Natalie Massenet

When Natalie Massenet launched Net-a-Porter.com in 2000, few in the fashion industry believed that women would want to buy pricey fashion they couldn’t touch or try on. But Massenet, an online addict—and a former editor—knew she was on to something. Boy, was she right. Today, from Manhattan to Melbourne, women can have what they want overnight with the click of a mouse. Net-a-Porter, which offers a distilled version of the season’s trends, attracts more than 3,000 new customers per month, with an average order of about $1,000. Its revenues, now $72 million, have grown by the year. Servicewise, the site behaves like any other luxury retailer, with shop-in-shops, trunk shows and personal shoppers. And because Massenet knows that women still love to shop from glossies, she now offers Net-a-Porter Notes, a chunky, twice-yearly magazine. “We try not to be complacent about what the customer wants,” says Massenet. “And we try not to be too rigid in the way we approach the business.”

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