Inside Quince’s Quest to Sell Luxury Goods for Less

Summary

Inside Quince’s Quest to Sell Luxury Goods for Less

Podcast: The Journal.
Hosts: Jessica Mendoza, Ryan Knutson
Guest/Reporter: Javi Lieber
Date: December 1, 2025

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Overview

This episode explores the meteoric rise of Quince, an e-commerce company offering affordable versions of luxury essentials—from cashmere sweaters to Italian leather purses. Hosts Jessica Mendoza and reporter Javi Lieber unpack how Quince wins over Millennial and Gen Z shoppers with high-touch marketing, proprietary tech, and a "dupe" strategy, while also examining the criticisms and legal scrutiny the company draws for copying design "trade dress," and questions about its quality.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Quince Phenomenon

• Quince’s Approach: Sells everything from clothes to homewares, targeting everyday essentials that feel luxurious (e.g., silk shirts, cashmere sweaters, Italian leather purses) at prices far below traditional luxury brands.
• “It has that aesthetic that millennials find irresistible. There's a lot of beige, a lot of brown, a lot of neutrals. They make the things that you could see folding into your everyday life.” (Javi Lieber, 00:42)

2. Explosive Growth & Market Strategy

• Rapid Expansion: $1.1 billion in annual revenue and a $4.5 billion valuation in just 7 years ([02:03], [02:18]).
• Highly Visible Marketing: Quince’s digital ads dominate social media and search, meticulously targeting women ages 25 to 55.
• Aggressive Targeting Experience:
  • “Anytime I search for a new thing, I feel like Quince gets served up to me.” (Jessica Mendoza, 04:18)
  • “In my product shopping experience… there it is.” (Javi Lieber, 05:26)
• Sophisticated Digital Strategy: Uses proprietary technology to scrape web data about bestselling items across luxury brands, analyzes customer reviews, and rapidly prototypes their own versions ([06:15]–[07:53]).

3. The “Dupe” Business Model

• What’s a Dupe? The episode distinguishes between “dupes”—inspired, non-identical cheaper alternatives—and outright counterfeits.
• Quince’s Transparency: Comparison charts on product pages openly list competing brands and highlight price differences.
  • “Quince sells theirs for $79.90. And on Ugg's website, the boots that look the most similar are $190.” (Jessica Mendoza, 14:37)

4. Tech Roots & Supply Chain Innovation

• Founder Story: CEO Sid Gupta, with a tech and finance background, was inspired by the lower prices of luxury goods in India ([08:19]–[08:58]).
• Bullwhip Effect: Streamlining the supply chain—from manufacturer direct to consumer—is key to slashing prices:
  • “The pricing in the west is really marked up because of the supply chain logistics… the more people you have in the supply chain, the prices hike up.” (Javi Lieber, quoting Gupta, 08:58)
• Direct-to-Consumer DNA: Launched in 2018 at the height of the DTC (direct-to-consumer) boom.

5. Quality, Customer Loyalty, & Criticism

• Product Quality Questions: Some shoppers complain of pilling sweaters, scratchy linen, and color-bleeding handbags ([17:21]).
  • “They use less fabric or it's not the best sewing… you're paying for what you get because the price difference is in where they are cutting corners.” (Javi Lieber, quoting an apparel expert, 17:49)
• Quince’s Defense: CEO says poor items are pulled and that customer complaints trigger immediate outreach ([18:08]).

6. Legal & Ethical Challenges

• Trade Dress Lawsuits: Quince has been sued for allegedly copying recognizable designs, such as Ugg boots, and for misleading advertising in product comparisons (e.g., lawsuits by Deckers Brands, Tapestry, and Williams Sonoma, [15:22]–[16:33]).
• Court Outcome: In the Ugg case, the judge ruled in favor of Quince, determining the Ugg boot designs were generic and not protected by trade dress ([16:21]).

7. Consumer Trends and Brand Challenges

• Rising “Dupe Culture”: Economic uncertainty, social media, and declining brand loyalty drive shoppers toward quality alternatives at better prices.
  • “People are no longer loyal to brands… even wealthy people are trading down.” (Javi Lieber, 18:33)
• A Copycat Paradox: The dupe model is itself dupe-able—Quince’s dominance makes it a target for imitation.
  • “Quince can definitely get quinced… I was pitched these other websites… and it's a dupe of Quince.” (Javi Lieber, 19:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Quince aesthetic:

  • “There's a lot of beige, a lot of brown, a lot of neutrals.” (Javi Lieber, 00:42)

• On the power of digital marketing:

  • “Anytime I search for a new thing, I feel like Quince gets served up to me.” (Jessica Mendoza, 04:18)

• On Quince’s tech disruption:

  • “This company is more of a tech brand than a fashion brand.” (Javi Lieber, 08:09)

• On trade dress lawsuits:

  • “The court ruled in favor of Quince… that these Ugg designs… were actually considered generic and not protectable.” (Javi Lieber, 16:21)

• On the risk of being “Quinced”:

  • “Quince can definitely get quinced… and it's a dupe of Quince.” (Javi Lieber, 19:23)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction to Quince & Its Style: [00:05]–[01:27]
• Revenue and Growth Stats: [02:03]–[02:18]
• Marketing Dominance & Shopper Experience: [04:18]–[06:15]
• Proprietary Tech & Product Development: [06:15]–[08:09]
• CEO Background/Founding Story: [08:19]–[09:29]
• Business Model & DTC Context: [09:29]–[10:42]
• Web Traffic and Competition: [10:51]–[11:19]
• Dupes, Comparisons, and Design Lawsuits: [12:42]–[16:33]
• Product Quality Concerns: [17:21]–[18:08]
• Shifts in Consumer Behavior: [18:27]–[19:09]
• Reflections on Competitors & the “Quinced” Threat: [19:09]–[20:21]

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Conclusion

Inside Quince’s Quest to Sell Luxury Goods for Less delivers a comprehensive look at how Quince leverages technology, supply chain efficiency, and aggressive marketing to capitalize on today’s trends in frugal yet style-savvy shopping. As the brand navigates rapid growth, lawsuits, and scrutiny of its quality and originality, it stands as a symbol of both innovation and controversy in the modern retail landscape. As Javi Lieber notes, “the dupes can get duped and Quince can get quinced”—a reminder that disruption is always a moving target.

Transcript

[Jessica Mendoza]

It's Cyber Monday, and if your inbox is anything like mine, you've gotten dozens and dozens of emails from companies all claiming to have great deals for holiday shopping. One of the emails I got is from a brand that I've been a customer of for a while now. It's called Quince.

[Javi Lieber]

Can someone explain to me what the Quince brand is? Has anyone ordered from Quince? Have you guys heard of Quince? Quince is a website that makes very fashionable and very trendy essentials.

[Jessica Mendoza]

That's our colleague Javi Lieber. She covers fashion and culture and has been reporting on Quinn's.

[Javi Lieber]

It has that aesthetic that millennials find irresistible. There's a lot of beige, a lot of brown, a lot of neutrals, a lot of neutrals. They make the things that you could see folding into your everyday life.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Quinn's sells all kinds of products, from bed linens to furniture to clothes. The idea is everyday essential that feel luxe. Think silk shirts, cashmere sweaters, and Italian leather purses.

[Javi Lieber]

And, you know, they sort of market and package their products in a way where you feel like, yes, this is the thing that I'm looking for, and this is what I need.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Quint's products mirror best selling luxury items from other popular brands, but they cost way less. Javi saw that concept in action at Quint's headquarters.

[Javi Lieber]

So I went out to San Francisco in September to go to the Quint's offices there. And I sat on a cream Quint's couch, and it looked like Restoration Hardware. And there was racks of sweaters that looked like they could be from, you know, pick your mall brand. And a candle burning on the coffee table that looked like something that I had maybe had seen at a luxury department store once, but it wasn't it. You know, so it all seems like very familiar, but at the same time, it is Quint's.

[Jessica Mendoza]

And how successful has Quint been?

[Javi Lieber]

This company has grown enormously. It now brings in $1.1 billion in annual revenue. And over the summer, they did a round of funding, and they were valued at $4.5 billion.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Havi says that's pretty impressive for a company that's only seven years old. But Quince's rise has come with criticism that it's at the top of a copycat kingdom, criticism that the company disagrees with.

[Javi Lieber]

They do not like to be called a copycat. Quinn says that their products are better than everyone else out there. That is the word that kept coming up over and over again when I was interviewing the CEO. You know, he said, we're better. We make everything better.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Monday, December 1st. Coming up on the show, how Quince rose to the top of the dupe industry.

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[Jessica Mendoza]

Even at a $4.5 billion valuation, Quince is still smaller than other major fashion brands. For instance, Gap Inc. Which owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, has a $10 billion market cap. Lululemon is worth over 20 billion. But quints makes itself extremely visible with the goal of grabbing shoppers attention before they spend their money somewhere else. Javi I see quints everywhere. Like anytime I search for a new thing, I feel like quints gets served up to me. I'm trying to look for new boots. And of course, quints was one of the top search results.

[Javi Lieber]

That's because you are their target customer, as am I. Ah. Their target customer are women ages 25 to 55. And they are all over Instagram, they're all over TikTok. They're winning on search. You know, they're all over podcasts. Like they are following shoppers around the Internet. Okay, I have to be honest. Recently I did fall victim to some TikTok ads and some Instagram ads for the brand Quint. I've seen ads for years on years.

[Jessica Mendoza]

I finally bought some stuff.

[Javi Lieber]

I've been hearing about quints. Literally every time I listen to a podcast, they really, really win when it comes to searching. And in my product shopping experience, anything that I have looked for and browse for, there it is. Right over the summer, I was browsing a pair of black sandals from the Row and they were $900. And I mean, that was not gonna happen. So you Know, I went and was trying to look for something similar. And of course you had your classic J. Crew Banana Republic, someone at Nordstrom. And then there was Quince, selling the exact pair of sandals that I was looking for for 92% less than the row and even more than half off of what J. Crew wanted.

[Jessica Mendoza]

The combo of aggressive marketing and lower price points has really worked for Quince. And the company takes it a step further. It says it uses proprietary technology to study what shoppers search for and buy from other brands. And then Quince uses that information to sell a version of those products.

[Javi Lieber]

They have a very, very specific strategy for making what you want. They were a little bit vague in describing what this thing is, but basically they have built technology that essentially scrapes the web and it looks for a variety of things. It looks for what the best sellers are at other companies. So the chief merchandising officer, he told me they were looking at Laura Piana, Brunello, Cucinelli, Banana Republic, Todd Snyder, Jenny Kane. And then they're looking to see what are the best sellers at these brands. Some of that is actually easily accessible, but then some of it is a little bit more proprietary, which they would not get into. But I know that there is technology that you can sort of comb and find what the best sellers are. So they're combining all and they're crunching it, and then that determines what is the style that they wanna make.

[Jessica Mendoza]

And that is the real engine of Quince's business, the product pipeline, the constant hunt for the next hot item and making it available.

[Javi Lieber]

Quince says they use their technology to add in other layers, like customer reviews. So the technology will be pulling what people are saying about the product, like what do they want from the buttons and the hardware, where do they want the pockets to go and so on. And then Quince claims that they take this, they make their prototype of it, but they do it, quote, unquote, better.

[Jessica Mendoza]

This is like really fascinating because it's not just that they're advertising aggressively, it's that they are using technology to figure out what people are looking at elsewhere and using that as a guide for their product strategy.

[Javi Lieber]

Exactly. And in that way, I would say this company is more of a tech brand than a fashion brand.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Quinte does have its roots in tech. The company was co founded in Palo Alto by a former Wall street analyst. So you met Sid Gupta, the CEO. What is he like?

[Javi Lieber]

Yeah, he's, you know, in his mid-40s, he's a father of two. He was very self assured. He doesn't like to talk to press. He doesn't really give interviews very often. And I mean, it felt very much like I was interview someone in the tech world.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Gupta got his inspiration for Quince during a trip to India. While he was there, he noticed that things like quality bed linens and towels were so much cheaper compared to the.

[Javi Lieber]

US and the way Sid explained it to me was that the pricing in the west is really marked up because of the supply chain logistics. Right. In industry terms, it's called the bullwhip effect, where the more people you have in the supply chain, the prices hike up.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Gupta decided that the best way to slash prices was to streamline the supply chain. He teamed up with his wife and two others and set up a company that could ship products directly to consumers from manufacturers, mostly in Asia. Quince officially launched in 2018.

[Javi Lieber]

This is very much the height of the direct to consumer boom. You know, you had all of these companies cutting out the middleman, cutting out the department store, et cetera. And they're promising that they are going to offer you a better price because they're cutting out retailer. So this company was part of this, you know, big boom of grabbing digital shoppers.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Another way that Quince keeps its prices low is by making products that have staying power for customers. According to Gupta, this helps them sell 100% of what they produce.

[Javi Lieber]

So the cashmere that they make this season, if they don't sell it, they can sell it next year, they can sell it the year after. And in typical fashion and retail, those costs like, you know, promotions, discounts, items that they can't sell, items that they have to offload to TJ Maxx or whoever, all of those costs are baked into the price that you pay for at the mall. But because Quince allegedly says that they don't have to eat any of these costs, they're able to provide a lower price to the shopper.

[Jessica Mendoza]

So there's a lot of kind of taking out pieces that would add more to the final sticker price.

[Javi Lieber]

Yes.

[Jessica Mendoza]

So far, Quince has continued to grow quickly. Gupta told Javi that Quince's web traffic has surged past other bigger retailers.

[Javi Lieber]

Quince gets 28 million monthly visits, and Lululemon gets 25.8 million monthly visits. So they have surpassed Lululemon.

[Jessica Mendoza]

It's really surprising in some ways, because I do feel like Lululemon is very much a household name brand at this point, where I don't know that Quinte is like even talking about your story with other people on my team, especially the men they were like, what is this? I've never heard of it.

[Javi Lieber]

Yes, it's definitely up and coming.

[Jessica Mendoza]

But Quince's red hot business model has its share of skeptics, including some of the brands that inspired the company's best selling lookalikes. And they've taken their complaints to court. That's next. Coca Cola for the big, for the small, the short and the tall. Peacemakers. Risk takers for the optimists, pessimists for long distance love for introverts and extroverts. The thinkers and the doers for old friends and new Coca Cola for everyone. Pick up some Coca Cola at a store near you.

[Javi Lieber]

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[Jessica Mendoza]

Part of Quince's success has to do with a growing interest from shoppers to find affordable alternatives to luxury brands.

[Javi Lieber]

I think that it points to economic uncertainty. People don't want to spend as much on products anymore, especially if they know that there's other stuff out there for less. Right. I think there's also just like, given the ease of online shopping, there's almost like a thrill to it.

[Jessica Mendoza]

On social media, these cheaper alternatives are often called dupes.

[Javi Lieber]

I saved so much money this year by buying dupes instead of their actual high end alternatives and I need to share them with you. If I told you these were lululemon.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Would you believe me? Because they're dumb.

[Javi Lieber]

I think that we have reached such peak dupe culture now that people are kind of proud of it. You know, if you go on TikTok, there are just like thousands of dupe videos where people tell you where they found the best dupe for this bronzer, this moisturizer. Yes, these pair of boots.

[Jessica Mendoza]

To be clear, a dupe is not the same as a counterfeit. Dupes are cheaper versions of existing products and not necessarily perfect copies. Whereas a counterfeit is a knockoff that tries to pass as the real thing using another company's logos and branding. But I guess going back to Quint's, does quints make dupes?

[Javi Lieber]

Essentially, yes, I would say they do.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Quints resists the idea that it sells dupes but it actually tells you on its website what other brands its products are comparable to. So if you scroll down to the bottom of a Quince product page, you'll see a comparison chart. If you were looking at a cashmere sweater, for example, the company will name other brands with similar cashmere sweaters and it'll point out how much the shopper can save by buying from Quince. Instead, let's use a real thing as an example. Quince sells this Australian shearling mid calf boots. That's what they call it.

[Javi Lieber]

I'm also looking at those boots.

[Jessica Mendoza]

They look a lot like Uggs.

[Javi Lieber]

Sure do.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Quince sells theirs for 79.90. And on Ugg's website, the boots that look the Most similar are $190.

[Javi Lieber]

Mm. And not only are they, you know, more than double the price, but if you go to the Quint's website, they will shamelessly compare their boots to Ugg boots.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Yes.

[Javi Lieber]

And will tell you that allegedly the quince boots are 100% Australian shearling lining and Ugg is not. And that they also have added all of these elements, which I was explaining to you before. They are combing the web for feedback. They've added this non slip rubber outsole, which they say Ugg doesn't have. And apparently boots are water repellent. And Uggs are not. Allegedly.

[Jessica Mendoza]

In 2023 Deckers Brands, which is the company that owns Ugg, sued Quince. It alleged that Quince had infringed on something called the trade dress of Ugg shoe designs. What is trade dress?

[Javi Lieber]

Okay, so it's hard to get a trademark on a fashion design. So a copyright law will protect a pattern or a logo, but not like a functional element. And have a trade dress, which means like the look and feel of an item.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Think about a product that's really connected to a brand, like the Coca Cola bottle. Any company can make a bottled soda, but that shape is protected by trade dress, meaning other companies can't use it. So from Decker's point of view, how did Decker Brands argue that Quince infringed on their trade dress?

[Javi Lieber]

Well, they said that their item is confusing to shoppers and that it looks and feels like Uggs.

[Jessica Mendoza]

And what did the judge decide?

[Javi Lieber]

Basically, the court ruled in favor of Quince. And they said that these Ugg designs, like that short boot, there was another boot, like an ultra mini boot, that these were actually considered generic and they were not protectable.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Other companies have sued Quince too. Tapestry, the parrot company for Coach and Kate Spade, has a pending lawsuit that claims Quince infringed on the trade dress of two of its handbags. And then last month, Williams Sonoma, the premium homeware and kitchen brand, also sued Quinn's, citing concerns about its comparison charts and alleging false advertising. During their conversation earlier this fall, Quinn CEO Sid Gupta told Havi that the practice of comparative advertising is, quote, perfectly legal. Another criticism that Quince gets is about the quality of its products. Javi spoke to a dozen Quince shoppers, and while many of them loved the brand's prices, some also complained that the products weren't quite up to snuff.

[Javi Lieber]

I had talked to people who said, you know, the sweater's pilled. I heard a lot of people complain about the quality of some linen. Someone told me they said it felt scratchy. I talked to someone who said, like, they had worn a handbag that looked really, really beautiful, but then they wore, and then, like, the dye just, like, bled onto their shirt. So sort of like indicating lower quality.

[Jessica Mendoza]

One apparel expert that Javi spoke with said that some of Quince's savings are likely happening in production.

[Javi Lieber]

In her opinion, she felt for some of the products, they use less fabric or it's not the best sewing. She felt like some of the seams were puckering, and she felt like. Like you're paying for what you get because the price difference is in where they are cutting corners.

[Jessica Mendoza]

What does Quince say about this?

[Javi Lieber]

The CEO claims that they definitely do not lower standards and that if something has low ratings or people complain, then they pull it. It's also worth noting that a lot of the people that I interviewed who complained about the products said that Quince reached out to them right away.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Javi, what does Quint's success tell you, especially about what consumers want today?

[Javi Lieber]

Yeah, well, I think, first and foremost, I think that people are no longer loyal to brands. They want a cashmere sweater. I don't think they care if it's J. Crew or Quince. You know, they want the best price. And, you know, I'm someone. I'm constantly talking to shoppers, and I have found that even wealthy people are trading down. You know, everybody is worried about the economy. Everybody is worried about global trade and the state of the world, and they don't want to be spending on luxury prices, which, by the way, have skyrocketed.

[Jessica Mendoza]

But could Quince get Quinced? Like, is there a worry that somebody else might, you know, dupe quints or copy their strategy and make something that's even cheaper and better?

[Javi Lieber]

Absolutely. Quints can definitely get quinced. I will say that in doing my reporting because the algorithm had seen that I was looking at quint so much. Subsequently I was pitched these other websites that make fashionable items. I saw tons of ads for like really beautiful dresses and leather bags and it said like Balenciaga but half the price. And it wasn't Quint, it was somebody else. And it's a dupe of quints. And I just thought that was so wild. So to answer your question, yes, the dupes can get duped and quints can get quinced. But this company has quite a bit of funding behind it and they have a team of over 200 engineers. So it doesn't seem like they're asleep at the wheel.

[Jessica Mendoza]

That's all for today. Monday, December 1 the Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. If you like our show, follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're out every weekday afternoon. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.