Jessie Jiang New York is among the leading US-based fashion shops on the Taobao division of Chinese retailing giant Alibaba. Via the Taobao app, we sell apparel, accessories, cosmetics and other lifestyle products to Chinese consumers, virtually all of whom buy in real-time during live-stream events. On average, each event (think Home Shopping Network Unplugged) attracts 50,000 viewers and generates $20,000 in sales. While our sales events can be held at any conceivable venue, they’re most frequently staged at our live-stream studio in Monroe, CT, as well as at partner-brand stores, designers’ studios and trade shows. Importantly, our partner brands incur zero expenses: JJNY simply brings tens of thousands of virtual customers to the event and, shortly after it wraps, we pay our partners in full for the total items sold.
JJNY is a New York State corporation founded in 2012 by Jessie Jiang Recchia. From its launch through 2016, the company’s sole operation was Ann’s Fashion New York, a Taobao store that chiefly sold women’s footwear. In 2015, JJNY moved its headquarters from New York City to Trumbull, CT. And by 2016, the company had grown to $750,000 in annual sales, while boasting 60,000 fans. In 2017, JJNY expanded into live-stream video, launching a daily shopping and lifestyle show. Within nine months, our fan base had skyrocketed to more than 400,000. The company also expanded its product offerings to include such brands as Hermès, Fendi, Miu Miu, Coach, Elie Tahari, Michael Kors, Burberry, and Columbia Sportswear, as well as niche offerings like Welden handbags, Superga shoes, Terez leggings, Ioma cosmetics and Fallon jewelry.
President
Jessie Jiang Recchia moved to the US in 2003, where she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She grew up in China’s Zhejiang Province, which boasts a rich history of fashion design and today remains a hub of the nation’s textile industry. After studying at FIT, Jessie spent four years working for American apparel companies in the heart of New York’s Fashion District. In 2009, she had her first child, and a year later co-founded her first Taobao store, which specialized in beauty and nutrition. In 2011, she opened her own Taobao store, Ann’s Fashion New York, which specialized in women’s apparel, with a focus on Steve Madden and Nine West footwear. Six years later, she expanded her sales efforts by launching a daily shopping and lifestyle show on the Taobao Livestream platform. Today she hosts an average of six three-hour shows per week.
CEO
Philip Recchia is a media veteran who has worked for NBC, News Corp., Wenner Media and Reader’s Digest. From 1994 to 1998, he served as director of special on-air projects for CNBC, where he conceived its first-ever documentary, The Story of Wall Street; shepherded Maria Bartiromo to star status; and created Student Stock Tournament, which netted $3 million in revenue in Year 2. In 1999, he co-created JAGfn, the world’s first webcast TV network. After that he was a reporter for the New York Post, producer for Fox News Channel, and writer for Us Weekly magazine. From 2008 to 2011, he was director of programming for BlogTalkRadio, the world’s largest social radio network. While at BlogTalkRadio in 2009, he produced a live White House address from Barack Obama on health care reform, marking the first time ever a US president hosted a podcast. Philip joined JJNY as CEO in 2016.