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A vintage seller, TV personality and former Home Shopping Network (HSN) host based in Los Angeles, Christos Garkinos is very well-known in certain luxury circles. He’s sold wealthy clients things like a $160,000 Hermès Himalayan Birkin, new-with-tags pieces from Phoebe Philo’s Celine, pricey haircare products by Hollywood stylist Chris McMillan, skincare from Dr. Diamond Metacine, sandals and handbags from celebrity stylist Anita Patrickson’s brand Amanu and breezy printed resort wear from LA designer Natalie Martin.
It’s all done over live stream, on his Covet by Christos platform, which has become a leading live shopping vehicle in the West, where the format is still underdeveloped compared to Asia.
Covet by Christos, which he launched on Instagram Live in 2020 just after the pandemic forced stores to shut down, has generated $200 million in sales to date, with some customers spending up to $2 million a year. Garkinos and his team of hosts stream 10 hours a day.
Now, Garkinos is expanding his reach with a new full-priced vertical, called CBC Discover, which will grow his business while also giving emerging brands a new sales outlet as multi-brand retailers struggle. The full-price category of the business is projected to account for 10% of sales in 2026, and will soon incorporate home goods, too. It’s all part of his plan to create “the Netflix of shopping” with an upgraded Covet by Christos website rolling out in December and eventually a native app.
“When you open up the screen, you will see all these things bubbling. And if you’re a size 42 shoe, you’re gonna go to that show, and if you want a Chanel bag, you’re gonna go to that show. We want to bring joy to every part of your life,” he says.
Expanding an empire
Garkinos co-founded famed LA vintage emporium DecadesTwo in 1999 and spent years cleaning out the closets of the rich and famous, becoming famous enough himself to land a short-lived Bravo reality TV show and a stint as a HSN seller. Along the way, he’s gathered many Hollywood stories and celebrity friends, including Garcelle Beauvais, Kathy Hilton, Marysol Patton, and other Real Housewives cast members who have been loyal supporters of Covet by Christos and appeared on his shows.
In 2020, during Covid, he started reselling designer bags on Instagram Live, quickly garnering interest from other dealers. He brought some of their stock onto his shows, charging a 20-30% commission on the sales. Garkinos now works with 20 regular vendors around the world who gross as much as $5 million annually, and said there is a 250-person waiting list to get on the platform, which still operates on Instagram.
“They know there’s the backing of the CBC network when they buy something, and that we authenticate things from a vintage standpoint. And with Discover, they like that we’re bringing on brands that they really haven t heard about,” he said of his customers, whose average cart size is $1,100.
For Discover (which has featured Anemos swimwear, The Kno casual travel wear, Partlow cowboy boots, and Classic Six elevated basics), Garkinos looks for under-the-radar brands, a compelling founder story that can be shared on the show, and product that’s filling a need in the closets of his customers — the perfect T-shirt to wear under vintage jackets, for example, or easy clothes to wear on vacation. He also pays attention to what’s in demand on CBC resale shows, which are often larger sizes, and works with brands that can bring the right assortment.
“I ask designers for bestsellers or what they have in stock that we can help them move, or things we can get on pre-order that no one else has. I know what our community likes,” he said. “If they stop at a size 8, they’re not coming on. I shy away from too-sexy shoes. And when [my customers] are used to buying $5,000 or $10,000 handbags, when handbags are $700, they’ll take 10,” he said of the appeal of a contemporary price point.
Amanu, which sells accessories handcrafted by African artisans, has done three shows — including one live from Le Meurice during Paris Fashion Week — and each one has gotten bigger in sales volume. The bestseller has been the $725 Tokai sculptural wooden clutch. “That’s a specialty bag, and it sold like crazy,” said Amanu CEO Catherine Leavitt.
Personality-led selling
Garkinos has on-camera charisma and entertaining Hollywood stories, which helped him build community online and off. He has zeroed in on big spenders aged 40 and over, particularly in smaller, underserved US luxury markets such as Omaha, Nebraska and Detroit, Michigan.
He also delivers high-touch customer service, giving shoppers personalized recommendations and chatting about their personal lives during shows. And like other luxury purveyors, he engages in numerous IRL clienteling experiences globally, ranging from intimate charity fundraising dinners in customers’ homes to four-day shopping experiences in London, Paris and Dubai with visits to designer ateliers and vintage “Birkin Bazaars”.
“It’s a remarkable sense of community between the shoppers and Christos,” said Leavitt. “Before I watched, I hadn’t seen it done at this level and price point. He can sell an Hermès bag for $14,000 in three minutes.”
Live streaming, a popular selling format in Asia, has been slow to take off in the West because of lagging tech and consumer distrust of the medium, though that is changing with demographic shifts and increased engagement. Companies from Amazon, which streams shoppable content on Amazon Live, to Whatnot, which was valued at $5 billion in January, are working to bring it into the mainstream. But what keeps customers coming back to the Covet by Christos platform is the relationship he’s built with his community. Garkinos is close to securing his first outside investment and believes he can scale to a $1 billion business by upgrading his tech to reduce his reliance on Instagram Live and growing his product offerings.
“The downside of selling on TikTok and Whatnot is that you can’t really build community because you don t own the data,” said Garkinos. “If a brand is going to participate on the network, we want them to have a customer for life.”
Garkinos represents 20% of on-air minutes, going live from all corners of the globe to an average of 2,500 viewers per two-hour show, and his sales account for 40% of CBC’s total dollars. But he is building the network to thrive without him.
His roster of hosts includes a vintage Chanel expert, a stylist, a former fashion editor and an advertising executive. Each has a “different lane” to appeal to specific audiences, which is key, Garkinos said. One host sells at a faster pace, and another appeals to a younger, sexier audience, for example.
For emerging brands selling full-price product, such as base layer brand The Park and flower brooch maker Helena Simon, the network is yielding results to the tune of $100,000 in sales per hour-long show, with no returns allowed, and customer data included. They are also seeing live-stream shoppers convert to e-commerce shoppers. All of which is attractive during a time when recent retailer bankruptcies and mergers have highlighted just how much young brands need new selling outlets.
There are other advantages to the live-streaming format for emerging designers as well. “So much of our business is done through e-commerce, so having a direct dialogue with customers as they see your product — writing in the comments, ‘What’s the drop on that bag?’ or ‘Does it open wide enough?’ or ‘I like this but would like it better in leather’ — has been amazing,” Leavitt said of the feedback, adding that the thrill of limited inventory and the social dynamic of women cheering each other on helps drive sales.
“Customers want to feel like the founders are talking to them and making them feel important, making them part of the process, and that we’re helping them succeed,” said Garkinos of the storytelling aspect.
For designers not used to being on camera, it can take getting used to.
“I was mortified and sure I was going to flop,” said Natalie Martin of going live for the first time with her made-in-Bali printed silk shirts, skirts and dresses. “But Christos is so warm and gregarious, I was able to pick up on his energy, and that nervousness went away.”
Martin has been on CVC twice, selling more than 100 units each time. “We see a better margin than with a traditional wholesale partnership,” said brand president Louis Senofonte, adding that the way the collection was presented live, as outfits and looks, led to a bigger cart size.
“It really is the modern-day Home Shopping Network, and it would make sense that it’s off the television and on our phones because everything is.”
While he wouldn’t go so far as to call it a new sales channel — at least not yet — he does consider it a new marketing channel for verified customer acquisition. “We’re connecting with an entire audience we don’t normally connect with, who are learning about the brand. And then they want to shop it again, and that gets them into a store and onto our site. It’s a great way to break through the noise.”
Is jewellery ready for live streaming?
