This startup lets people buy clothes and get fashion advice through text messaging

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This article is part of Tech in Asia’s partnership with Disrupting Japan where we publish the revised transcripts from the show’s podcast interviews with Japanese entrepreneurs. This is heavily revised from the original transcripts. For the full interview, go here.

Tsubasa Koseki is the CEO and founder of Facy, a fashion marketplace based on text messaging. Consumers with questions about fashion can ask for advice, and stores respond to those questions. I know that messaging is already widely used in the fashion ecommerce industry, but Facy has quite a unique approach.

Koseki shares the story and some insights on Japanese startups.

Tell us about your background

I studied internet technology at Todai (University of Tokyo), so I wanted to launch a financial service using that knowledge when I went to work for Mitsubishi. However, in most Japanese companies, the best way to success is through business development or marketing. Then, I worked as a relationship manager for Suzuki. When I turned 30, I decided to quit my job and launch our service.

How does Facy provide offline-to-online service?

Users can ask about their fashion needs on our platform, like on Quora. For example, I’m looking for a pair of sneakers that’s appropriate for the office. The shops may reply to the post by uploading their items. Users may ask additional questions, and if all is good, they can buy or reserve the item.

In terms of the business model, we take 20 percent from the sale and handle shipping and payment. We’re collaborating with Yamato, a big logistics service in Japan, to deliver items to customers.

We have about 500,000 users. But what’s interesting is that most users don’t post questions and just read the conversations, which are public, to find the right item.

Our users are 50 percent male and 50 percent female, aged between 25 and 35. They have jobs and cash to buy fashion items, but they don’t have much time to shop.

Our main client stores are in Japan, many of which are middle-priced brands, which are strong in the country.

How did you onboard stores and users?

I reached out to the shops by myself first. Then, we used content marketing to get more customers. We were creating fashion-related articles on the interactions between shops and users, then we provided those articles to the press. We also launch seasonal campaigns to bring in more customers.

What interesting trend do you see in fashion retailing?

In this era, people have smartphones, which they largely use for messaging every day. So, the industry has moved from giant showcase stores like in the 1960s to today’s ecommerce websites, messaging, and simple interfaces.

What mistake do you think most fashion startups make?

There’s a big information gap between users and sellers, and many fashion startups fail because of this. Their businesses are not designed based on their users’ fashion needs.

What’s the one thing you would want to change in Japan?

I’d like to increase the capital available to startups. In Japan, there is a huge money market, but the capital for startups is not as big as in the US and China.

Where is the biggest need now for that money?