The Business of Fashion

CEO Talk | Susan Lyne, Chief Executive Officer, Gilt Groupe

Even before Susan Lyne left her high-profile CEO post at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) earlier this year, the media world speculated wildly about where she might go next. Would she take a senior role at media giant Time Inc? Or would she end up in Hollywood, where she could bring to bear some of her experience from ABC, the American television network,whose fortunes she was credited with reviving on the strength of shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives?

It turned out that neither was true. In a surprise move, she accepted an offer to become the CEO of Gilt Groupe, an innovative start-up online fashion retailer that was featured on the Business of Fashion shortly after its inception late last year.

In our latest CEO Talk, I checked in with Susan to learn about the incredible progress of Gilt Groupe since then, which has seen the online start-up secure a $5m funding round from Matrix Partners, build a team of more than 100 employees from some of the best fashion brands and retailers, and most impressively, attract a passionate membership base that now numbers almost half a million users.

Links: Gilt Groupe, Supreme Luxury and ASW

Red Herring: Gilt Groupe Scores VC Funding
The market is beginning to acknowledge the potential of online communities in selling fashion. The Red Herring is reporting that Gilt Groupe, which was featured in a Q&A on The Business of Fashion last week, has raised $5m of venture funding from Matrix Partners. Even the New York Times ran a short article.

IHT: Supreme Luxur y 2008
All week we have been posting Suzy Menkes' videos from the IHT's Supreme Luxury Conference in Moscow. Don't miss the written content - it's just as interesting, especially this article on India that somehow appears within a sea of articles on Russia.

The Wall Street Journal: MySpace for Millionaires
Asmallworld is no longer alone. A raft of new online sites targeted at high net worth individuals have emerged in the past few months, including SQUA.RE, a site we featured in an article for the JC Report.