ThriftShip Proposal
For my final project in Business Writing, listed as ENGL 3130 in the Georgia State University catalog, I was tasked with thinking up of a business venture, and creating a proposal to sell the concept and acquire backers. At the time, I still had difficulties choosing my diction carefully, which resulted in a fairly uncompelling and unconvincing reasoning. The full text is below.
The market has recently been saturated with many subscription fashion boxes. Nuuly, Stitchfix, Stylogic, Beachly, and many others have given consumers a wealth of options to choose from. However, most are similar to – and indicative of – typical shopping patterns. All the subscription boxes only serve new or like-new garments. In a world with global warming, many consumers are more cognizant of their footprint. This includes young adults and teenagers who are typically leading the push against wasteful consumption. Despite the political drive, our consumers may only be able to buy new items unless they are close to a thrift store. This hole presents an opportunity for us: with our service ThriftShip we can both appeal to an outsized demographic and fill a niche no other fashion box has.
The main draw of ThriftShip is a commitment to only filling boxes with thrifted items. These thrifted items could reasonably be gained from customer returns or customer donations. Damaged returns could be evaluated for repair, and we can offer discounts or coupons to customers in exchange for donations. For an additional fee, a stylist can pick out garments for a customer based on preferences and measurements. While there is a temptation to attempt furnishing through thrift shops, this is wholly unnecessary because of the donation incentives.
However, cost is extremely important to our target demographic. There are two prevailing systems in use by fashion subscription boxes: the subscription and the initial fee. For example, Nuuly sends one box a month with six items for $88. Customers keep the items for a month. In contrast, Stylogic charges $20 for a stylist to pick out an outfit for the customer. Customers keep the outfit for a week. In both cases, the customer pays for any items they want to keep and sends any items they do not want back.
While the subscription would undoubtedly bring in more money in comparison, the sticker shock will drive away customers. While Axios notes that ninety-three percent of shoppers are open to thrifted garments, we do have to consider a lower price point. Customers may balk at pricing being close to or over new. We must also include costs for shipping – shipping a monthly box to consumers will likely get expensive quickly, and this includes labels for return shipping.
In contrast, an initial fee may be more palatable for customers. In addition to being cheaper than a subscription, it also (typically) funds a stylist for the customer. Most customers will generally appreciate having a personalized experience and selection from a stylist. However, the cost of labor may be prohibitive. Fielding professional stylists costs a pretty penny: per Glassdoor, the average salary for fashion stylists is fifty-six thousand a year. This may be mitigated by the fact that customers may generally use the service less often due to not having a subscription to upkeep.
There is also the option of having both monetization types. The initial fee could still cover a stylist or other fees, and we could also offer a recurring subscription for consumers who want more options in their fashion.
Lastly, online shops accompanying subscription boxes are a relatively new phenomenon that could be taken advantage of in this venture. Nuuly has this service alongside its subscription box, and Stitchfix has both together. Nuuly’s system has a disconnection between the two – earnings from items listed and sold cannot be used on the subscription box. While Stitchfix does have a shop, items cannot be listed by users. It instead comes from the same selection of clothes sent to customers. However, facilitating donations may not work well when paired with an online shop. While some customers will appreciate the convenience of simply donating items, others will seek to sell their garments on a storefront such as ThredUp.
Despite subscription boxes being a saturated market, there are quite a few niches still left unfilled. ThriftShip aims to not only fill that niche, but also drive interest in eco-friendly practices. While it may appear that we face competition from ThredUp, we find that their paid boxes fill a different niche than our service (see accompanying slides). We aim to make ThriftShip a sustainable operation and show the world our company truly is green.
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