Apprécier, a new digital shopping site, is the brainchild of Cindy Weber-Cleary and Stephanie Stahl, two executives with an impressive background in fashion. Weber-Cleary spent 15 years as fashion director of InStyle; Stahl’s resume includes senior roles at Coach, Revlon and Tracy Anderson Method, where she served as partner and CEO.
The premise of this new venture: “for shopping to be fun again,” all via a platform that merges with e-commerce with service fashion journalism. The target audience is a lot like Weber-Cleary and Stahl themselves, ie. women “who love fashion and want ideas on how to evolve their personal style.” With over 600 brands as part of the launch, the duo considers Apprécier.com not just a shopping destination, but “a movement.” CFDA.com sat down with Weber-Cleary and Stahl to discuss the site, the market void they saw and how it’s “for women who dress for themselves, not their selfies.”
CFDA.com: How does Apprecier.com set itself apart from other online fashion sites?
Cindy Weber-Cleary: “Apprécier is a digital shopping destination with a service-centric approach. We created it for women like ourselves who are leading full, busy lives and who don’t have a lot of time to wade through the sea of merchandise available online. Our target is the affluent, underserved 45+ customer who loves fashion but has trouble finding clothes that really tempt her or are suited to her lifestyle. We do not refer to age at Apprécier because our customer doesn’t want to be labeled and limited; she wants to be recognized and served, and celebrated! No one wakes up and thinks, “I’m 55 so I’m going to wear x” when they are getting dressed. Your style evolves with age.”
CFDA.com: At what moment did you realize that there was a market void?
C.W.-C.: “It dawned on me over the last few years as I began to shop more online myself and felt frustrated. No one seemed to be marketing to me in a relatable, positive way or presenting a curated selection of merchandise that made sense. Stephanie and I have a running joke about ‘festival dressing’ which is the big fashion story everywhere at this time of year. We’re not going to Coachella! Why is everyone showing us crocheted crop tops and denim cut-offs?”
Stephanie Stahl: “I also have had many conversations with brands and retailers about how important this demographic is, but how difficult it is for them to serve. Apprécier is the portal, the partner, through which our brand and retail partners can fully engage with this important customer group.”
CFDA.com: What criteria guided the brand curation?
C.W.-C.: “We wanted to create a calm, beautiful, encouraging place to shop with helpful advice about looking your best. It was clear from the beginning that we would have to cast a very wide net in our edit because there are so few brands that really deliver consistently for our customer. We have over 600 brands currently represented on the site. The price points are a mix of high and low because that’s how everyone dresses these days.”
CFDA.com: How important is it to engage your consumer beyond just fashion and what are some of the ways Apprecier.com does that?
S.S.: “The personal voice is very important in engaging our customer. We want her to feel like this is a fun place to shop, that we understand her needs and that she can trust our shopping advice. Ideally, it will be a dialogue between us. We plan to do a lot of in-store events to reinforce the personal relationship and to prioritize customer service as we move forward.”
CFDA.com: Finally, how did you come up with the line “for women who dress for themselves, not their selfies” and what point are you making with it?
C.W.-C.: “It came to me when I was writing a story for the site. I had been scrolling through street style pictures and thinking how silly so many women looked with their elaborate poses and eye-catching, Instagram-ready outfits. The point is, we are speaking to an audience who didn’t grow up online and who have a different sensibility from those who did. When I get dressed, I’m not thinking about how it will look in a photograph and how many “likes” it will get. I’m thinking about where I’m going, what I’m doing and who I will be seeing in my real life.”