Publications
Publications
- December 2021 (Revised May 2022)
- HBS Case Collection
Troverie (A)
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham
Abstract
Six months after the August 2018 launch of Troverie, a U.S.-based online retailer of luxury watches, the average cost of acquiring a customer is much higher than originally projected, and the startup is incurring a substantial loss on each sales transaction. Could customer acquisition costs be reduced through optimization of marketing messages and channels, or did high marketing costs presage a fundamental problem with Troverie's business model? Troverie was an authorized retailer of 17 luxury watch brands, and had partnered with brick-and-mortar jewelry retailers that would drop ship the watches from their inventory in exchange for a share of Troveries's revenue. The brands were authorizing online sales for the first time, to combat "grey market" outlets that sold their watches without the manufacturer's warranty.
Keywords
Startup; Luxury Goods; Customer Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Luxury; Failure; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Fashion Industry; United States
Citation
Eisenmann, Thomas R., Lindsay N. Hyde, and Olivia Graham. "Troverie (A)." Harvard Business School Case 822-068, December 2021. (Revised May 2022.)