Businessmodel of Lesara

Customer Segments

Lesara has a mass market business model, with no significant differentiation between customer segments. The company targets its service at any consumer seeking discount merchandise online. That said, a significant portion of its customers are women age 35-40 who have families.

There is also a multi-sided market component of its business model. Approximately 90% of its product line-up is manufactured for the company. However, 10% comes from brand manufacturers, meaning that the company also provides a platform between consumers and other brands.

Value Proposition

Lesara offers four primary value propositions: accessibility, convenience, pricing, and brand/status.

The company creates accessibility by offering a broad range of options and making them widely available. It uses a data-driven process (“agile retail”) to identify the latest international trends in its product categories, trends not obvious to other retailers. Once it identifies an emerging trend, it can contact its manufacturers and have a relevant product on the market within 7-21 days. It ships its products to 23 countries in Europe and maintains versions of its website in five different languages.

The company provides a pricing value proposition. It skips intermediaries to work directly with manufacturers, enabling it to save on costs and pass those savings onto customers. Through its “Best Price Guarantee”, it offers discounts of up to 80% on its items on a daily basis. If customers find a product it sells for a lower price elsewhere, it will refund the difference.

The company offers convenience by making usage of its service easy for customers. Customers are given the right to return their products within 30 days of delivery free of charge.

The company has established a strong brand due to its success. Its website attracts over four million unique visitors each month, providing access to an inventory of over 50,000 products. It has also won a number of honors, including the Tech5 2015 award for “Fastest-Growing Tech Startup in Europe.“

Channels

Lesara’s main channel is its website, through which it acquires all of its customers. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages and participation in conferences.

Customer Relationships

Lesara’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service, automated nature.

Customers utilize the service through its website while having limited interaction with employees. The site provides detailed answers to frequently asked questions.

That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of phone and e-mail support.

Key Activities

Lesara’s business model entails designing and developing its products for its customers.

Key Partners

Lesara maintains relationships with third-party manufacturers worldwide who produce the products it designs and develops.

Key Resources

Lesara’s main resources are its human resources, who include the fashion and product experts that design and develop its offerings and the customer service personnel who provide support.

As a relatively new startup it has relied heavily on funding from outside parties, raising $23.8 million from 12 investors as of September 2015.

Cost Structure

Lesara has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation and low-price value propositions.

Its biggest cost driver is likely transaction expenses, a fixed cost. Other major drivers are in the areas of product development and customer support/operations, both fixed expenses.

Revenue Streams

Lesara has two revenue streams:

• Product Sales - Revenues it generates through the sales of its products on its website.
• Commissions - Revenues it generates through fees charged to third-party merchants for selling their branded products on its website.