Disrupting Japan

Material Wrld has found a way to innovate in online fashion commerce, and that’s no easy task. It’s a crowded market, with tight margins. Rie Yano and her team, however, have found success by going against common wisdom. While their competitors were focused on building platforms and reducing the amount of work required by their staff, Material Wrld went the other way. They began to take on inventory risk and doing some of the most labor intensive parts of the process in house. This is the kind of move that looks foolish on the spreadsheets, but it turned out to be instrumental in enabling Material Wrld to maintain quality, develop lasting relationships with their customers and ultimately control their own brand. It’s an amazing, and somewhat surprising story, and it’s best if you hear it directly from Rie herself. Show Notes for Startups Why people feel guilty throwing out clothes How a credit card provides a physical anchor for an online brand Why traditional recycle shops need to change The nee