The pattern has become so familiar that we no longer think about it: everything, from shops and travel agents to banks have moved online, leading commentators to report on “the death of the high street”. From BHS to House of Fraser, the high street has proved a hostile environment for once flourishing stores. So, with online shopping up 15% year on year* and with 20% of fashion sales now done online**, why has one DTC hosiery tech brand, along with a host of its DTC peers including Away, decided to go physical?
Launched in 2015, Heist set out to disrupt the $110B underwear industry by creating a radically better product. Tired of underwear brands telling women what to wear, Heist took a different approach – asking women what they wanted from their tights. The answer was tights that do not dig in, fall down or restrict movement. So that’s what Heist made.
The brand rapidly amassed a cult following, endorsed by high-profile celebrities, editors and stylists worldwide. Following the launch of socks and 7 shades of nude earlier this year, Heist is entering the physical retail landscape for the first time on 8 September 2018.
“The highstreet is not dying. Brands that fail to evolve are”, argues Joanna Bell, Head of Retail at Heist and former Director of UK and Scandinavia Sales at Michael Kors. “The high street presents huge opportunity for innovation – Farfetch’s Store of the Future aims to capture data and boost interactions with customers, which is at the heart of Heist’s approach both online and now offline. We see an exciting future on the High Street for brands to grow stronger by bringing the best of both online and offline worlds together to improve customer experience.”
Exceptional customer service has been crucial to Heist’s success from the start. Now it is Heist’s customer service team, who have been interacting with Heist customers online for more than 3 years, who will train Heist’s new in-store assistants. Reversing the commonly-accepted norm, digital experts will use their online experience to train staff for face-to-face interactions.
True to its belief in the importance of putting the customer at the heart of everything they do, Heist will be offering customers at its new store in Seven Dials, named the DemoStudio, the same ‘try-before-you-buy’ promise on its tights that it gives online customers – a world-first for the global hosiery industry. What’s more, as part of this in-store exclusive, Heist will donate unwanted tights from the try-before-you-buy offering to long-standing charity partner Smart Works, which provides interview clothing and coaching to long-term unemployed women looking to enter the workplace. The Heist DemoStudio will also house a donation point for interview-appropriate women’s clothing – customers can follow the brand’s Instagram account (@heiststudios) for tips on what to donate.
