“Selling clothes online? That will never happen. People will always want to feel and smell the fabric.” That’s what the fashion industry stated 10 years ago. At NEXT Berlin 2012 Lennard Minderhoud proved the opposite. The statistics are on his side.

Today, online fashion retailers have a market share of 6%. According to the latest forecasts, in 2020, this will have reached 40%. This is a statistic no analog retailer can ignore, requiring a reappraisal of their strategy and business model.

Minderhoud is CEO of FashionUnited – one of the leading providers of news and trends in the fashion industry. It developed various indices serving as benchmarks for the popularity of brands. “Still, we don’t know what social media’s impact on fashion is,” Minderhoud explains.

He advises companies to pick a specific niche. No matter what kind of brand you are or traditionally were, you cannot ignore the online market. If you do, corporations meeting the challenge are going to overtake you.