Girlshop Inc. was the pioneering fashion e-commerce company behind girlshop.com, the first website for indie-designer, trend making style. Girlshop.com was launched in 1998 by graphic designer turned entrepreneur Laura Eisman (previously Creative Director of
iVillage
iVillage, Inc. was a mass media company that operated the ”most popular female-oriented sites” on the internet in the 1990s. In addition to ivillage.com, the company operated iVillage UK, Astrology.com, GardenWeb, and the NBC Digital Health N ...
).
Background
Eisman opened Girlshop in June 1998 with $10,000 of her own money.
[Gift Off.]
''Entrepreneur'', December 1, 1999. Retrieved September 9, 2016. A month later ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' issued the company's first write up. What followed was an influx of traffic to the site. To handle the sudden success, Eisman teamed up with her then boyfriend Todd Richter who designed a database system, solidifying Girlshop as an indie fashion retail staple in NYC.
At its peak, Girlshop Inc. was receiving more than half a million visitors per month and shipping ** orders per month, resulting in a 5 million dollar business. In 2005, Girlshop Inc. announced the opening of a physical store front in the Meatpacking District.
Girlshop was featured in the romance novel ''A Match Made on Madison'' by Dee Davis.
Girlshop published a book, ''The Girlshop Guide to NYC Shopping'', in collaboration with their fashion rival
Shecky's.
Girlshop's founder, Laura Eisman, has been featured and quoted i
The Wall Street JournalEntrepreneurBloombergNY Daily NewsAdvertising AgeAdweekNational Real Estate InvestorGift Shop
an
Fashion Incubator
among others.
Due to increased competition and big-scale fashion retailers entering the e-commerce space, Girlshop's storefront closed its physical and virtual doors in 2007.Fab Flash: Girlshop Goes Out of Business
''Pop Sugar''. April 23, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
References
{{Reflist
External links
NY Daily News - 50 New Yorkers to Watch in 2001
NY Post - Can Designer Laura Eisman Put Together A Great Look For Only $100?
Twst.com - Laura Eisman
Online clothing retailers of the United States
Defunct retail companies of the United States