Moda Operandi Shuts Down Men’s Business

Above image: Balmain Spring 2020 Menswear

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Fashion discovery platform and online e-tailer Moda Operandi will shut down its men’s business as the coronavirus (Covid-19)pandemic crushes demand even among top tier shoppers.

The online retailer started selling men’s collections, in season and through its trunk show model, in June 2018 to capture a rapidly growing luxury menswear market.

“As a result of the economic impact to the fashion industry caused by COVID-19, Moda Operandi has made the difficult decision to sunset our men’s division, and focus on our core business around women’s fashion, fine jewellery and home products,” said a representative for Moda Operandi in a statement. Employees who support the men’s team will stay employed until the end of June.

Moda Operandi started off 2020 with layoffs, cutting 50 people across the business and shutting down offices in Shanghai in January, according to sources with knowledge of the business, before securing $100 million in equity and debt financing from existing investors, including New Enterprise Associates and Apax Digital.

Moda Operandi had last raised money ($165 million) at the end of 2017 under former chief executive Deborah Nicodemus. She resigned in 2018 and was replaced by former Tesla Vice President Ganesh Srivats, who has hired new employees, many from Tesla and Jetblack, Walmart’s now-closed personal shopping service. He has also overseen a brand redesign and dealt with a problematic warehouse move in 2018 that disrupted orders into the following year.

Photos Credit: Lucioni / Gorunway.com