The economy may be struggling, but it hasn’t deterred students from purchasing their favorite designer brands.
The only difference is how much people pay for brand-name products. Thanks to flash-sale websites, that amount is significantly lower than retail.
Flash-sale websites gain popularity as the world of penny pinchers and fashionistas unite to bring saving money in style.
The flash-sale sites are free and offer designer products to members at discounted prices, usually about 50 to 70 percent off, for a limited period of time.
Popular flash-sale sites include Gilt Groupe, MyHabit, Rue La La, ideeli and HauteLook.
Katie Hammill, marketing communications associate for HauteLook.com, said the trend in flash-sale sites was born out of the recession, and that brand marketing is a major factor in the sites’ success.
HauteLook is a retailer and not a competitor, Hammill said. Brands are not harmed by the sale of their products at discounted prices, but benefit from the marketing offered and exposure to new audiences.
“Brands knock on our door,” Hammill said. “We have 5.5 million members. That’s a lot of