Don't let the cutesy name fool you — BaubleBar is one ambitious brand. The popular purveyor of trendy, affordable jewelry has become a staple in the fashion world in just under three years. That’s no small feat.
Back then, co-founders Daniella Yacobovsky and Amy Jain were just investment bank colleagues and friends who indulged in lunchtime retail therapy sessions.
"We started BaubleBar because we were really frustrated consumers," Yacobovsky says. "We felt like there wasn't one trusted, go-to location where we could find really great, on-trend jewelry at a palatable price point, so we decided to build our own."
The Harvard Business School grads researched the industry for a full year before deciding to go all-in and tackle a unique pain point in the marketplace: While consumers show very strong loyalty towards certain fashion brands, jewelry was an exception. Baubles tend to be too cheap or expensive to be worth the loyalty.
Jain and Yacobovsky founded BaubleBar in 2011. The plan was go directly to the consumer and deliver lust-worthy jewelry at an accessible price point. It wasn't easy — the first person they pitched kicked them out of the office in five minutes.
Today, this person is the fast-growing company's biggest supplier.
BaubleBar considers a consolidated supply chain its secret weapon. And "quick to market" isn't an overstatement — it allows them to target a trend and manufacture a jewelry piece in just one week. While other traditional retailers which plan merchandising calendars six months in advance, BaubleBar works on a four to 12-week cycle. Other jewelry brands buy product seasonally. BaubleBar buys daily.
"Your customer's talking to you constantly — where she's clicking, what she's engaging with, what she's sharing — and as long as you're paying really close attention, it allows you to build faster," Jain says of website analytics and social media.
Clearly, meeting consumer demands in real-time is crucial. It’s also one of the few New York start-ups that still fulfills and ships orders in-house.
In Oct. 2012, the company even set up its first brick-and-mortar store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. The company has grown to more than 80 people since its launch, and collaborates with “guest bartenders” to sell jewelry at diffusion price points.
And few jewelry companies, much less online retailers, offer in-house mentoring programs for future entrepreneurs. The BaubleBar Fulfillment Program takes in local high school and college students and makes them part of the brand.
Watch the video above to see how this brand got off the ground, approached their first hires and continues to raise the (Bauble) bar to invigorate the industry.
Do you shop at BaubleBar? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
Image: Mashable