For issue 20, we spoke with Moses Rashid, CEO and Founder of The Edit LDN. Rashid successfully turned his personal passion for sneakers into the most premium online destination globally for sneakers, streetwear and collectibles. From partnering with the Chicago Bulls to being gifted one of Erling Haaland’s Premier League Golden Boots, Rashid shares with us the ups and downs of running his business. It’s mostly ups, though.
Where does your ambition come from?
My parents. They moved over to the UK around 45 years ago not knowing much about the English culture but they were incredibly hard working and really instilled those values in us as children. It was very much about going out to follow your own path but make sure you’re the best at what you do. I think that really resonates with me, my brothers and my sister.
Can you share the story behind the creation of The Edit LDN? What inspired you to start this venture?
I’ve built 2 or 3 companies prior to The Edit. But the story is very much that I was at a sneaker festival purchasing some kicks for around £700 and I asked the guy a very simple question - if he had a plastic bag for me. And his response was no. It blew my mind I was paying a premium but not getting a premium service. So when I looked at the market, I realised there was nothing that really catered to my needs, so I built it.
How do you handle the pressures and responsibilities that come with being the founder and CEO of a growing business?
I’ve only worked for somebody for 2 years of my life, and so of course you kind of get used to that feeling. But a top tip for those that feel slightly overwhelmed is that when you receive shitty information, you tend to have the emotional response first before kicking into the processing mode, and then you get pragmatic. Some of us will move through that process a little bit quicker, but that’s typically how I systematically approach every shitty period.
How did you manage to garner such a loyal following and community?
Exactly that, community. One of the things about our brand is that we really think about how we market and how we drive awareness to different subsections of the community, be it female sneakerheads or those that aspire to purchase the product. Ultimately, it’s about doing really, really cool shit. We’re about to do a collaboration with NBA 2K which will see us dropping a basketball court in the middle of a sneaker festival, which will have about 15 thousand people through, and we’ll be doing a 2 on 2 basketball tournament with TikTokers, Youtubers and Creators.
You successfully turned a personal passion for sneakers into the number one global online destination for the latest drops, and the finest new and pre-loved kicks and fits. Can you discuss any personal challenges you've faced while pursuing your ambitious vision for The Edit LDN?
By way of personal challenges, I think it would be remiss of any business owner, CEO or founder to say it’s all sunshine and roses. Whatever level you are, sometimes you’re gambling at the same level but the stakes are a little bit bigger. When I launched The Edit LDN, it was 2 or 3 months before COVID. Prior to that, I own another company I’ve had for 14 years within digital advertising which I’ve almost lost twice and seen it through recession periods. How do you continue to move forward and progress? It’s very much about having clarity on the vision and mission. It’s about remaining hyper focused and making sure that you keep on following the process and have genuine belief in what value you’re driving to market.
The Edit LDN offers a unique blend of physical and digital shopping experiences, including a personal shopping service online. Can you discuss the thinking behind this hybrid approach and how it benefits your customers?
First and foremost, we’re an ecom marketplace but we’re very much omnichannel. Why did we enter Harrods in 2021 and then expand our concession footprint into 4 countries, soon to be 5 and 6? It was about building trust and authenticity with the audience, driving engagement and the halo effect. I think of them as of course profit centres that drive top line revenue, but more so as activation spaces. A really cool example is Erling Haaland giving us one of his 3 golden boots, and we put it into Harrods. The idea was you could simply take a selfie with the boot with the opportunity to win VIP tickets to a Manchester City game and get a signed Erling shirt. A really simple execution but our job is about providing those experiences.
How do you curate the selection of fashion brands and designers featured on The Edit LDN? What criteria do you consider when choosing partners?
Most of it is, ‘would Moses wear it?’ We know who the audience is and we know who our consumer is. It’s all about how we bring the heat at every level to both the male and female contingent on our space. We’re really behind those big power brands, but also we love those independent designers as well. In line with our slogan, ‘not just a brand, a community,’ we actively go to seek those independent designers as well, like designer Paper Round through to some of the vintage bits.
What sets The Edit LDN apart from other sneaker platforms, and how do you differentiate yourself in a competitive industry?
Really simply, we lump it into 3 buckets. Product Curation. Let’s take the Tiffany Air Force 1s for example. We had about 30 pairs here in HQ about 5 weeks before release. They of course were being sold to A List Celebrities, rappers and so forth who would tag us on socials. We were able to provide them first access to the coolest hottest product. Speed. In a market, that tradition takes 2-5 weeks, but I’m the guy who will pay £100 more to get that product today. Value proposition is 1-7 days but 6 months ago we became the first platform to achieve a same day service which runs within London. The third part is about experience and service. On a scalable point of view, that means 30 minutes response times on email, 1-3 minutes on Instagram, chatbox of course is instant and if you’re a high net worth or repeat spender, that’s when you work with our private shopping team who do outfit builds and give you first access. The fourth layer is community. Doing really cool stuff in the market that continues to move the needle.
What’s been the biggest ‘pinch me’ or blow up moment in your career?
There’s been some real big highlights. Working with the Chicago Bulls of course was a big holy grail moment for me. Harrods was quite a pivotal moment. There’s been a few personal ones such as features and press and things like that, but it has to be the Bulls.
How do you ensure that The Edit LDN stays at the forefront of the fashion industry, even amidst rapid changes and evolving consumer preferences?
What keeps brands relevant, and certainly what keeps us at the forefront of the market, is really the purpose of the business, and I think that’s very much driven around how we can bring change into the market. We talk about culture and community because it’s so important, particularly in sneakers. Her Edit Ldn is a female driven agenda that we’ve developed starting off with sticker packs. You know when you buy a shoe, you get a sticker. We took a female designer who designed for Nike and she designed a Her Edit LDN sticker pack. The next part of that is partnering with a big alcohol brand where we’ll be doing a bottle pack but with Travis Scott Fragment colours for example. They’ll get to sign it and that will be sold globally. The third part is then we’re connecting them with a big brand, such as True Religion, and the idea is we’ll do an upcycling project bringing 10 female designers from the market to bring awareness. It’s about using our platform, which of course has a hell of a lot of eyes on a global level, to really drive that purpose in the community as well.
What are some of the most important lessons you've learned about leadership as an entrepreneur, and how do you apply them within your team at The Edit LDN?
When you think about the layers of motivation, which typically centres around autonomy, mastery, cash and of course purpose, our job is really to fulfil all of that but also provide the right amount of challenge to activate the motivation for the guys on the team. Then of course, my job is really about focusing on the vision and mission. You’ll be familiar with things like £10 tasks, £50 tasks, £100 and so on, and I very much focus on that top end of the tunnel, while Millie, our CEO, focuses on that operational excellence. I mention that because it’s about systemising and process which is how we’ve managed to grow the business 500% or 600% year on year since launch.
Are there any particular industry-wide changes or challenges that you hope to address or overcome with The Edit LDN?
The female component is a huge thing in the market, as well as sustainability. We actually became the first global platform to donate sustainably with every single sale that goes through our platform. Since we’ve launched the initiative, we’ve taken 650,000 kilos of plastic out of the oceans. We then build a pre-loved marketplace where we take professional soccer players’ wardrobes and drop them onto our marketplace to bring that sustainability angle to what we’re doing and really drive that back.
Where will your ambition take you next?
In 2029 we’ll be a billion dollar company.
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