SSENSE

Canadian clothing retailer

SSENSE

Industry| Fashion
Founded| 2003
Founder| Rami Atallah, Firas Atallah, Bassel Atallah
Headquarters| Montreal, Canada
Website| www.ssense.com

SSENSE (pronounced: "essence") is a Canadian multi-brand retailer headquartered in Montreal, Canada specializing in the sale of designer fashion and high end streetwear. It was founded as an e-commerce platform in 2003 by three brothers: Rami, Bassel and Firas Atallah. The company delivers to 114 countries around the world and operates websites in Chinese, French, English, Japanese and Korean.[1][2][3][4][5]

## History

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SSENSE was found in 2003 by brothers Firas, Rami and Bassel Atallah.[6]

The company opened a physical store in Montreal in 2004 and a warehouse and corporate headquarters in 2005. The online store followed in 2006.[7]

By the early 2020s, Ssense was discussed as an important online fashion store, which made decisions by analysing large volumes of data rather than relying on professional buyers anticipating trends.[8] [9]

On April 5, 2018, SSENSE acquired community-based fashion and art website Polyvore from Yahoo!, immediately shutting it down.[10]

In May 2018, SSENSE opened a flagship retail store in a historic 19th century building in Montreal turned into an experiential retail space by architecture firm David Chipperfield. The 5-story building within a building includes a cafe, art space and a floor dedicated to a personal-shopper-guided online-offline hybrid, which is accessible by appointment only.[11][12]

In June 2021 SSENSE received minority investment from Sequoia Capital that valued the company at over $4 billion USD.[13]

In January 2023, SSENSE laid off approximately 7% of its workforce, impacting 138 employees.[14]

## Controversies

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In 2018, SSENSE acquired the social-commerce platform Polyvore from Yahoo!, immediately shutting it down. SSENSE failed to alert its users about the acquisition following its liquidation, which resulted in users to irreversibly lose data on the platform. SSENSE has issued an apology about the matter. [15][16]

In December 2022, SSENSE was the target of a cyberattack where confidential employee data was compromised. SSENSE failed to notify past employees of the data breach as well as government officials.[17]

## See also

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* YOOX Net-a-Porter Group
* Clicks and mortar
* Mytheresa
* Farfetch
* Polyvore

## References

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1. ^ "The Lavish Minimalism of Montreal's SSENSE Studio". Techvibes. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
2. ^ "The SSENSE of success > Magazine". Magazine. 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
3. ^ Won, Nancy. "How Ssense is changing Canadian online shopping | Elle Canada". Elle Canada. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
4. ^ "The Montreal company shaking up luxury fashion, one pair of $860 sweatpants at a time". Retrieved 2017-12-18.
5. ^ "Shopping: SSENSE | Martin Beauséjour | Style". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2017-12-18.
6. ^ "SSENSE: Revolutionizing the world of fashion". Devenir Entrepreneur.
7. ^ "How SSENSE CEO Rami Atallah Built Today's Most Influential Culture and Technology Platform". Glory Professional. 3 March 2023.
8. ^ "Is Ssense hurting the cool-clothes ecosystem?". Blackbird Spyplane. 20 June 2023.
9. ^ "What is SSENSE?". Thee New York Times. 23 November 2021.
10. ^ "Polyvore is shutting down after being acquired by fashion retailer Ssense". 5 April 2018.
11. ^ "Ssense Unvails New Montreal FLagship Store". Highsnobiety. 30 April 2018.
12. ^ "Arca! Prada! Inside Ssense's Radically Cool New Montreal Store". Vogue. 30 April 2018.
13. ^ SSENSE Valued at Over $5 Billion CAD After Sequoia Capital Investment Hypebeast, Jack Stanley, June 8, 2021
14. ^ "Ssense Is the Latest Fashion Company to Reduce Headcount". The Business of Fashion. January 30, 2023.
15. ^ Dazed (2018-04-12). "Polyvore users mourn one of fashion's most creative online communities". Dazed. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
16. ^ "SSENSE Apologizes to Polyvore Users Over Recent Acquisition". Hypebeast. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
17. ^ "Mis K.O. Par des pirates informatiques: Le détaillant en ligne Ssense n'a pas prévenu le gouvernement de la cyberattaque". 8 February 2023.

## External links

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* Official website