The much hyped launch of high-fashion men’s e-tailer, MR PORTER last month announced a game-changer in the notoriously hard-to-crack men’s luxury market.
The much hyped launch of high-fashion men’s e-tailer, MR PORTER last month announced a game-changer in the notoriously hard-to-crack men’s luxury market. As the male counterpart to Natalie Massenet’s phenomenally successful Net-A-Porter empire, the website already has a considerable headstart over the competition with the 4 million monthly female visitors to Net-A-Porter who will no doubt head to MR PORTER to shop for the men in their lives. In poaching renowned editors from the print world (notably Jeremy Langmead of Esquire and Dan May from 10 magazine for editor-in-chief and style director roles respectively), MR PORTER continues Massenet’s quest to create a 21st century magazine that you can shop. The unique mix of commerce and culture (on its handsome, uncluttered interface you can find an exceedingly well-curated selection of wardrobe staples from the likes of Ralph Lauren and Lanvin in addition to profiles on the actor John Slattery) should prove an irresistible proposition for the digital dandy. AnOther spoke with its buying director, Toby Bateman.
How did you come to work with Natalie Massenet on MR PORTER? How do you find the transition from working for a department store like Selfridges to a virtual shop like Mr Porter?
We were introduced during men’s Fashion Week in Milan and I found the MR PORTER proposition too interesting to ignore and so joined the team as Buying Director. The transition from department store to MR PORTER has been easier than you would think. As a buyer you are buying virtual stock for future seasons, so key decision making factors as to how product can work alongside other designers and brands remain as relevant for an online store as they do for bricks and mortar.
In an interview with Business of Fashion, Natalie Massenet commented that “the men’s shopping experience is marginalised or is a sub-category of the woman’s shopping. We’re going to change that.” How will MR PORTER address this?
Well MR PORTER is one of few men only dedicated retail sites. That’s not to say women won’t be shopping with us, of course. I think Natalie’s point was that women have embraced online retail and are well catered for, and that a lot of men’s online retailing was an off-shoot of these womenswear sites. MR PORTER on the other hand is a stand alone retail destination for men’s style.
The way men shop is different from how women shop – the received wisdom is that they are perhaps more decisive and in addition to that, have more brand loyalty - how will MR PORTER address that?
First and foremost we will be giving men a concise, edited buy from the best designers and brands in the world. We have a section called Wardrobe Manager where they can see what we have highlighted as The Essentials for the season and they can also access Inventory where they can review and even re-order past purchases quickly without any fuss. We are going to re-order classic product season upon season so that certain customers can re-order the same pair of loafers or shirt with us, and that is actually how a lot of men like to, and want to shop.
There are a few well-curated menswear shopping websites like Oki-ni and LN-CC – what edge do you see MR PORTER has over them?
I think both of these sites do an amazing job, and are incredibly well curated, and I would anticipate that some of our customers will also shop with them. With MR PORTER alongside the 80 designers and brands that we carry, we have an innovative mix of editorial from a world-class editorial team. Aside from this we come from a stable renowned for customer service and packaging and this will be as important at MR PORTER.
The level of service MR PORTER offer is exceptional. Do you think brick-and-mortar stores still have anything to offer in terms of consumer experience?
Of course they do. I think people still respond to and react to the environment around them. A store like Selfridges can house interesting pop-up shops, and merchandise clothing in an innovative way that can really draw customers in. And some men even enjoy the social aspect of shopping, but many men don’t and that is where we come in.
We’ve seen how the internet has changed people’s shopping practice. What do you think the immediate future holds in terms of changing how we get stuff and how we shop?
I think that things will get faster and faster. We do same day service in Manhattan and London, and it is interesting to see people shopping using their mobile phones. Also the way Burberry stream their shows and that customers can pre-order product straight away, is very different to how things were even five years ago. Rather than getting new stock two or three times a season I think people will want and will expect new products more and more often. At MR PORTER we have new products dropping weekly and we communicate this to our customers.
We all know about the brands like Lanvin, Balmain, Ralph Lauren and Burberry but will Mr Porter also support younger, less well-known designers?
We want to satisfy men’s cravings for “specialist” brands such as Valextra who make the best quality leather goods or Incotex who make very good quality chinos and cargo trousers. There are also Quoddy shoes which are handmade in Maine, Swaine Adeney Brigg umbrellas hand made in UK, Corgi socks made in Wales and Drakes ties handmade in London. There will of course more “young designers” next season.
Which menswear designers are really exciting you right now?
On a personal level Maison Martin Margiela and Junya Watanabe which are both quite understated and effortlessly cool.
What item are you lusting after from the S/S11 Mr Porter selection?
The grey suede Quoddy chukka boots and the khaki cotton jacket from Junya Watanabe.
What items do you think are essential to every man’s wardrobe?
I err towards the classics and think that with good bench made shoes, selvedge jeans, a button down shirt and a soft structured blazer, you can’t go wrong.
