As executive vice president of The Outnet, Andres Sosa travels constantly—we caught up with him on his trip to Hong Kong for Art Basel to see what The Outnet has lined up next

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Jake Rosenberg/COVETEUR

We last spoke this time last year in 2017, can you tell us about some of the most exciting projects from the year? 

2017 was such a busy year for us, and we embarked on some really exciting projects. One of the most exciting projects was the launch of our global Posturing project and hosting our very first fashion photography exhibition. The show featured contemporary fashion editorial images from the past seven years and included the works of Coco Capitán, Charlotte Wales and Charlie Engman to name but a few and examines the direct relationship between the pose and the body.

The second stage of the project was a short film directed by Coco Capitán which was released during Art Basel Miami. The project came to a close in Hong Kong, one of my favourite cities and one of the eight key markets for us, with the launch event of a coffee table book to culminate the project at Foxglove. 

'gallery right' 'gallery right'
'gallery right' 'gallery right'
Photo 1 of 3 Pages from the Posturing book (Photo: Courtesy of The Outnet)
Photo 2 of 3 Pages from the Posturing book | Photo: Courtesy of The Outnet
Photo 3 of 3 Holly Hay, Joyce Ng ,Andres Sosa & Shonagh Marshall | Photo: Courtesy of The Outnet
Tatler Asia
Above The Outnet SS18 Campaign

You travel regularly to the Art Basel shows around the world. Can you tell us about some of your favourite artists and pieces?  

I love modern art and my home is a real treasure trove of pieces that tell stories of my travels across the globe. One of my favorite contemporary artists is Pure Evil—I like his irreverent take on popular culture. I gravitate to more visual pieces and I have a stunning hand-blown glass piece by Dale Chihuly. There’s something about the delicacy of his art that makes such a bold statement. I always like to check out the fairs in Hong Kong and Miami to see what’s new.

 

The Outnet has seen some very successful collaborations with brands like Victoria Beckham, Charlotte Olympia, Matthew Williamson, can you share with us a little what’s to come in 2018?

Collaborative partnerships are so important to us – we know our customer loves them and it allows us to create ongoing and strong relationships with fantastic talent. Our summer shop will see some new exclusive lines launching from May and one in September as well, but I can’t reveal all just yet so please stay tuned! 

Any big changes we can expect in 2018?

Every year is exciting for us, especially as a digital retailer, we are constantly looking at how to improve and engage our busy customer. APAC is a very important market for us and we now have a dedicated .CN URL offering Alipay and Payease as new and relevant payment methods, as well as accepting local currency Renminbi. We want to create a seamless shopping journey for our customer globally, so they can shop all 350+ of our brands with ease.

Tatler Asia
Above The Outnet SS18 Campaign

What’s something The Outnet customers keep coming to you for?

We know our customer shops by occasion with dresses being one of our key performing categories globally. We keep this in mind constantly, and always ensure we have the best selection and a careful curation, while ensuring we keep her inspired and engaged yet always remaining seasonally relevant wherever she is based in the world.

I’m personally more of an app shopper than a desktop browser, what are the shopping habits of The Outnet customer?

You’re not alone—over half of our customers shop with us on their mobiles compared to desktop. The Outnet customer in general—and this is also prevalent in Hong Kong—is a confident and digitally savvy consumer. She loves to shop on the go and has expressed that she prefers to see our dedicated content on the desktop site rather than on the app. Our customer knows what she wants, so she tends to search by a key category as well as by her favorite brands.

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Jake Rosenberg/COVETEUR

Can you sum up who The Outnet customer is?

She is so confident and savvy. She really knows what she wants, and that’s why it is important that when we speak to her, we don’t dictate—we inspire and encourage her to discover on her own. She’s stylish and isn’t necessarily motivated by price as she shops both current and previous-season fashion. She has a great lifestyle with keen interests in art and travel.

Lastly, what’s next for 2018?  

Where do I start, it’s turning out to be another busy year! Finalising our Posturing project here in Hong Kong with the book launch has been a big project. The initiative was really brought to life at the event as we had a live installation by Hong Kong-born photographer Joyce Ng, who street cast the subjects used in the activation.

And later in the year, we will implement a very fun shoe-related campaign. We’ve done some fun projects around shoes in the past, you must look at Sergio the Shoe Hunter. We’ll also have a summer shop concept launching May. Heading up such a dynamic and exciting brand means it’s important to stay ahead of the curve which always keeps me, and the team, on our toes!

See also: The Outnet's Andres Sosa On Travel, Books And Pets

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