By Ina Paiva Cordle
Living in New York and working for luxury brands, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (pictured at right) loved to shop sample sales with her friend, Alexis Maybank, where they could nab amazing designer steals at 80 percent off retail. Wouldn’t it be nice, they thought, if friends in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami could have access to such great deals, too?
So, with three other executives, they founded Gilt Groupe, an e-commerce company, and in November 2007 launched what is considered the nation’s first and largest luxury lifestyle flash sale site.
“We sell high-end fashion for women, men and kids, food, wine, hotels, experiences,” said Wilson, who is now head of national sales for Gilt City. “Our prices are fantastic, and we spend a lot of time curating what we are offering our members. We really have to believe in it.”
Wilson, who has co-written the book By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, will be in Miami on Tuesday to speak at the Commonwealth Institute South Florida’s 9th Annual Leadership Luncheon at Jungle Island. “I hope to inspire this wonderful group of women in Miami to think about innovation and creativity and think about technology,” said Wilson, 35.
Jodi Cross, executive director of the Commonwealth Institute South Florida, said Wilson’s tale of building her brand is just what her membership of primarily women entrepreneurs and senior executives want to hear.
“She has a really compelling story about being a pioneer in building a business in the online world, and was one of the first people to bring a whole business to that platform with the Gilt Groupe,” Cross said. “We like to bring in speakers who have done it and can tell their story about the lessons learned along the way.”
Miami has played a big part in Wilson’s life. Though she grew up in New York, her mother is Cuban, and she has family here. As a child, she spent summers in Key Biscayne. What’s more, Wilson was engaged on the beach here, and was married at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. She said she still spends at least six weeks a year here, and calls Key Biscayne her “happy place.”
Prior to founding Gilt, Wilson oversaw retail operations at Bulgari, managing 15 North American stores. Before that, she managed leather goods sales planning for Louis Vuitton. She began her career working for three years in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, predominantly based in London. In between, she got an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she reconnected with Maybank, who went on to work at eBay.
Today, Gilt has 1,000 employees, more than five million members, and ships to 100 countries around the world.
More information: The Commonwealth Institute South Florida is holding its 9th Annual Leadership Luncheon, featuring: A Conversation with Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, founder of Gilt Groupe, head of national sales for Gilt City, and co-author of “By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop,” from noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Tickets are $125 for members; $150 for non-members. For more information, visit http://www.commonwealthinstitute.org or call 305-799-6547.