Nasty Gal's Commercial Director, Kelly Byrne, reveals how the online-only retailer leverages its agile model to react rapidly to fashion trends and consumer demand, such as the surge in comfort wear and the return to traditional summer categories. The episode highlights Nasty Gal's strategy to re-emphasize its foundational commitment to sustainability, aiming for 20% sustainably produced products by year-end, scaling to 40% next year, while balancing commercial goals with eco-consciousness in the fast-evolving fashion landscape.
Key takeaways
Nasty Gal's online-only model enables a 3-4 week trend-to-market reaction time, crucial for adapting to fast-changing consumer preferences.
To balance fast fashion with sustainability, Nasty Gal is aggressively increasing its sustainable product offering, targeting 20% by end of current FY and 40% by next FY.
Vintage collections remain top performers for Nasty Gal, indicating a strong consumer appetite for unique and potentially more sustainable fashion choices.
Monitoring consumer behavior shifts, such as the recent return to traditional summer categories, is vital for inventory and marketing adjustments.
Leverage your brand's historical ties to sustainability to reposition and connect with eco-conscious consumers, akin to Nasty Gal's approach with its vintage roots.
Platforms like Depop may be synonymous with virtual thrifting and sustainability today, but Nasty Gal, the online fashion retailer under the Boohoo group, is trying to tap back into its early associations with sustainability.
“Sustainable products have been what the business is built on” since it launched 15 years ago, said Kelly Byrne, Nasty Gal’s commercial director, on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “Our vintage collections are still some of our fastest selling collections.”
Byrne, whose main task is to “ensure the business reaches its commercial goals,” has been at the forefront of Nasty Gal’s responses to changing trends over the past year. That's included adapting to the pushes for comfort and eco-consciousness within the fashion industry.
“We can react [to trends] in around 3-4 weeks,” said Byrne. For example, Nasty Gal quickly added casual items like sweatsuits to its online store in 2020. However, consumer preferences have begun to get “back to normal” since March 2021. “We’ve started to see a real uptick in those traditional summer categories,” like swimwear, footwear and dresses," she said. That brings "a lot of positivity” to the festival- and vacation-centric brand, she added.
Still, the brand plans to remain focused on circularity. “By the end of this financial year, 20% of our product offering will be more sustainably produced,” said Byrne. She hopes to increase that to 40% by the following year.
Nasty Gal's online-only model enables a 3-4 week trend-to-market reaction time, crucial for adapting to fast-changing consumer preferences.
What does this episode say about product & merchandising?
To balance fast fashion with sustainability, Nasty Gal is aggressively increasing its sustainable product offering, targeting 20% by end of current FY and 40% by next FY.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Vintage collections remain top performers for Nasty Gal, indicating a strong consumer appetite for unique and potentially more sustainable fashion choices.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Monitoring consumer behavior shifts, such as the recent return to traditional summer categories, is vital for inventory and marketing adjustments.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Leverage your brand's historical ties to sustainability to reposition and connect with eco-conscious consumers, akin to Nasty Gal's approach with its vintage roots.
