How This Online Lingerie Shop Is Letting Customers Try Before They Buy True & Co. has found a way to bring the fitting room to its customers.
By Caren Chesler •
This story appears in the May 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
True & Co. has thrived as an online-only lingerie company, but it had a hard-to-shake handicap: Many women want to try on a bra before they buy. The company didn't want to bog itself down with brick-and-mortar stores, so it launched the Try-On Truck, currently fitting women on a coast-to-coast tour. "This is not a marketing campaign for us but a full retail experience with revenue goals and sales targets," says CEO Michelle Lam. Customers make an appointment and fill out a questionnaire, so that when they arrive, a "fit therapist" is waiting with a personalized selection of products. And it works: The average order on the truck is much higher than it is online. Here's how the shop rolls.
1. The shop's first roof was made of heavy wood, and it leaked. The architect redesigned it using movable, 20-pound panels made out of Sunbrella fabric.
