ers members exclusive access to luxury brands at discounted prices, for a limited number of days, both in store – inHong Kong, Singapore and China – and online.  Members are invited by an e-mailed barcode to showrooms or pop-up stores. They can also access the e-commerce platform 24/7 with their member ID.    For brands, OnTheList is a sustainable option to clear past-season merchandise; turning old inventory into opportunity whilst simultaneously paving an additional channel to a wider consumer market.  Working directly with over 300 brands, such as Le Creuset, Jimmy Choo, Longchamp, or their official distributors, OnTheList offers its members authentic and quality products with the promise of being the best deal in town.  The story so far “Our value proposition is that we have a mix of offline and online in our sales channels, and our three showrooms in Hong Kong, Singapore and China are open from 8am to 8pm so that customers can get a feel of the products on offer,” Delphine Lefay, co-founder of OnTheList, told Inside Retail. In newer markets like Australia, South Korea and Malaysia, the company is mainly focused on online sales. Opening a bricks-and-mortar presence in these countries is still risky for OnTheList as it might affect its cash flow situation, according to Lefay. “Our flash sales make sure you get the best prices all the time, and we change them every week. In Hong Kong, we get around 250,000 people visiting our showroom on a weekly basis, so it works very well with our online channel as well,” she added. According to Lefay, the conversion rate is “huge”, and this is what helps to attract buyers to the website. Little details matter Lefay is quick to point out that OnTheList has a wide range of brands under its banner, and it’s not just about working with luxury brands. “We’re always working with different brands, and determining the right positioning for each product segment. Brands are always very protective of their image so we try to adapt to their requirements and we are always listening to offer the best solutions,” she added. The company localises its product selection for each region. Brands are carefully selected to ensure they are attractive to members in each region. “From a price point, since our business is based on consignments, we decide with the brand custodians the final pricing for the products as we want it to be the best as customers can go online to compare. So, we want a win-win solution and our prices are always competitive,” she noted. Maintaining a balance In her opinion, maintaining equanimity between the exclusivity of the brand and providing value to its customers is a delicate balancing act. Lefay said that the company’s main mission is to “turn inventory into opportunity”, so that is what drives it forward. “For example, we had an event recently where we had about 12,000 people coming into our showroom on the weekend, and we made sure the branding was done correctly to reflect the exclusivity of the product, but also to ensure that the customer experience was seamless too,” she said. Lefay mentioned that the company’s local teams in each region are tasked with staying in tune with the latest trends and there is a lot of research that goes into determining what products make the cut for both their online and offline spaces. “When we look at this business, brands give us their consignments to manage our sales. We take a commission for the sales, and then they come to pick up the leftovers. As a result, we are always in a positive cash flow position,” she noted. Not all plain sailing There have been challenges along the way for the company, as Lefay recalled during the Covid-19 lockdowns in China recently. The company had to figure out how to pay over 60 employees and manage rental payment with no revenue coming in due to the shutdown of the stores. “It was a really stressful time for the company, but we have a family spirit in the company and all of our employees were open to salary reductions during this period. Once the economy reopened, things got better quite quickly and we were able to recover,” she stated. Lefay noted that in markets like Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, the brand does not have much competition in this space. But in markets like China and Australia, competition is fiercer.  “For instance in China, we are more niche, we have more of an offline presence, and we are well positioned in this marketplace. We understand our customers well, and we make the right decisions to target the right customers,” she stressed. Looking towards the future, Lefay said that the company is weighing up its options in terms of expansion into new markets such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Middle East, though it is still in an exploratory phase.