Westwing Online Furniture: Shop vs Club, Pricing & Conflicts of Interests

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Why did you decide to run it as campaigns instead of keeping undiscounted items posted indefinitely? You don't own the inventory, so why not?

There are multiple reasons for that. One is to motivate customers to make a purchase within a limited timeframe. It's very clear to them, especially with big campaigns. On the final day, we send a reminder newsletter saying, "Hey, the sale is ending today." Even if they weren't looking at a specific product, there will be a generalized email for big brands saying, "Hey, campaigns are ending today, last chance." This limited timeframe acts as a conversion engine. Another reason is that Westwing wants customers to keep returning to see what's new on the website. Every day, new campaigns go live, which is quite unusual.

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How are they different? How are the audiences between the Club and the Shop different?

One thing to consider is frequency. As I mentioned earlier, people visit the Club very frequently, especially the most loyal customers. They often return to check out the latest options and seek inspiration. They don't necessarily have a preset idea of what they want to purchase. They open the newsletter, which still has an impressive reach and success compared to other companies I've worked for, with a very high open rate. People look at the campaigns to see if there's something interesting. If there is, they make a spontaneous purchase. If not, they check again the next day. The shop offers a more calculated and predictable shopping experience without the same time pressure. There's overlap, but the purchasing behaviors are quite different.

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If I understood correctly, within the Club you have a split between Westwing Collection and branded items, with approximately 30% being Westwing Collection, private labeled, and 70% being branded. How do you decide which products to put under private label and which to keep branded?

A key element for Westwing is design DNA. When deciding whether to make a product in their private label or to buy it, they are cautious not to replicate famous designs. For example, they wouldn't reproduce items like the Kartell Componibili, the Bellhop lamp from Flos, the Panthella from Louis Poulsen in their private label. Doing so would harm their relationships with these brands, which is crucial, especially when targeting premium brands. These brands are aware of what's in Westwing's private collection and can easily spot similarities to their products, like the Flowerpot lamp from &Tradition. So, a key element is not to copy someone else's design.

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