SSENSE

SSENSE (pronounced: "essence") is a multi-brand retailer based in Montreal, Canada specialising 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.

History
SSENSE was founded in 2003 by brothers Firas, Rami and Bassel Atallah who were inspired to start an online fashion company by the experience of successfully selling a limited edition pair of Diesel jeans online. Their focus was on high-end brands, but their approach was consciously aimed at avoiding any snobbery or aloofness associated with luxury fashion and instead focusing on building an innovative platform to showcase a carefully selected set of products from brands that were chosen for their dedicated following. They also put a heavy emphasis on supporting smaller, emerging designers and brands.

The company initially struggled to convince enough brands that e-commerce was a viable way of selling high end fashion, so, before opening their own website, the Atallah brothers opened a physical store in Montreal in 2004 and a warehouse and corporate headquarters in 2005. The online store followed in 2006. Despite early obstacles, SSENSE gradually established a name for its curated mix of luxury and streetwear labels, relying on its physical presence to earn the confidence of both consumers and designers. By merging their online and offline operations, SSENSE produced a seamless shopping experience that appealed to a worldwide audience, propelling them to the forefront of the luxury apparel e-commerce market. Over time, the brand has expanded its services to include editorial content and unique partnerships, bolstering its position as a powerful platform in the fashion industry.

In 2009, Ssense began to develop the concept it was to become known for: a more unconventional assortment that combined companies of varying price points and origins around a broadly innovative, streetwear-led view of fashion and champions small, emerging brands. Decisions on what products to stock were largely made by analysing large volumes of data rather than relying on professional buyers anticipating trends. In 2015 the company made a big investment in Editorial to cement this brand identity when they hired Joerg Koch, previously editor of German contemporary culture magazine 032c, as the website’s first editor-in-chief. In 2017 they doubled down on this investment with a redesign of the homepage which removed products and gave the space entirely to editorial articles.

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

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.

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

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

In January 2023, SSENSE laid off approximately 7% of its workforce, impacting 138 employees. In April 2023, Ssense again laid off more than 10% of its workforce including mid level management people.