Price competition is not always the be-all and end-all, and this goes especially for fashion. As a consequence, the online market for fashion can be roughly divided into two large segments. Beyond the bargain hunters there is more than enough room for novel sales models.

One of the leading companies in this segment is Polyvore, who has been one of the most important social shopping players in the US since late 2007.

The new CEO, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, gave a keynote address at the DLD Women conference in June in Munich, Germany. Afterwards a detailed interview followed:

"With clothing it's always been an emotional and subjective buy. And I think for women a form of entertainment also.

All three of those things have not been done well online today. Though I think there is a series of companies including Polyvore that are trying to change that."

In the interview, the new (sales) pitch from Polyvore became readily apparent: Polyvore is turning to brands and want to score points with them on three key areas: “Discovery, Distribution and Data”. In other words, everything which is still relatively challenging in online retail. The long-term consequences are clear: Why would brands still need traditional retailers, if they can access their customers directly via companies such as Polyvore.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy was formerly with Google and has helped them several years with building companies and business areas. Most recently she was Entrepreneur in Residence at Accel Partners. At the end of the interview she describes what makes a good entrepreneur in her eyes: Someone with energy and enthusiasm who can continually win people over to their cause.

Related posts:

• The Polyvore Founders Give Way To Professional CEO
• The Shop Exchange: Polyvore Raises $5.6 Million in Second Round
• Social Shopping: Polyvore's Relaunch Heralds New Phase

Originally posted in German by Jochen Krisch, adapted for excitingcommerce.com by Jason Soo.