NEW YORK — Amazon.com is adding a fashion-forward dimension to its stable of Web sites and array of merchandise.
The top online retailer said Monday it had purchased trendy Shopbop.com, which sells dresses, sportswear, swimwear, denim, shoes and accessories for women from such designers and contemporary brands as Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Juicy Couture, Seven For All Mankind, Catherine Malandrino and True Religion. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Shopbop.com, based in Madison, Wis., will continue to operate as a stand-alone site and as a complement to Amazon’s existing apparel and accessories store, amazon.com/apparel.
“We consider ourselves editors of what’s cool,” said Bob Lamey, founder and chief executive officer of Shopbop.com.
He launched the company with the store in 1999, and two months later started the Web site. The site sells about 75 designers each season and has features such as the “how to buy jeans guide,” a “look book” and trend previews, Lamey said.
“The core of our business is with 25- to 40-year-old women, though we have a really strong following 25 and younger,” he said.
Amazon.com has purchased other Web sites, but Russ Grandinetti, vice president for the online retailer’s apparel and accessories, characterized the Shopbop deal as “an exciting new direction.” He described Shopbop as a “best-of-breed customer experience online.”
He added, “Bob and the team at Shopbop will remain in place and operate independently. Nothing has changed with their mission and their customer. We won’t alter it, but will enhance it with some of the [technological] capabilities at Amazon.”
He declined to discuss specific innovations, but they are likely to involve attempts to broaden the site’s exposure to more customers, build volume, and enhance fulfillment and navigation capabilities.
Lamey acknowledged that most of his retail experience is as a consumer. Before Shopbop, he started an outdoor apparel store in Madison that closed after a few seasons. “Madison is a highly competitive town,” particularly in outdoorwear, he said. Previously, Lamey had been a trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
The company was not on the market when he was approached by Amazon.com several months ago. “This is not something we were thinking about,” Lamey said. “We have a very strong business.”
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Amazon.com, based in Seattle, opened on the Web in July 1995 and now sells millions of refurbished and used items in health and personal care, jewelry, watches, gourmet food, sports, apparel, accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics, office supplies, toys, and home and garden. Amazon.com and its affiliates include Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.fr, Amazon.ca, and Joyo.com. Amazon.com acquired Tool Crib of the North’s online and catalogue sales division in October 1999 and launched toolcrib.amazon.com a year later. The company also owns Alexa, a site that provides data about the Web, and the Internet Movie Data Base.