雅芳能向服装直销商Cabi学什么？

传统观点认为，直销是一种过时的商业模式，因为繁忙的生活使得人们无法留在家中等待销售员上门推销，而且越来越多人偏爱网上购物。不相信？雅芳公司的销售额严重缩水便是最好的证据。

但在竞争异常激烈的服装行业，一家小企业却掌握了直销成功的秘诀，那就是年营收高达2.5亿美元，已成为美国最大服装直销商的Cabi公司。要问它的秘诀是什么？那就是利用直销为女性提供高接触服务，同时提供实惠、优质且不会过分前卫的服装。

此外，该公司还会保证“造型师”销售产品时全情投入，而不是仅仅将此作为兼职，单纯为了赚钱。造型师是该公司对其销售代表的称呼。

CAbi目前拥有约3400名造型师，她们需要接受培训，学会向客户展示如何更好地着装，如何搭配服装，以及如何配置整体形象——这家位于洛杉矶的公司认为，这种专注度水平才是直销成功的关键。

CAbi公司CEO琳妮•柯特表示：“零售商提供这些服务的价格更高。”琳妮从2013年开始担任该公司CEO，此前先后在琼斯服装集团和彭尼公司担任高管。

CAbi意为“应邀而来的卡罗尔•安德森”，每年提供两个系列的服装——春夏系列和秋冬系列，平均价格为100美元左右。其主要客户为40至45岁的女性，这个群体同样喜欢经常光顾J.Crew、White House Black Label和Loft等女性服装品牌，寻找那些价格实惠的流行服饰。

3年前，私募股权公司Irving Place Capital和J.H. Whitney从创始人手中收购了这家公司。CAbi通常在每季中期更新商品，新增12件商品，每年更新两次。这样不仅可以帮助CAbi紧跟热门趋势，还可以为造型师们提供重新拜访客户的借口。

霍利•帕克解释说：“这种销售模式就是令女性感觉舒服，而不是强行推销。这才是女性渴望得到的服务。”霍利•帕克来自圣芭芭拉市，是两个孩子的母亲，从2008年开始为CAbi做直销。

CAbi的造型师一年共举行了6万场“表演”，推销她们的服装。她们选择与女主人们合作，后者会提供她们的房子，并且呼朋唤友（潜在的新客户），以此获得折扣。造型师们可以获得33%的佣金。

但她们必须付出极大的努力。销售代表的高流失率一直都是雅芳最大的问题之一，因为许多人略微尝试一下后便选择退出，留下一大堆失望的客户。雅芳也曾经尝试过服装等产品类别，但均以失败告终，并且不断改变其产品的可识别度，使销售人员很难卖出服装，并从中获得佣金。

CAbi设置了许多门槛，阻止那些对待直销不够认真的人加入。销售员必须在每个销售季开始时提前购买库存，金额必须达到2500美元，然后才可以进行销售。如果造型师未能达到最低要求，她们就无法参与随后的销售季。（该公司严令禁止造型师在eBay或其他类似市场上销售未售出商品。）此外，所有销售人员都必须参加CAbi每年两次的培训会。

柯特表示：“这是他们在开展业务前必须做的一项具有显著意义的投资。因为通常情况下，销售人员更倾向于打造自己的业务。”这样做的结果是实现了85%的保留率，而不是直销行业常见的20%。

CAbi适度但不可否认的增长，在当前的趋势中可谓一枝独秀。据直销协会统计，过去三年，服装直销额呈每年下降的趋势。相反，柯特表示，该公司正在以每年5%的速度增长，对于一家私募股权控股的公司来说，这样的速度不算突出，但在整个行业内依旧处于领先地位，表明其缓慢而稳健的方法正在带来回报。(财富中文网)

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

审校：任文科

Conventional wisdom dictates that direct selling is a passé business model, what with people’s busy lives preventing them from being home to greet door-to-door salespeople and a growing preference for shopping online. For evidence, just check out the dramatic sales erosion at Avon Products AVP 0.74%.

Yet, one small company has figured out how to make this way of selling work in the hyper-competitive world of apparel: CAbi, a $250 million revenue company that has become the largest direct seller of clothing in the U.S. Its recipe? Using direct selling to give women high-touch service while offering affordability, quality and not overly fashion-forward clothing. It also makes sure that CAbi “stylists,” as it calls its sales representatives, are fully committed to selling its products, and not just looking for some extra cash on the side.

CAbi stylists, who currently number around 3,400, are given training to show customers how to dress better, fit their clothes, and assemble looks — a level of attention the Los Angeles-based company says is the key to making its approach work.

“Retailers only provide that at a significantly higher price point,” says Lynne Coté, CAbi’s CEO since 2013, and a one-time executive at companies like Jones Apparel Group and J.C. Penney JCP 0.85% .

CAbi, which stands for Carol Anderson by invitation, offers two collections a year, one for spring and summer, and the other for winter and fall, with average prices of around $100. Its typical customer is a woman between 40 and 45 who also likes to frequent J.Crew, White House Black Label and Loft in search of trendy clothes that don’t break the bank.

The company, bought three years ago from its founders by private equity firms Irving Place Capital and J.H. Whitney, refreshes the collection mid-season twice a year with an injection of 12 pieces that can help CAbi benefit from a hot trend and give stylists a pretext to reach back out to customers. “It’s about making women feel well, not about the hard sell. Women crave that,” explains Holly Parker, a mother of two from Santa Barbara, who started selling for CAbi in 2008.

CAbi stylists collectively put on 60,000 “shows” a year to promote their wares, working with hostesses who provide both their homes and access to their friends (i.e., new potential customers), in exchange for a discount. The stylists themselves can make as much as 33% in commissions.

But they have to hustle for it. One of Avon’s biggest problems has long been the high turnover among its sales reps, as many try it out for a bit before dropping out, leaving a trail of frustrated customers. Among its many missteps, Avon also tried its hand at apparel but treated the category as an afterthought and kept changing the collection’s sensibility, making it harder for salespeople to sell clothes and earn commissions.

At CAbi, there are built-in roadblocks to prevent people who are less than serious about it. Saleswomen have to buy inventory upfront at the start of season to the tune of $2,500 and are on the hook for selling it. If a stylist fails to meet a minimum threshold, she is barred from selling in subsequent seasons. (They are strictly forbidden from selling unsold merchandise on eBay EBAY 0.23% or other similar marketplaces.) And all representatives are required to attend CAbi bi-annual training meetings.

“That’s a significant investment the have to make in the business upfront so typically, they’re a lot more inclined to build a business,” says Coté. The result is an 85% retention rate, rather than a typical 20% in the direct selling business.

CAbi’s modest but undeniable growth stands in contrast to current trends. According to the Direct Selling Association, direct sales of clothing have declined in each of the last three years. In contrast, Coté says the company is growing at 5% a year, modest for a private-equity owned company, but still an industry-beating pace that shows her slow-but-steady approach is paying off.