Fashion-friendly Mr Porter site launched in UK

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 14:31 by Sarah Collinson

Online retailer Net-a-Porter has been making the headlines for over a decade, but now the female-focused site is being joined by a sibling which offers the latest styles primarily for men.

Mr Porter has arrived this week, bringing with it all of the big name fashion brands which you would expect from such a respected franchise. You can buy clothes, shoes and accessories from Burberry, Gucci and many more, provided you have the funds to splash out on these prime products.

Experts believe that men are becoming more conscious of style in a way that they have not been before, with leading celebrities helping to encourage men to ditch the jeans and t-shirt look, in favour of Italian leather and tailored chinos.

Net-a-Porter began offering safe shopping online at the start of the new Millennium and it grew into a multi-million pound business which was recently sold for £350 million to a retailer of luxury goods.

With the arrival of Mr Porter, the brand will be hoping to capture the growing market for stylish male fashion items. Since the Daily Mail states that UK consumers each spend an average of £2000 via safe shopping online each year, there is a serious opportunity for new sites like this to take advantage of the growth of e-commerce.

Fashion is big business and consumers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of buying expensive goods like this online, according to e-commerce expert, Patricia Davidson.

Price is obviously a factor in its appeal, but time and again it is the sheer convenience of online shopping that is winning over more and more Brits. The performance of Mr Porter should be a measure of how willing UK men are to join the women in buying fashion products online.