Raissa Gerona On The Success Of Revolve’s $1.5 Billion IPO, #Revolveawards And The Next Decade.

Influencer trips, festivals and red carpet awards weren’t always the glimmering face of Revolve. The brand has been in the making since 2003. Raissa Gerona, Revolve’s Chief Brand Officer, partnered with the founders of Revolve, Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas, in 2009 to build Lovers and Friends after she had to shut down her own clothing line due to the recession. In 2015, Revolve purchased Alliance Apparel which Lovers and Friends was housed under bringing Gerona in house as well. Before anyone even knew what an influencer was, Gerona took on the role of implementing their now famed influencer strategies. Some of those famed strategies that Gerona spear headed included #Revolvearoundtheworld, #Revolvefestival and the #Revolveawards.

“The experiential things we have done and created has built brand equity for the customer by inspiring them and showing them how to wear all the products on the site in real life along with building a community on social, but I think that the brand equity stretches beyond the customers to the brands we carry and the influencers we work with,” says Gerona on how their brand equity has built a community. “We started working with the world’s biggest influencers which created a community of influencers that want to be involved in what we are doing. They not only promote the brand, but they themselves are fans and actual customers of Revolve.”

With the success that came from working with influencers, Gerona was inspired to give credit where credit was due with the #Revolveawards. “Even until this day influencers are not given enough credit for what they have been able to do. People undermine influencers as someone who puts an outfit on and just takes photos, but they are small business owners. Most of them are their own stylist, art director, creative director, model, publisher, editor and manage the business side of things of their brand. They have transformed our culture and our business. It was a way to celebrate everyones hard work and to really honor our network of brand partners and entrepreneurs. This past year, I had such a pinch me moment to see so many people there supporting each other!” exclaimed Gerona.

The 2019 #Revolveawards was hosted by TV personality Morgan Stewart to celebrate the year’s most revolutionary talent in the influencer, fashion, and music spheres. Each outstanding talent took home REVOLVE’s prestigious marble “R” trophy. Celebrity Amber Valetta presented close friend Rosie Huntington-Whiteley the Icon of the Year award, while Paris Hilton presented the Trailblazer of the Year award to friend and model Winnie Harlow.  

It has been quite a year for Gerona and the Revolve founders as they completed their IPO this past June. “The IPO process took a good two years to complete. The founders have ran the company so well for the past 16 years and have always had the vision to be a forever brand. We are unique in the sense we want to be a unicorn that lasts forever not a unicorn that keeps raising absurd amounts of money until there’s an exit,” explained Gerona. In the past 16 years of doing business, Revolve has only taken on one outside investor, TSG Consumer Partners, which put up $50 million for a 34% stake.

The IPO has given Revolve the flexibility to grow into the next decade. “We plan to continue to foster the community that we have built with our influencers and hone in on the full lifestyle of our customer. We have done an incredible job of being the go-to for Vegas, brunch, weddings and vacations. The next wave is encompassing her whole lifestyle whether that be activewear or what she wears to work. We are rolling different events and activations that brings that to life,” shared Gerona. Revolve will also continue to produce capsule collections with their longtime influencers such as their collections with Aimee Song and Camila Coelho. As far expanding into brick-and-mortar in next five to ten years, the team at Revolve is open, but don’t have any set plans as they want to ensure the culture they have created can translate into a store experience. “If we open a store want to make sure we do it better. As we aren’t a traditional retailer, we can’t just open a store as people come to Revolve to connect with and share with their friends. So we have to figure out what that looks like and how we can extend that experience beyond our site and Instagram into real life,” said Gerona.