They are currently raising a SEED round for further expansion Startup of the week: DRESOS delivers clothes people love. It sends curated outfits for men and women to their doorsteps without any styling or delivery fee. It was co-founded in December 2020 in Dubai by CEO Vladimir Radojevic and Chief Styling Officer Aleksandar Jankovic, aiming to be the Uber for retail/fashion with an army of stylists using malls as their warehouse and sending personalized outfits to men and women across the globe. “We want to be part of the retail revolution where there is a big shift from “browse all” to a model that is part of the big macro shift of consumer behavior that is focused on more personalized and convenient shopping,” Radojevic told Arab News. They are currently raising a SEED round for further expansion, and are welcoming Angel investors and early stage VC’s interested in the business model to get in touch. The tech startup will enter the Kingdom in Q1 2023. “Saudi Arabia is by far our biggest market in the region and it will be the next market for expansion,” he said. This type of service is available in the UAE in the region. Globally, the US has pioneered this offering. Stitch Fix has over 4 million active customers and $2B in sales annually. DRESOS claims to eliminate everything that makes shopping stressful. Busy malls or hours of online searches, tiny fitting rooms, upfront payments, lengthy refund processes, a lack of service and product knowledge. “Having worked in the retail industry for years, I felt that the customer service in physical retail stores is deteriorating. Whether at the high-end or at the lower end of the spectrum, I felt sales assistants are not knowledgeable enough about their products,” he said. “Something we want to tackle with our service. Also, GCC residents are increasingly tired of spending their spare time in the malls – despite a very enticing mixed offering of retail and food and drink,” he added. Radojevic explained that customers can register on the website, participate in their style quiz and a dedicated stylist will be in touch with them over WhatsApp or phone. A stylist then asks a few or more questions in order to understand better what the customer needs. DRESOS records all this information in their system and creates a perfect outfit. "Once we know what you like, we make malls your extended closet and bring you curated outfits to your doorstep based on your preferences or tailored for specific occasions,” he said. “You can keep the outfits for three days and try them at the comfort of your home, ordered by the touch of a button. You only pay for what you keep,” he added. For the GCC consumers, saving time is very important and the whole business model has to be adjusted to that. “50 percent of customers actually don’t have the time to go to the shopping mall. Styling advice is also very important and not only for Women. 41 percent of people say they need styling advice while shopping,” he said. DRESOS has had over 800 registered users and worked with over 50 established brands, such as Galeries Lafayette, Cole Haan, Levi’s, New Era, Tommy Bahama, Sacoor Brothers, and Vilebrequin. Radojevic said this method of shopping is more sustainable by solving many problems customers have with the lack of time and styling in a sustainable way. “From the perspective of brands we work with, we solve their overstock situation and sell what they have already bought - this reduces overproduction,” he said. “Also, we don’t work with fast fashion brands. We believe people should wear a great quality product and buy staple pieces – buy less and good quality,” he added. The third aspect of their sustainability is their packaging and boxes. “We use our boxes over 10 times before we dispose of them. Our boxes are premium and customers are very happy to reuse them and oftentimes ask to keep them as well.”