London, 21 July 2010 — Sugar Inc. (SugarInc.com), the leading online women’s media company and parent to ShopStyle.co.uk, has announced the launch of its first social online game - PopSugar’s Retail Therapy. The game, available to play on Facebook, allows players to merchandise and design their own fashion boutiques and dress their characters in the hottest styles and brands.
The game debuts with a host of popular brands, including Topshop, Banana Republic, Barneys New York, Diane von Furstenberg, Gap, Juicy Couture and Tory Burch. Retail Therapy players are given a small and empty boutique, then challenged to stock their stores with clothing from PopSugar’s Retail Therapy brand partners and design their store layout. The virtual clothes are replicas of real items that players can buy directly from the retailer via ShopStyle.
By carrying the best fashions, players earn virtual money to customize their stores with stylized furnishings or grow their stores into giant department stores. In addition to running their own boutique, players can shop at their friends’ stores or stores hosted by brand-name retailers. Players can also download their personalized characters and outfits to social networking sites in order to share their style with their network of friends.
“Our goal is to constantly add innovative offerings that entertain and delight our large audience of women. We wanted to create an addictive game that would appeal to one of their greatest areas of passion — fashion. PopSugar’s Retail Therapy allows women to mix and match dream outfits from their favorite retailers and feel the experience of running their own high-end fashion boutique,” says Brian Sugar, founder and CEO of Sugar Inc.
“What is especially unique about PopSugar’s Retail Therapy is that we have integrated real brands and products into the game environment. All the products featured in the game are available for purchase. Within the game, players can link directly to retailers’ websites if they want to buy the products in real life. This level of brand integration simply does not exist in any other game.”
Sponsors can be involved in the game in a number of ways. Retailers can host in-game virtual stores or provide clothing from their current fashion lines for players’ characters to wear, order, and stock in their own boutiques. They can also sponsor in-store events, gift clothing to players, and introduce limited-availability items that will be coveted by players of the game.
To start, Banana Republic, Barneys New York, Diane von Furstenberg, Gap, Juicy Couture, Topshop, and Tory Burch have all provided virtual merchandise for the game. Diane von Furstenberg and Topshop also have in-game virtual stores that players can shop at.
“PopSugar’s Retail Therapy presents a very innovative way for us to engage with women online who love fashion,” said Meredith Fisher, digital media director at Diane von Furstenberg. “We are excited about the ability for players to link to our website directly from the game and purchase their favorite items. It’s an organic and seamless connection between the virtual world and the real world.”
For more information about PopSugar’s Retail Therapy please visit http://playretailtherapy.com. 
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For more information or images please contact Cherish PR on bonnie.smail@cherishpr.com
About Sugar Inc. Since being founded in 2006 by wife and husband Lisa and Brian Sugar, Sugar Inc.’s mission has been to entertain and delight its audience by producing insanely addictive content, unmatched shopping experiences, and a robust social community. Sugar Inc. is a leading international diversified women's media company with an audience of more than 16 million monthly unique visitors across three business segments: original content (PopSugar.com and PopSugar.tv), commerce (ShopStyle.com), and local (FreshGuide.com) with operations in the US, Europe, and Australia. Sugar Inc. is privately held and backed by world-class investor Sequoia Capital.
