Deluxe e-commerce sites targeting men in 2011

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - 15:52 by Sarah Collinson

Men who want to spend a little more when shopping for clothes, gifts and gadgets online, will be spoilt for choice next year, as two separate e-commerce firms have announced the launch of new sites for the 2011 season.

Net-a-porter kicked things off with the news that a distinct site aimed at men and offering the same solid platform for safe shopping online, will be bringing designer clothes to UK males from next January.

Following this announcement, the rival Glit Groupe has said that it will be adding to its e-commerce portfolio, which currently consists of a members-only retail site that thrives on frequent short-term sale offers, with its own male-oriented online store that will sell designer clothes from big name fashion brands like Marc Jacobs.

The Glit Groupe main site caters to men as well as women and children, but its upcoming launch will be a full priced outlet for all things designer. It will not arrive until the middle of next year, giving Net-a-porter a few months to make its mark, but with high demand for male items on its existing site, it will likely launch to considerable interest in July.

These boutique, high end sites which offer safe shopping online are benefitting from the overall trends in the UK and across the world, which are seeing significant gains being made in the e-commerce market.

In November this year, an 11.4 per cent rise in sales was enjoyed by online retailers and with a limited number of fashion sites targeting a male audience, there are still rich niches to be exploited.

The likes of Topman cater to a mainstream male audience online, but with the focus on designer labels the two new contenders arriving in 2011 will be able to forge an unique path in the market.