Some new ideas for growth have been cancelled, worrying investors further, such as a Zozo catalogue operation which was pulled after one printing. And overseas, Start Today recently cancelled its tie-up with Ebay Korea, two years after signing a collaboration to promote Zozotown in the Korean market.
Other new marketing ideas may prove more enduring, however. It launched an exhibition called Zozo Collection last Autumn to display the latest collections from Zozo merchants. The first show only attracted around 10,000 visitors against a forecast 20,000, but Start Today plans to continue the event and increase its frequency to two to three times per year to raise awareness and increase traction.
A recent new venture, Zozo Used, is proving a success. Zozo Used has been created out of Crown Jewel, an auction site acquired by Start Today in 2011. It already has sales of ¥2 billion, and given the rapid growth in the acceptance of used clothing, could well turn into a major business for the online firm. While physical used clothing chains like DonDonDown on Wednesday are also expanding at a fair clip thanks to the growing mainstream acceptance of used fashion retailing, Start Today has a serious advantage in its large database of 5 million fashion fans — often with wardrobes full of hardly used fashion items that would sell well on the site. It says it is seeing many shoppers buying and selling used clothing for the first time through Zozo Used largely because of the trust in the Zozo brand. It is investing in new logistics capacity to handle used sales of ¥4 billion, and is targeting sales of ¥10 billion in the medium term.