MyFab

If there is, as they tell us, a revolution under way, then do you know this already? Do you feel it already? Do you see it?

From my point of view, one of the clearest, cleanest and most appealing concepts that tie in all the key areas of new-wave business, and that I have seen appear recently, is the really rather fabulous MyFab concept.

However, before you click on the link and whizz over to their site, there is one rather substantial issue, which I see very regularly, but which is very disappointing to see from a group of people who are obviously otherwise very switched on.

Frenchness. As in the unbelievable ability that the French have, to consider themselves an island apart from the rest of the world. This is one of my personal pet hates, and probably something that I’ll revisit elsewhere, and in more depth. For now just be aware that what you are going to do is go to a .com address that is (as far as I’m aware, there could be some clever geo-localisation going on that I am not fully unaware of) a site entirely in French.

Rant over. Let’s talk about the concept itself, as it really is rather superb.

The thinking behind this company is well explained on the site (in French…) and is built around the concept of customers voting for and then ordering products that MyFab then manufacture. Visitors to the site are asked to vote for the products they want to see made, and once a certain number of products have been pre-ordered, production itself gets under way in the Asian factories, and the goods are shipped to Europe.

Obviously the most visible, and the most attractive, part of this deal from the consumer’s point of view, is that the prices become incredibly competitive. By stripping out every unneeded a layer of margin from their pricing calculations, they end up offering the consumer anything up to 70% discount from what would otherwise be that products MSRP.

What especially intriguing at me about this entire concept, is that surrounding it there is this sense of community that has been created. Though I should point out it’s probably not the doing of the site owners themselves. Instead I’ve been seeing customers talking about MyFab on Facebook (where they advertise pretty heavily) and sending e.mails “have you seen this? I’m going to order, are you?”

It appears that community doesn’t really seem to have been maximised on the site in its current incarnation, but is I would imagine something that is bound to happen in a future update. In the meantime they have customers advertising their products, which are all pre-sold upon docking, potentially no sales drop-out and some innovative products your’e unlikely to ever find on the high street.

Me? I “ummed” just a little too long and missed out my personal favourite.