Lesara

{{Short description|Former clothing e-commerce site}} {{Infobox company | name = Lesara | logo = Lesara logo.png | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | logo_padding = | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | trading_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang =  | romanized_name = | former_name = | type = [[Privately held company]] | traded_as = | ISIN = | industry = Fashion | fate = | predecessor =  | successor =  | founded = 2013<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://theheureka.com/lesara-funding |title=Seven-figure funding for Lesara – the online store for discount products |last=Michelle |first=Kuepper |date=2014-01-13 |access-date=2017-07-07}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> | founder = [[Roman Kirsch]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/start-up-lesara-wie-der-kleider-shop-die-branche-veraendert-a-1059590.html |title=Kleider geil |last=Peter |first=Maxwill |date=2015-11-02 |magazine=[[Der Spiegel]] |access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref> | defunct =  | hq_location = | hq_location_city = [[Berlin]] | hq_location_country = [[Germany]] | coordinates = | num_locations = 24 (Europe)<ref name="lesara.com">{{cite web|url=https://corporate.lesara.com/|title=Lesara » Corporate Website|website=Lesara|access-date=15 August 2017}}</ref> | num_locations_year = 2017 | area_served = Europe | key_people = Roman Kirsch, Founder and CEO<br />Robin Müller, Co-Founder and CTO<br />Matthias Wilrich, Co-Founder and COO | products = | brands = | production = | production_year =  | services = | revenue = €75 million<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/entreprises/article/2017/06/26/lesara-pionnier-du-pret-a-porter-predictif_5151248_1656994.html |title=Lesara, pionnier du prêt-à-porter prédictif |last=Nadine |first=Bayle |date=2017-06-26 |newspaper=[[Le Monde]] |access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref> | revenue_year = 2016 | operating_income = | income_year =  | net_income =  | net_income_year =  | aum =  | assets = | assets_year =  | equity = | website = {{URL|http://www.lesara.com/}} | footnotes = }} '''Lesara''' was a clothing e-commerce site founded in [[Berlin]] in 2013. On November 9, 2018, the company filed for bankruptcy.<ref name="manager-magazin.de">{{cite web|title=Das Wunderkind muss Insolvenz anmelden|url=https://www.manager-magazin.de/digitales/it/lesara-gruender-roman-kirsch-das-wunderkind-muss-insolvenz-anmelden-a-1237699.html|website=manager magazin|access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>

==History== Lesara was founded in 2013 by CEO Roman Kirsch, COO Matthias Wilrich, and CTO Robin Müller.<ref name="IMP">Chloe Gendron,{{cite news|title=Lesara: Using Technology To Make Fast Fashion Faster|url=https://impakter.com/lesaras-agile-retail-using-technology-make-fast-fashion-faster/|access-date=6 August 2016|work=techcrunch.com|date=13 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Online Fashion Store Expands to 16 Countries in Europe|url=http://www.ecomony.com/Online-Fashion-Store-Expands-to-16-Countries-in-Europe,6714.html|access-date=6 August 2016|work=techcrunch.com|date=4 December 2015}}</ref> The company's head office was located at the Schicklerhaus in Berlin, [[Germany]], and the second office was in [[Guangzhou]], China.<ref name="IMP"/>

In November 2018, Lesara CEO Roman Kirsch filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mdr.de/thueringen/lesara-logistikzentrum-erfurt-offenbar-insolvenz-100.html |title=Lesara hat Insolvenz beantragt {{!}} MDR.DE |website=www.mdr.de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110153837/https://www.mdr.de/thueringen/lesara-logistikzentrum-erfurt-offenbar-insolvenz-100.html |archive-date=2018-11-10}} </ref>

==Retail== {{Main|Agile retail}} According to "Insights.samsung.com", Lesara was one of the first companies that used the concept of [[agile retail]] within the fashion industry.<ref name="INS">{{cite news|author=Craig Guillot|title=Lesara Uses Agile Management and Data to Meet Retail Fashion Trends|publisher=insights.samsung.com|url=https://insights.samsung.com/2016/07/19/lesara-uses-agile-management-and-data-to-meet-retail-fashion-trends/|access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> Agile retail is a [[Direct selling|direct-to-consumer]] [[retail]] model that uses [[big data]] to try to predict trends, manage efficient production cycles, and optimize turnaround on emerging styles.<ref name="BC">Nadya Khoja, [https://www.business.com/retail-and-restaurant/how-agile-retail-is-disrupting-the-fashion-industry/ "Changing Clothes: How Agile Retail is Disrupting the Fashion Industry"], ''business.com'', July 20, 2016.</ref> The company used [[data analysis|data]] acquired from [[Google]], social media, and blog posts, then analyzed it to identify current trends.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businesszone.co.uk/do/customers/how-lesara-increased-its-sales-by-175-to-a-high-double-digit-million |title=How Lesara increased its sales by 175% to a 'high double-digit million' |last=Francois |first=Badenhorst |date=2017-02-13 |access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref>

== Criticism == In 2015, Lesara GmbH initiated a legal action against Daniel Brückner, but the case was dismissed by the Landgericht Köln (Regional Court, Cologne) in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-03-17|title=toptestsieger.de vor Gericht - Ein Rückblick auf 2016|language=de-DE|work=toptestsieger.de|url=http://www.toptestsieger.de/toptestsieger-de-vor-gericht-das-urteil/|access-date=2017-07-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Landgericht Köln, 28 O 448/15|url=https://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/lgs/koeln/lg_koeln/j2016/28_O_448_15_Urteil_20160720.html|access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref>

In September 2016, ''[[Beobachter (magazine)|Beobachter]]'' reported about alleged illegal crossed-out prices in [[Switzerland]], citing Guido Sutter, chief legal adviser of [[Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research]] (SECO) in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beobachter.ch/konsumentenschutz/lesarach-billigware-mit-pseudorabatt|title=Billigware mit Pseudorabatt|last=Haefely|first=Andrea|date=13 September 2016|website=beobachter.ch}}</ref>

In early 2018, ''[[Manager Magazin|Manager magazin]]'' reported that Lesara inflated revenue figures by not accounting for returns.<ref name="manager-magazin.de"/>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

[[Category:German companies established in 2013]] [[Category:2018 disestablishments in Germany]] [[Category:Retail companies established in 2013]] [[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2018]] [[Category:Online clothing retailers of Germany]] [[Category:Companies based in Berlin]]