boutique is very special. “By eighth-grade, I went to Fillmore every day after school. I still remember the first platform Maryjane I bought. Or the Betsy Johnson dresses I lusted after, even though my mom didn’t approve,” she says with a laugh. “At Crossroads (Trading) I’d dig through every rack, inspired by vintage designs. Fillmore Street sparked my love of fashion.”