A latest delivery app in the Big Apple charges $5 to deliver branded clothing to shoppers’ doors in 50 minutes – and its fashion-obsessed couriers are proposing to attend while customers try on their purchases.
Launched in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2021, Ole (no accent on the ‘e’ but still pronounced ‘o-lay’) has signed deals with around 10 boutiques in Manhattan – including Atelier, Cynthia Rowley, Kirna Zabete and Simkhai .
App couriers who ride bikes around town and drive cars around town deliver dresses, jeans, bags and shoes with staff who may even give their opinion on the fit.
“These are suppliers who’re into fashion,” co-founder Gal Aharon told The Post. “Half of them are women and a few are fashion students at FIT” or models, added Aharon.
The so-called try-and-buy service quietly launched about five months ago in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, also expanding to Long Island and parts of Recent Jersey, where it guarantees same-day delivery inside three hours from 6am to 9pm: 00 to 21:00.
One recent shipment was delivered to a Manhattan coffee shop where two young women ordered several bags, kept one and sent the opposite back to a courier.
![Delivery worker Ole on a bicycle, with a backpack.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011000603.jpg?w=684)
One other customer in Hoboken ordered several dresses from Nili Lotan on Duane Street in Tribeca for the Met Gala last week, after consulting a courier on which dress looked best.
Ole makes money from every product sold on its platform, and retailers give the corporate a percentage of sales, Aharon said. The typical Ole deal is around $400.
While other retailers offer same-day delivery, including Net-a-Porter, which costs $25, none promise a window as short as 50 minutes or return unwanted items locally.
![Shipment delivered to the customer's door.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011000605.jpg?w=684)
For retailers, this service is an advantage for his or her most frequent customers and reduces the variety of returns in addition to the time beneficial merchandise is just not in the shop for another person to purchase.
“It is a sales driver for us,” said Sofia Ajodan, vice chairman of merchandising and sales at Simkhai, which has a boutique in SoHo and ships to its top customers via Ole.
Furthermore, she said, “A typical return to store can take two weeks, which is critical sales time that we lose.”
Deliveries, who wear black Ole logo T-shirts and Ole branded backpacks, are expected to attend as much as quarter-hour outside the apartment constructing and are summoned by the shopper once they have finished checking their purchases.
It’s rare for Ole to send a notification letting a customer know their quarter-hour are up, Aharon said.
“Persons are generally aware that somebody is waiting,” she added.
But supplier employees are instructed not to go away until customers have signed the transaction, either kept the products or sent the part back to the shop.
![A woman opening a box and presenting a dress.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011000612.jpg?w=684)
All goods are delivered boxed and the dresses are steamed in the shop before being neatly folded in a package for a brief journey.
“I used to be surprised that the supplier was waiting for a return,” said Ajodan.
“Delivery employees don’t look skinny,” she added. “It’s like an Uber Black driver” who arrives in luxury cars.
Customers only pay for what they keep – plus a $5 delivery fee. But in the event that they select to not try on clothes straight away – like about 40% of Ole’s customers – they’re charged for the complete order until they call Ole to choose up the items they don’t need.
![Ole founders Gal Aharon, Alon Hendelman and Omar Hendelman.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011006359.jpg?w=905)
Other than the low delivery fee, suppliers are Ole’s biggest differentiator in a crowded field – they usually’re thoroughly vetted in two face-to-face interviews.
“We ask them in the event that they are service-oriented, interested in fashion, and we give them specific scenarios to see how they respond,” Aharon said.
Aharon expects Ole to sign deals with around 50 retailers by the tip of the 12 months – but not Chanel and Gucci from the fashion world.
“It’s going to take a while to bring them back to the fold,” she said.