Highsnobiety is looking an finish to its days as a multi-brand retailer.
The firm introduced Tuesday that it’ll wind down its e-commerce enterprise by the top of the yr and concentrate on its core operations, specifically its publishing arm, which made it an influential voice in sneakers and streetwear, and the inventive and advisory companies it affords to manufacturers.
As a part of the restructuring, the enterprise will minimize roughly 50 jobs from its complete workforce of about 275, together with roles in departments comparable to finance and expertise that have been associated to its retail operations.
Highsnobiety launched e-commerce in 2019, seeking to translate its cultural authority into product gross sales. The firm began out as a weblog overlaying matters comparable to sneakers and luxurious in 2005, steadily constructing a following and ultimately branching into consulting for manufacturers on topics comparable to who to collaborate with and methods to sharpen their storytelling. Its clout attracted on-line trend retailer Zalando, which acquired a majority stake in 2022. In 2024, it opened its first everlasting flagship in Berlin.
But the prices and complexity of working e-commerce have proved difficult for quite a lot of firms in recent times, together with bigger gamers with scale benefits comparable to Farfetch and Ssense, which filed for chapter safety in August.
“We never made any money with that part of the business. It was always a loss leader,” mentioned David Fischer, Highsnobiety’s founder and chief govt.
E-commerce stays lower than 10 % of Highsnobiety’s income at the moment. Closing the division will enable the corporate to direct these sources to different makes use of, Fischer mentioned.
“It’s a decision to refocus on our B2B business as a cultural agency, as a creative partner, as an activation partner to brands, and of course also our editorial and brand platform,” he added.
The firm will nonetheless launch occasional collaborations, because it has previously with companions starting from The Barbican to Adidas, whereas its Berlin flagship might be reworked into an activation hub. Brands which have hosted occasions there previously embrace Acne Studios, Nike and New Balance.