When Natalie Massenet was trying to raise money for her Internet start-up, Net-a-Porter, a luxury online fashion boutique, no one was interested. “People were throwing millions of pounds at almost any web company then. But they heard ' women' and 'fashion' and 'Internet' and said those words didn't go together, " says Ms. Massenet.
But Net-a-Porter, founded in 2000, can now claim to be “the world's first truly global luxury fashion retailer". It doubles its revenues every year, and sales are now at ￡ 37 million. It has a distribution centre in London and one in New York, and employs almost 300 people. The web store attracts an average of 90 new customers a day from 101 countries and regions (including Fiji and Greenland), who each spends an average of ￡ 400.
According to Forrester Research, luxury brands “won't survive without an online sales channel". Over 40 million Europeans buy clothes online, and this number will continue to increase.Experts predict it will grow to over 70 million by 2015.

Why is it difficult for Natalie Massenet to raise money for her Internet start-up?