{"id":167306,"date":"2020-09-10T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/how-sojin-lee-wants-to-create-the-last-word-in-last-mile-luxury\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T12:07:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T12:07:06","slug":"how-sojin-lee-wants-to-create-the-last-word-in-last-mile-luxury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/how-sojin-lee-wants-to-create-the-last-word-in-last-mile-luxury\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sojin Lee wants to create the last word in last mile luxury with Toshi"},"content":{"rendered":"

With footfall in central London remaining depressed (according to Springboard foot traffic is down almost 52% year on year) brands, in particular luxury brands, in the capital are having to think long and hard about the role and purpose of\u00a0their stores in the post-lockdown era.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Things will, of course, improve as workers gradually return to city centres and the tourism trade picks up again, but this side of a Covid-19 vaccine, no one is really expecting a huge leap in footfall, and, even once we are on the other side, physical retail will be changed for good.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luxury brands once considered flagship stores in prime international city centres to be confident \"marketing exercises\"<\/strong> but with sales across all of their channels, and across all of their international markets, challenged as a result of the global pandemic, that approach is being questioned.<\/p>\n

Not that Sojin Lee and Paul O'Regan ever felt that was ever the right approach. These two seasoned luxury professionals always thought the luxury store could work so much harder and with Toshi<\/a>, the last mile delivery business that aims to \"make logistics sexy\"<\/strong>, they're doing just that. O'Regan says he wants luxury brands to think of their stores as \"micro warehouses\" and if that doesn't sound exciting then, hold your judgement and read on.<\/p>\n

Lee established Toshi three years ago and has quietly built the business up with some of the world's most desirable luxury brands, including Chanel, Erdem, Christopher Kane, Christian Louboutin, Huntsman and Roland Mouret among others.<\/strong> One of the beta testers for the service was London-based luxury label Galvan, where O'Regan had been CEO; he's now joined Toshi, at what is proving to be an opportune time, as Chief Commercial Officer to drive growth and awareness.<\/p>\n

If those brands seem impressive then it's not entirely surprising since Lee's CV includes stints at Chanel, Bottega Veneta and Net-A-Porter,<\/strong> where she was a member of the founding management team. As well as Galvan, O'Regan can count brands such as Burberry, Oscar de la Renta, AllSaints, Gucci and Ralph Lauren among his former employees. They are clearly well connected and they know luxury.<\/p>\n

So, what is Toshi? Essentially it's a luxury, local delivery service, which is very much tech-driven<\/strong>, but with a unique human touch and plenty of opportunity for amplifying your brand and service credentials, as well as upselling.<\/p>\n