Overstock is the new luxury
Overstock is the new luxury
A conversation with Joe Wilkinson from HEAT about changing the way consumers think about excess inventory
THOUGHTS is a weekly newsletter sharing stories of those building the next wave of new luxury brands.
Making overstock aspirational
So much has changed in the fashion and retail landscape in the last decade that it’s difficult to keep up. The way consumers shop today is drastically different than it was yesterday, and few luxury brands know how to keep up with that fact. The expectation to pay full price for fashion anymore is one notable shift in consumption habits, especially among younger shoppers.
This has led to a glaring problem within fashion at large: overstock.
What actually happens to overstock? Where does it go after new collections go on sale? Surely, it’s not sustainable to simply make more products each season, only to have them hang on the clothing racks, then offloaded to… where?
Joe Wilkinson—co-founder of HEAT—has a solution to that problem.
He started HEAT in 2019 as a new way to connect brands and consumers with the hottest pieces from emerging and existing luxury brands in the form of a mystery box. Joe has spent the last decade around brands, inventory, trends, and products, so we sat down with Joe to discuss his vision for the company and how HEAT is shifting fashion from the overstock space.
Joe is setting the stage for a new era of commerce, one product at a time. Please enjoy our interview with him.
Give us the backstory; how'd you start HEAT?
My introduction to the fashion world is a little unconventional. I got my hands on the first-ever pair of Yeezy's that dropped at Harvey Nichols in Manchester. I turned around and flipped a £100 pair of shoes for £500+, and my first thought was…
I could do this for a living.
I became a fashion broker, building relationships with brands and customers, where I'd source products from different places. I wound up working with football players and their agents from clubs like Manchester United to source luxury pieces from all over.
I became acquainted with the massive issue that overstock has become. Here, I uncovered how big of an opportunity there is to repackage what already exists in a tasteful way for consumers.
Why is overstock on the rise?
It's worth pointing out that the way consumers shop is vastly different now from even five years ago. Younger shoppers aren't sitting around on their desktops scrolling for new items, and no one is waiting for new seasons to release. Shoppers are conditioned only to pay part-price for something, especially fashion.
Consumers are now bombarded with shopping decisions every day, and they want a destination that allows them to experience a mix of a sense of mystery and curation. And get a deal too; that's what we offer.
Fascinating. Beyond the customers who can afford "luxury," you're also onboarding younger shoppers who are newer to this landscape.
Exactly.
That must be appealing to brands as well…
100%. Brands have learned to view us as more than a liquidation channel, instead viewing us as a discovery platform that introduces them to new customer groups. On top of that, brands benefit from being associated with younger emerging brands too.
Traditional luxury brands have become more accommodating of working with us because they see the value in being associated with new and fresh things.
So you've got a mix of emerging designers and traditional fashion houses. How do you educate consumers? Is that your job?
It's absolutely our job to educate. Frankly, younger shoppers are more connected to stories than a sleek logo; they're more clever than ever. Just because something is "expensive" doesn't mean you'll create aspiration for the shopper.
You connect more to products when you understand how they're made, where they come from, its origin story, and the cultural moment(s) it's connected to.
The merchandising process sounds fun. How do you go about rotating products each season?
Yeah, early on we had to accept what stores offered us; there was little leverage to pick and choose. But as we've grown, that's changed too. Now, we're well-positioned to buy the right products to move the needle.
There's some seasonality to what we do, but beyond trying to curate seasonal collections like a traditional retailer, we try to curate in a way that's more culturally relevant for our customer base. My co-founder, Mario, leads a small team on the merchandising side, and we work with retailers and brands to get the best selection for consumers.
Staying relevant is a tall order. So much is changing so fast…
Yeah, it's not easy. But, for example, we're releasing an exclusive drop with Vetements (Demna Gvasalia's brand), coming soon, and we're positioning it in a way that allows customers to access the best hits of Vetements over the years.
The same goes for Virgil and OFF-WHITE. Virgil's stuff is the best; everyone loves his work more than the current lines. That said, allowing customers to tap into the history is an engaging way to curate products rather than just choosing based on seasonality.
So, what's ahead for HEAT?
We want to be the next-generation fashion platform. Whether we’re offering mystery boxes, exclusive releases, auctions, or innovative retail experiences, we want to be the benchmark for what other consumer brands do. We want to set a new standard for what’s progressive and forward-thinking, especially within fashion.