As of today, bol.com also sells clothing. Among its fashion partners are big names like About You, Jack & Jones, Miss Etam and Zeeman.
Coincidence
At the end of last year, bol.com’s plans to also start selling women’s and men’s fashion leaked in the media. The Dutch webshop is anticipating Amazon’s arrival, although bol.com currently doesn’t want to confirm this. “The fact that we are starting now is really a coincidence“, webshop director Margaret Versteden, says to nu.nl. “We’ve been working towards this for years.” Bol.com has been selling shoes and sportswear for some time now.
According to bol.com, customers were already looking for women’s and men’s clothing within the platform, so demand is high. “From their browsing habits, we can tell that our customers expect to find everything on our website; There has been a great deal of searches for women’s and men’s fashion. That’s why it’s logical to add this range and make our collection more complete than ever”
Returns
Versteden also points out that selling clothing online is a specialty with a number of pitfalls. “You have to give very clear explanations about what is small, medium or large. If you don’t explain it properly, the clothes will be sent back. With clothing, you have to take into account that a lot of orders will be returned anyway.”
That’s why bol.com is counting on its partners even more in this area. The webshop normally sells about half of the products itself, but the ratio in the fashion segment will probably be completely different. “We’re hoping 85 percent will come from partners, and 15 percent will be our own products. And we are only doing that to fill in the gaps, to ensure that all sizes are available”, concludes Versteden.
