Threadless

In what other industries or areas would Threadless’ community-driven product development model work well? And not so well?

I loved this case because I think Threadless has such an intriguing business model. Loyal customers visit the website each week to order their own unique, custom t-shirt wardrobe. I spent an hour looking at designs instead of writing this blog. This type of community-driven product development model has worked well on other websites we have discussed this semester like Etsy.com where buyers can directly communicate with artists and commission customized product. Unlike Threadless, however, the buyer is the designer, not the seller. Threadless is unique in that website visitors vote on the designs printed each week. The beauty of Threadless is the community of designers, voters, bloggers, and consumers that has emerged from this simple screen t-shirt business. T-shirts are a very basic, inexpensive product. When you print a unique design on them, they transform from a plain tee to a work of art.

In one of the videos in the case, the founder compares the website to an art gallery and I think that is an extremely valid point. People are going to Threadless to look first and purchase second. People are interested in the art and then being able to wear their “t-shirt art” as an expression of their connection to the community or the design. Threadless has kept is simple, offering t-shirts for men, women, children, hoodies, and some kid’s clothing. They are not offering customized hats, socks, underwear, etc. They have stuck their core competency: design something that is perfect to print on a t-shirt. I am not sure this type of business model would work for any type of customized product such as art, crafts, furniture, because the end products might be too complex for quick mass production and turnaround. Threadless has kept it simple. The t-shirt is the perfect blank canvas on which to print a design quickly, efficiently, and then sell over a million t-shirts.