Would you buy a ￡95 million private island online? ‘Amazon for millionaires’ launches
Shopping around for your next private island? It might be time to start browsing online.
New digital luxury marketplace Hush Hush launched to the public this Tuesday with over 200,000 items, from property, to yachts, supercars, jets, homeware and jewellery available to buy online. Claiming to have one of the largest luxury offerings online, it pits itself as “Amazon for millionaires.”
Most conspicuous (and top of the price list) are the private islands and properties. Pumpkin Key Private Island in Florida Keys, is listed at ￡95 million, but there are also a number of items, like fashion and jewellery, at more accessible price points.
29-year-old CEO Aaron Harpin, who lives between London and Monaco, is not-so-quietly confident. “It’s a solution for the cash rich, time poor. For millionaires and billionaires,” he says.
“We knew it would be a success because we are providing the world’s most luxurious items in one destination, to be as functional as possible for the customer.”
Apparently it’s already going well; Harpin says he’s had a number of sales since launch, with one customer splashing ￡100,000 on a hovercraft. Once his operation hits full swing, he hopes to see an average basket of ￡10,000 - a lofty aim, even in the luxury sector.
So, will high-net-worth individuals be willing to shop in this way? Harpin believes so. “The VIP concierge sector has grown massively in recent years,” he says, “and the world’s most affluent consumers are increasingly turning to online marketplaces to source the goods they want.”
Speaking of fashion e-tailers Net-a-Porter and Farfetch, he says, “We can see the evolution of higher value customers having the confidence to spend online, but they only focus on fashion.”
Aiming for the ‘real space’ beyond fashion, Harpin believes by housing everything from homes to furniture and private jets in one location - like on Amazon - he’s looking at a trillion-dollar opportunity.
It’s in cutting the traditional route of shopping around agents in order to purchase ultra luxury items, in favour of more instant digital alternatives, that he sees the gap in the market.
But, for the ultra-high-value items listed, it’s not quite the click-to-buy model it seems. “Things can be bought at distance and it really depends on the individual,” says Harpin. “It is possible for people to make large transactions without seeing the product, but I think those cases will be rare.”
“If I was buying at high value, I’d like to see it and touch it. Hush Hush can provide a sales agent who will meet you [at the property] and take you on a tour, and we will connect you to the relevant lawyer. The transaction will be initiated and completed on our website, but we are there to hold your hand all the way in between.”
For HNW browsers seeking easy access to ultra luxury goods, Hush Hush matches up in price. However, for a platform selling such high-end items, the website is suffering a few teething problems; the currency can default incorrectly, much of the imagery is of low resolution, and it somewhat lacks the intuitivity you’d expect.
Nevertheless, though the market Harpin is gunning for is tough, it most certainly exists. The emerging popularity of digital concierge platforms like Velocity Black and Knightsbridge Circle is proof enough.
Velocity Black is a member’s app and digital concierge, claiming to be the world’s first human and AI-driven platform for delivering the luxury lifestyle desired by the world’s affluent, digitally connected customers.
With a 60-second guaranteed response time for any request, it, too, offers a fast and convenient service.
Offering anything from guaranteed upgrades at thousands of hotels, to gorilla treks in the Congo and trips to the edge of space, the app is, in short, a one-stop luxury lifestyle shop. And, with a membership net worth of over $300 billion and an average basket spend of $2,500, it seems that ultra-rich buyers are indeed happy to spend big bucks online.
With a leadership team hailing from the highest echelons of finance and tech - CEO Zia Yusuf is ex-Goldman Sachs and Head of Product Stephen Irvine is ex-Uber - Velocity Black is in scale-up mode, with revenues having grown 950 per cent last year. Its founders, too, are confident that a $1.5 trillion market opportunity lies ahead of them. (And, therefore, whoever else occupies the digital luxury space.)
“The digital luxury market has been slow to innovate and suffers from a lack of centralised knowledge of suppliers and inventory,” says Irvine.
“But Velocity Black provides a streamlined booking experience, curating options and liaising with suppliers across multiple verticals. Nowhere else can you book a ski chalet for you and your family and order Chanel snowboards in the same transaction.”
So, with new luxury providers innovating online, we may well be looking at the blueprint for the future of luxury trading. It's clear that the buyer is there but, where private islands at near ￡100-million price points are concerned, it won't be an easy sell. In the race to dominate the sector, it's likely only the slickest will prevail.
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