MAY contents volume 56/number 9

COVERSTORY With digital technologies occupying increasing space in our minds and lives, it’s no surprise that many of this year’s award winners took honors for innovations in the areas of marketing and merchandising, or that a number aligned themselves with another big trend that is making waves as technology makes more things possible: mass one-to-one customization. We say kudos to all of Apparel’s innovators, who continue to move the industry forward in interesting and unexpected ways.

BY JORDAN K. SPEER, JESSICA BINNS AND DEENA M. AMATO-MCCOY Cover photography courtesy of Kokatat, Photo credit Jordy Searle

INNOVATOR ...... PAGE INNOVATOR ...... PAGE Acustom Apparel ...... 17 Kokatat ...... 42 Aerosoles ...... 10 Koos Manufacturing ...... 21 Ascena Retail Group ...... 38 L. L. Bean ...... 22 Betabrand ...... 18 Lands' End Business Outfitters . . .12 Brooks Brothers ...... 24 Macy's ...... 26 Buffalo Exchange ...... 34 Mitchells ...... 33 bumbrella ...... 37 Mizuno Running ...... 19 Canada Goose ...... 36 Mountain Equipment Co-op ...... 29 Chico's ...... 13 Performance Scrubs ...... 32 Dragon Crowd ...... 9 Rebecca Minkoff ...... 9 Everything But Water ...... 26 RG Barry ...... 41 Francesca's ...... 41 Stantt ...... 36 Garmatex ...... 17 SustainU ...... 33 Harry Rosen ...... 23 Timberland ...... 14 Hatley ...... 43 Topson Downs ...... 44 in the pink ...... 11 Twice as Nice Uniforms ...... 28 JustFab ...... 30 Under Armour ...... 21 Kathmandu ...... 20 Vestagen Technical Textiles ...... 15

TOP INNOVATOR SPONSORS BY JORDAN K. SPEER, JESSICA BINNS AND DEENA M. AMATO-MCCOY

With digital technologies occupying increasing space in our minds and lives, it’s no surprise that many of this year’s award winners took honors for innovations in the areas of marketing and merchandising, or that a number aligned themselves with another big trend that is making waves as technology makes more things possible: mass one-to-one customization. Our winners include a company that doesn’t produce a product until it pre-sells enough of the item to manufacture it, and another that inspired its customers with a study revealing the collective results that could accrue to the U.S. population – including, perhaps ironically, 14 billion fewer hours spent online – if everybody ran.

8 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com You’ll also find out about a dry suit that lets you disrobe halfway and a shapewear garment that doesn’t pose health risks. You’ll learn how several companies are transforming medical scrubs to meet modern- day needs, while many others are gaining deep insights into their supply chains — and getting closer to their customers — by dumping their legacy systems for connected systems that allow them to better harness the increasing mass of data available to them. We say kudos to all of Apparel’s innovators, who continue to move the industry forward in interesting and unexpected ways. Rebecca Minkoff New York, N.Y. | www.rebeccaminkoff.com

NOMINATED BY: eBay | www.ebayinc.com and Avery Dennison | www.rbis.averydennison.com

f, while watching Downton Abbey, you’ve the items shipped home, and even order Shoppers can also take their entire Iever slipped into a reverie in which you beverages. “fitting room” with them via the Rebecca have a lady’s maid who helps select and Inside fitting rooms, customers can Minkoff iOS mobile app, adding to their bring you your clothes, knows your per- continue to interact with connected mir- own personal profiles, while each store sonal preferences, adjusts your sur- rors to request assistance or other items, associate is equipped with a mobile com- roundings to suit you and generally makes save their items to mobile for later, check panion app to the fitting room and con- smooth the path of your day, well, Rebecca out and even change the lighting to bet- nected wall, which gives them full insight Minkoff just may help your dream come ter reflect the atmosphere in which they into customer requests, product details, true. plan to wear the garment, says creative and inventory across channels so that In an example of how our online and director and co-founder Rebecca Minkoff. they can quickly and easily provide assis- offline worlds are beginning to collide, (“SoHo after dark” is the current SoHo tance to customers. It also integrates into Rebecca Minkoff, designer and retailer store favorite.) the mobile POS, so that they can stream- of handbags, apparel and accessories, in Additionally, merchandise is equipped line the checkout process. November 2014 unveiled its “Connected with UHF RFID tags from Avery Den- After they leave the store, shoppers Store” in two locations, one in New York’s nison that allow dressing rooms to iden- can return merchandise easily across all SoHo neighborhood and one in San tify the merchandise when it is brought channels and learn more about products Francisco. The store used Connected in, enabling the store not only to keep they interacted with in the store; that same Glass and other technologies from eBay track of inventory in real time, but also trail of information is also available to to merge the experiences of shopping to provide a better customer experience, Rebecca Minkoff, which can now col- online and shopping in a brick-and-mor- says CEO and co-founder Uri Minkoff. lect information in-store about what cus- tar store via “Connected Walls” — over- From inside the dressing room, a cus- tomers browse, try on and buy, just as sized mirrored displays where customers tomer can find out, for example, what they do online. can view videos, browse content, request other sizes and colors are available in Sounds like a dream come true for items to be sent to fitting rooms, push the store, or receive recommendations the retailer, too. checkout to their mobile phone, have about complementary items, he says. — Jordan K. Speer Dragon Crowd Garment Inc. www.dragon-crowd.com | Costa Mesa, Calif.

NOMINATED BY: Self

n many Asian cultures, dragons — those mythical serpen- the box, choose the road less traveled and make differentia- Itine fire-breathing creatures — often are renowned for their tion from the competition a top priority — all important ingre- wisdom and longevity, and it’s just those two qualities that dients for a lengthy and productive showing in a notoriously have informed Dragon Crowd’s rapid evolution from its tra- cutthroat and corner-cutting industry. ditional apparel manufacturing roots into a vertically inte- “We asked our current customers, what could we do above grated, WRAP-certified producer of young men’s and women’s and beyond the scope of what we currently deliver as a apparel that now boasts a thriving research and development company?” says Jeff Marshall, marketing director for Dragon operation. It takes a healthy dose of wisdom to think outside Crowd, which operates four factories producing 1.8 million

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 9 TOP INNOVATORS

units monthly and owns three fabric mills, two for knits and one for wovens. “Across the board they asked for more fabrics, more design, more innovation through manufacturing.” Founded in 1998 by Edward Zhou in Ningbo, China, the com- pany now has offices in Hong Kong, New York City and Costa Mesa, Calif., and employs more than 3,000 staff, including more than a dozen full-time associates in southern California who are developing innovative apparel silhouettes, new wearable fabrics and post processes. “As a partner and stakeholder in the success of our clients’ business, we have made it our mission to forecast and identify trends, anticipate client needs and customer desires, and deliver goods to satisfy those needs and desires,” Marshall explains. Those clients include household names such as Nord- strom, Urban Outfitters, Vans and Oakley, and with California’s status as a hotbed of creative innovation, access to these R&D associates has proven to be fruitful for Dragon Crowd. “The research and development strategy provides 100 to 200 new fabrics monthly, quarterly trend-right men’s and women’s styles guides, and a constant flow of new garment styles and sil- houettes,” Marshall says of the new team, which travels across the globe searching for innovative fabrics, creative fabric post-pro- cessing approaches, unique washes, interesting trims, and novel Clint Eastwood’s Harry Callahan — Dragon Crowd seemingly has ideas in garment construction techniques. found a winning formula doing what it does best, a strategy that Dragon Crowd produces a swatch booklet for clients to review resonates with clients to the tune of more than $125 million in the latest fabric innovations, and the manufacturer has also cre- annual sales. ated an accompanying “vibe booklet” that aims to provide And happy employees are a big part of the company’s “good inspiration for key apparel pieces relevant to trends in the mar- business” plan; workers get a fair wage and factories shut down ketplace, an approach that Marshall refers to as “innovation for promptly at 5 p.m. The oldest facility, Rock Maui, was constructed inspiration.” in 2008; the newest, Rock Guangming and Rock Bay, opened While company president J. Spencer is fond of quoting the clas- just last year. sic film Dirty Harry — “A man’s got to know his limitations,” says — Jessica Binns Aerosoles Edison, N.J. | www.aerosoles.com

NOMINATED BY: CGS Inc. | www.cgsinc.com

erosoles has been practically syn- houses, allowing the retailer to lever- Aonymous with “comfortable footwear” age inventory in all available channels to for more than 25 years. The company has meet SKU-level demand. grown to include the what’s what, A2 and However, as business expanded to aerology brands over the years, in addi- include 120 company-operated stores in tion to the flagship Aerosoles brand, all the United States in addition to franchises of which are distinguished by the com- in 15 countries throughout Europe and pany’s signature diamond-patterned soles. Asia, offprice, and direct-to-consumer In many ways, Aerosoles has been channels, Aerosoles needed an ERP that ahead of the retail pack; the company has could evolve along with a rapidly chang- been in the omnichannel fulfillment game ing environment. Its highly customized for more than a decade, says Tom Reeve, legacy ERP platform offered limited automa- vice president of technology and busi- tion of order management functions, wasn’t ness solutions. E-commerce orders have readily scalable, and relied heavily on inter- been filled from stores in addition to ware- nal staff for support and development.

10 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

Two years ago Aerosoles made the switch regardless of which channel (e.g., whole- site from mobile and tablet devices grow to the BlueCherry Infinity ERP platform sale, retail, e-commerce) has the inventory to over 35 percent,” Reeve notes. “Our new from CGS. Reeve says the first year was ownership,” says Reeve, who credits the e-commerce platform will evolve to sup- spent refining order and inventory processes. ERP platform for allowing Aerosoles to port buy online/pickup in-store, but in addi- “As the dot-com business has been expe- maintain system performance and relia- tion to e-commerce/store system integration, riencing double digit growth, we’ve needed bility during a 30 percent increase in order this will require processes and store design to adjust and enhance EDI and accounts line volume. to evolve. receivable processes to keep pace with the Aerosoles also recently rolled out a new “Our first step will be to direct con- increased volumes of single-unit order pro- responsive-design e-commerce experience sumers to the nearest store that has their cessing,” he explains. created by Digital Management Inc. that size in the style and color they are seek- BlueCherry also has been helpful with offers a consistent look and feel across ing,” he concludes. fulfilling orders captured from Aerosoles’ devices and yielded the retailer’s highest — Jessica Binns partner sites. “We utilize BlueCherry to ful- single-day sales on Cyber Monday last year. fill these orders using a virtual warehouse “During the past year, we’ve seen the per- strategy to match the order to inventory centage of consumers accessing our web- in the pink

Boston, MA | shop.inthepinkonline.com 3in the pink Boston store before cash wrap NOMINATED BY: Self was removed and replaced with mobile POS You probably already know the story of how Lilly Pulitzer®’s bold, vibrant, “spill-proof” designs got their start: To disguise 6Boston store after, the inevitable juice stains that came from running her own juice with floor space freed up for merchandising stand in Palm Beach, Fla., Pulitzer had a sleeveless dress made from a colorfully printed cotton fabric. The rest is history. That was around 1959. Fast forward to 1995, when a conver- sation with an old school friend gave Gordon and Sandra Rus- sell an idea: to bring Lilly Pulitzer's brilliant designs directly to Nantucket island, where “resort living, happy times and wear- ing Lilly Pulitzer” already went hand in hand. They shared their thoughts with Lilly herself over dinner in Palm Beach. Thus was born in the pink, a chain of Lilly Pulitzer Premier Signature stores located throughout Massachusetts. Lilly Pulitzer prints should make their wearers feel happy — and so should the customer experience. To do this, in the pink made the decision to get rid of its cash registers and counters, replacing them with mobile POS to transform its eight locations. “We thought that by removing the physical cash register we could maximize merchandising and floor space, better serve customers and ultimately increase sales,” says Emily Evans, dis- trict manager. The company chose Springboard Retail, a cloud By removing the cash wrap, the retailer was able to acquire POS and retail management platform — a solution that Gordon more selling real estate and improve merchandising strategies. Russell and co-founder Jay Stotz actually developed themselves “We run a high-pressure, highly seasonal business in many of our in 2010 for in the pink when they were unable to find anything on stores, with 75 percent of total business being transacted between the market that suited their needs. (Springboard was officially Memorial Day and Labor Day,” says Evans. launched to the market in January 2014 at the NRF show.) With Springboard’s POS, sales instantly increased and have in the pink first piloted Springboard’s mobile POS in its flag- continued to climb. Approximately 41 days after implementing ship Newbury Street location in Boston. After deconstructing its mobile POS in its Newbury Street location, in the pink saw sales cash registers, the store reclaimed 48 square feet of its 1,250 feet increase by 60 percent. The typical increase for the same sea- for selling space and ease of movement. Mobile carts and a kiosk sonal period year over year is 43 percent. Transaction volume and on wheels “allowed for a more fluid customer service,” said Evans. total units per transaction also improved.4

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 11 TOP INNOVATORS

“There’s a lot of product and five fitting rooms squeezed into time access to customer history and store inventory across the chain, 1,250 square feet. We found that where the cash wrap was, on the at their fingertips. This allows for more engaging and relevant con- right side as soon as a customer enters, was prime selling real versations with customers, and the ability to quickly meet their estate,” said Evans. needs. A sales associate can, for example, recommend an item Because of the excellent results from its flagship store, in the based on the top categories of product the customer has purchased pink decided to roll the solution out to its other stores. The com- previously, or easily reserve a product at another location. pany started with its stores on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, “Because the solution is web-based, an alert will pop up in the and immediately saw benefits in increased sales. other store alerting that team to pull the product off the floor, cap- After rolling out mPOS in all stores, the company saw a 23 per- ture the funds and ship the product to the customer. Similarly our cent increase in same-store sales in 2014 compared to the same team can quickly update customers about product that is on period a year prior. purchase order,” says Evan. The iPads are also great for line bust- In addition to increased sales, since demolishing the cash wraps, ing, she says. the stores have seen great improvement in terms of physical The platform’s ability to offer emailed vs. printed receipts is flow. The store is more comfortable and allows for greater effi- another helpful feature — 93 percent of customers are opting for ciency, and customers linger longer because the space is not so the former — saving time, money and trees. tight, says Evans. — Jordan K. Speer The mobile devices have enabled store associates to move more freely around the store themselves, while also giving them real-

Lands’ End Business Outfitters Dodgeville, Wis. | business.landsend.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

lthough Lands’ End Business Outfit- ester layer sandwiched between two lay- Aters has been providing uniforms to small ers of fabric to produce a hidden interlin- and large-sized businesses since 1993, ing — and a Stay Tucked waistband to keep recently it recognized a gap in its offerings: shirts tucked in and neat. The pants are “We did not offer a complete line of true sewn using a safety-stitching technique work wear — clothing designed for those for seams that hold up through years of doing the hard jobs, such as construction wear, says Hess. workers and mechanics,” says Christine It tapped the workhorse fabric of work Hess, divisional merchandise manager. “In wear — heavy cotton duck — for a hooded short, the people who do the real dirty work.” jacket and long jacket to supplement its “While our line contained items such as already existing outerwear collection of our performance twill shirts and active polos, Squall jackets and parkas, using the dense we knew we had to be able to offer head- canvas to make a snag- and abrasion- to-toe options,” says Hess. “We took into resistant shell that also features a DWR account all the situations workers might finish for shedding water. Both jackets encounter, and made sure we were cover- also feature 100-gram insulation in a ing them with clothing that would handle quilted lining for warmth, and plenty of stains and rough treatment, incorporate as pockets. many functional features as we could and On the lightweight side, the com- provide them with garments ready to take pany introduced the Wind Shirt and Storm into any climate, from mid-summer heat Shirt, made from wind- and water-resis- waves to polar-vortex cold snaps,” she says. tant microfiber combined with a mesh lin- Thus was born the Work Wear Col- ing to deliver warmth and breathability, lection. The first product out of the gate while it rounded out the collection with true layering system that workers can use was a better work pant made from a durable its Thermaskin™ base layers as well as its as needed to keep them comfortable in polyester/cotton that resists wrinkles and Thermacheck 100 fleece and Textured the coldest of climates. that incorporated the company’s exclusive Fleece half-zips, designed to go under- In other innovations from the divi- Iron Knee® technology — a tough poly- neath all other garments and creating a sion, the company launched its new Per-

12 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

fect Dress Shirt, which it developed in For the women’s shirt the company also nience. The inside collar and cuffs are treated response to what it learned from out- added a patented, hidden, No Gape™ but- with a stain-release finish, while its very reach to customers: that they wanted bet- ton technology to fix the problem of “gape popular easy-care fabric blend now fea- ter fit and greater comfort. One of its defining at the bust” which they were frustrated by. tures an advanced Coolest Comfort™ features is the new Comfort Collar, which “It makes most women self-conscious and finish to help the fabric breathe in the heat uses an elastic tab to give the top button can be an unnecessary distraction,” said Hess. by wicking moisture away and drying quickly. the ability to stretch out. “You’ll never feel “Then, we reworked the length — long “We’ve even saved you time getting like your collar is too tight,” says Hess. enough to stay perfectly tucked in, or effort- ready in the morning because this shirt Lands’ End also reworked the sleeve con- lessly untucked if you choose,” she adds. comes out of the dryer needing little to struction by raising the arm opening, which Both men’s and women’s designs offer no ironing, thanks to the wrinkle-resistant provides a greater range of motion and ease advanced fabric treatments and finishes treatment,” concludes Hess. of movement. that offer cleanliness, comfort and conve- — Jordan K. Speer

Chico’s Fort Myers, Fla. | www.chicosfas.com

NOMINATED BY: Tyco Retail Solutions | www.tycoretailsolutions.com

ou’ve just found the perfect lace bra and you want the match- Ying panties, but you can’t find them in your size. Also, you’re not sure if the fit of the bra is correct, and you’d like some guid- ance, but there’s no one available to help you, because the asso- ciates are busy helping other customers search for garments in the appropriate size, which may no longer be in inventory, or which previous customers have not returned to their correct spots. You don’t want the bra without the panties, and you don’t have any more time to wait, so you put the bra back where you found it — or maybe you just set it down wherever you are, one more ‘lost’ SKU in a sea of very small, widely varied items — and leave with- out making a purchase. This is a nightmare scenario for any retailer, and one that Soma Intimates is working to avoid. Launched in 2004 as part of the Chico’s FAS portfolio, Soma is focused on providing beautiful, sensual intimate apparel, as well as warm personalized cus- tomer service, and, like most retailers, it is striving to keep its cus- the back room. The contents of shipments received were a mys- tomers coming back by better serving their needs. That requires tery until each box was opened, which added to the challenge a good handle on inventory, and a deepening engagement with of finding what customers wanted in a timely manner. To com- store associates. pound the problem, sales associates were losing valuable time At Soma, associates previously did not have the insight into searching for inventory when they could have been helping cus- inventory that they needed. The retailer had been conducting tomers, he said. inventory counts infrequently, and when it did, the process was To get a handle on its inventory accuracy and visibility chal- costly and disruptive to the daily business, said Ken Silay, for- lenges, Soma turned to Tyco Retail Solutions’ TrueVUE solution, mer director, technology research and innovation. Also, with embarking on an RFID pilot project in 13 out of its 250+ Soma relatively few physical inventory counts, accuracy could, and often stores. The goal was to achieve an accurate item-level inventory did, steadily decline over the months until the next inventory count. foundation. From there, Soma would be better able to achieve vis- Accordingly, confidence in store inventory numbers declined. ibility from the manufacturer to the store, and from the sales asso- Because intimate apparel is heavily style-, size- and color- ciate to the customer. oriented, keeping a full assortment always available on the sales The solution focused on a variety of inventory management floor is extremely labor intensive, said Silay. Soma’s replen- processes including weekly cycle counting, store receiving, daily ishment process was difficult in large part because sales asso- sales-floor replenishment and product location assistance for ciates lacked visibility into inventory both on the floor and in replenishment and customer service.4

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 13 TOP INNOVATORS

At each of the stores in the program, readers have been placed By incorporating RFID reads into backend systems weekly, at the back and front of the store. Tags are read in the backroom rather than monthly or bi-annually, Chico’s FAS, Inc. can improve when merchandise arrives — eliminating the need to open the flow of inventory from the distribution center to the store and boxes to identify their contents — read again after merchandise streamline the replenishment process. moves to the sales floor, and read a third time at point of sale, and Soma has improved inventory accuracy to 95 percent, includ- quantities are adjusted accordingly in the system. Both store ing full-store inventory count, and the increased visibility into daily personnel and company management can view inventory levels shipment receipts has reduced out-of-stocks, said Silay. to determine what items need to be reordered or replenished on That customer looking for the matching panties? Well, now that’s the sales floor. not a problem. Soma is also using the technology to quickly find Item-level RFID is providing sales associates with accurate, products in the store that customers are unable to locate, or to track real-time inventory information in one place, which enables them down merchandise requested from another Soma store. With a high to better manage Soma’s deep merchandise assortment, drive level of visibility into inventory in each store, Soma is achieving a increased sales and, with more confidence in inventory accu- much higher level of customer satisfaction — and higher sales. racy, ensure shopper satisfaction. — Jordan K. Speer Timberland Stratham, N.H. | www.timberland.com

NOMINATED BY: Omni United USA | www.omni-united.com and Promoboxx | www.promoboxx.com

ou might say Timberland has really put of an interesting social media campaign Ythe rubber to the road lately — liter- around its new Hazel Highway Collection, ally and figuratively. The outdoor her- which features four classic Timberland sil- itage brand, owned by VF Corp., is innovating houettes inspired by the original leather across product and marketing in a way that used in 1979 to build the first Super Boot, draws customers to its brand while (or per- an iconic style for the brand. haps because of) focusing on its mission to The campaign tells the story of a journey do well by doing good. down I-95, capturing the industrial roots Hitting the Road with Timberland and rustic heritage of the Timberland brand Tires: In November, Timberland announced along the way. To get the word out to both a partnership with tire company Omni its retail customers and end consumers, Tim- United to create a more sustainable lifecy- berland created a wide variety of social posts cle for rubber whereby fewer tires end up from which its dichotomous retailer base — in landfills and less virgin rubber gets used ranging from outdoor to urban based retail- in footwear, says Margaret Morey-Reuner, ers — could choose, says Cassie Heppner, director of strategic partnerships and busi- director of North America wholesale mar- ness development, Timberland. “Timber- keting, Timberland. To facilitate the process land Tires represent a new model in tire of sharing assets, Timberland worked with innovation: a sustainable, tire-to-shoe life- Promoboxx, a brand-to-retail marketing cycle,” she says. The tires, made in the platform that enables its clients to launch United States and positioned at the pre- rials innovation for the company, and goes online campaigns and share directly with mium end of the market, are designed and hand in hand with its goal to reduce the their retail partners. created for superior performance and safety environmental impacts of doing busi- “We created a range of targeted con- on the road, using a rubber formulation ness. In 2013, for example, 70 percent of tent for the Hazel Highway campaign, which that is appropriate for recycling. At the end all Timberland footwear shipped incor- was made available through Promoboxx’s of their useful life as tires, they will take on porated recycled, organic or renewable digital marketing platform,” says Heppner. a second life as part of the outsole of a Tim- materials; the company has also given more “Retailers who access Timberland’s con- berland boot or shoe, rather than ending than 128 million plastic bottles a new life tent through Promoboxx utilized the share up in landfills. (You can read about this, through the use of recycled PET in its functionality to select and push content out and other interesting footwear partner- footwear, says Morey-Reuner. to their social channels. Whether retailers ships, in the April issue of Apparel.) A Journey with Hazel Highway: In wanted to post images of the boot in an The use of recycled rubber from Tim- other non-traditional marketing approaches urban or rural setting, focus on the limited berland Tires is just the most recent in mate- for the company, last fall also saw the launch availability of the product, or show the detail

14 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

of its leather, there were plenty of options moting Hazel Highway and the nearby 81 percent, blowing out our email open that met their marketing needs,” she said. retailer, while driving in-store traffic. rates for previous campaigns.” Another challenge for the company was Within less than a month of launch- “By launching targeted content, as well reaching new audiences, as well as online ing the program, Timberland received as incentivizing retailers to share our cam- followers. To do this, Timberland enabled more than 1.3 million impressions and a paign via a new local mobile channel, we Promoboxx’s Match incentive program. The .35 percent click rate, which Heppner succeeded not only in appealing to Tim- program rewards retailers for taking action reports is well above the industry aver- berland’s broad retailer base, but also in within the platform (sharing the campaign age of about .25 percent. “We could tell reaching new customers and driving traf- on Facebook, Twitter, etc.) with local mobile retailers loved the mobile ads,” said Hep- fic in-store,” she concluded. ads, says Heppner. These ads, using geo- pner, “because when Timberland men- — Jordan K. Speer targeting technology, appear on customers’ tioned the new incentive in their emails phones and tablets, simultaneously pro- to retailers, the email open rate reached

Vestagen Technical Textiles Inc. Orlando, Fla. | www.vestagen.com | vestexprotects.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

he recent cases of Ebola among medical “Healthcare is among the most Tprofessionals here in the United States dangerous jobs in the U.S. because and the ongoing struggle to combat the workers don’t know what has colonized virus in Africa are a stark reminder of just their patients. Additionally, splashes or how important appropriate procedures and splatters of a patient’s blood and body flu- protective wear can be when you’re deal- ids are a reality of healthcare delivery,” ing with a life-threatening disease. says Uncas “Ben” B. Favret III, CEO of That’s not news to Vestagen Technical Vestagen. Textiles. In February 2014, the company VESTEX is also available for licensing obtained the exclusive global medical tex- so that other manufacturers can obtain the tile rights to three patented technologies and technology for healthcare workers, as well Since the launch of its healthcare worker applied all three technologies to one fab- as for people in other fields who need sim- apparel, the company has added patient ric, creating VESTEX®, a fabric that is simul- ilar protection. Recently, the largest online apparel with VESTEX protection, under the taneously fluid repellent, antimicrobial and retailer of scrub apparel, allheart.com, myComfort™ brand. Most recently, the breathable. In fact, VESTEX has been clin- launched its own line of scrubs with VESTEX company launched scrubs that are specially ically proven1 to reduce the acquisition Protection. designed for operating room (OR) staff, and retention of pathogens on the fabric. By creating VESTEX, Vestagen also cre- made with tightly woven, 100 percent poly- Why stop there? After all, healthcare ated a new product category, “Active Barrier ester to limit lint shedding, and wicking is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. Apparel,” says Favret. The active barrier refers WarpDry™ technology to ensure breatha- economy, employing more than 18 million to combined effect of the fluid repellency, bility and wearer comfort throughout what workers. Last June, Vestagen decided to which keeps fluids from reaching the skin are often very long OR procedures. The manufacture VESTEX, under the and undergarments, with an antimicrobial, new OR scrubs joined the full line of pro- myGuardian™ brand, into healthcare worker which kills the germs left behind, he says. tective healthcare worker lab coats and apparel, seeing the benefits it could pro- For scenarios in which there is antici- scrubs under the myGuardian™ brand. vide in protecting nurses from the body pated risk of exposure, such as procedures The ultimate goal is to offer health- fluid exposures they regularly encounter. occurring in the operating room, health- care workers and patients protection from Research documenting the effectiveness care workers wear Personal Protective Equip- germs — as well as peace of mind, Favret and safety of VESTEX includes a study per- ment, or PPE, which includes full body suits. concludes. formed in a hospital setting which showed However, there are many more scenarios — Jordan K. Speer a 99.99 percent reduction of methicillin- in which there is an unknown level of risk. resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Active Barrier Apparel filled what Favret 1 Bearman GM, Rosato A, Elam K, et al. A on VESTEX uniforms compared to tradi- says was a “gap in protection” for health- crossover trial of antimicrobial scrubs to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus burden tional non-protective uniforms, both at the care workers. on healthcare worker apparel. Infect Control Hosp. beginning and end of the work shift 1. Epidemiol. 2012;33:268–275.

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 15 TOP INNOVATORS Garmatex Technologies Inc. Vancouver, BC | www.garmatex.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

t’s a sweltering day and you’re on the 17th hole. You’d give any- Ithing for someone to dump a bucket of ice over your head right about now — anything to cool you off so you can focus on your swing. Enter IceSkin™, the most recent launch from Garmatex, whose developments in scientifically-engineered performance fabrics and apparel technologies include AbsorbSkin™, SlimSkin™ and Stell- Skin™. IceSkin was launched in late 2014 to help wearers func- tion in extreme heat. How does it work? The technology uses natural jade miner- als to provide non-stop cooling to the wearer. “IceSkin™ is engineered to react with water in multiple stages,” says Bill Gar- diner, executive vice president of sales and marketing. “When Ice- Skin™ comes into contact with water molecules, the fibers evaporate fiber technology — a multi-layered, three-dimensional knitting the liquid at a highly accelerated pace. During this rapid process, method that ensures permanent performance features for the water molecules are cooled as they travel through the fibers into life of the garment, according to the company. IceSkin is also lofty chambers embedded with jade. The natural jade minerals equipped with Garmatex’s Bact-Out®, a 100 percent natural antimi- work as a conduit, absorbing the chilled water and perpetuating crobial treatment that is 99 percent effective in reducing the bac- the cooling temperature until the fabric is dry.” teria that cause odors. With technology in hand, Garmatex then launched its own Additionally, in February, the company launched its first- branded IceSkin Gear towels and headwear accessories. “Our Ice- ever Kickstarter campaign to introduce its bespoke sports per- Skin towel can go from 185° F to 65° F in 15 to 20 seconds with formance posture shirt, Prime4orm™, to the market. The Prime4orm the cooling lasting as long as the towel is wet and waved through shirt uses gentle tensions to re-engineer the body’s form via highly the air to encourage circulation,” says Gardiner. technical construction that gradually realigns your muscles for bet- Like all of Garmatex’s fabrics, IceSkin is engineered through ter posture. its proprietary “moisture system transference” (MST) process, to support excellent moisture management control, and embedded — Jordan K. Speer Acustom Apparel New York, N.Y. | www.acustom.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

amal Motlagh is a snazzy dresser and a tall man, and back in his JHarvard Business School days he wanted clothes — all types of apparel, not just suits — customized to both his style and fit. But, as we all know, custom-designed apparel doesn’t come cheap. “I began to wonder why we weren’t able to affordably cus- tomize our clothing in both fit and style,” says Motlagh. He began to look for a better way. He was, after all, in business school. Thus was born the idea of Acustom Apparel, founded in 2011. Motlagh teamed up with COO and co-founder Charles Tse, the brains behind Acustom’s “digital bespoke” patternmaking technology. Tse, like Motlagh, was frustrated with his inability to find well-fitting ready-to-wear clothing, and equally frustrated with the cost of buying custom-made clothing.4

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 17 TOP INNOVATORS

Motlagh and Tse looked around the market to find a solution And let’s face it: Not too many people are willing to shell out that would allow for large-scale customization, but nothing seemed $1,200 for a pair of jeans, which is why there is not the same to match what they were looking for. So they developed it type of market for custom denim as there is for custom suits. Acus- themselves, figuring out a method of creating patterns that are tom is working to change that. unique to every customer, and then writing software to auto- Beyond offering a custom fit, Acustom also has created a unique mate the process. and innovative retail experience in SoHo — what it calls a “design The result is a system that uses 3D body scanners and the com- bar” — that looks like a men’s boutique but only features design pany’s own “digital bespoke” software to make purchasing cus- samples “to help clients imagine what their clothing will look like,” tom clothing easier — and less expensive — for guys. The solution says Motlagh. gathers 2 million data points to create a unique 3D body model “After finding something they like, clients can — in 20 minutes for each customer, and then lets its digital bespoke algorithms — custom design their products based on pre-designed samples, go to work on those measurements. Everything is thus custom- get scanned and be on their way to getting custom-made prod- fitted to the customer, who also helps in the design process, mak- ucts. And once we have a clients’ measurements, it’s easy to re- ing choices about features such as fabric for shirt collars and cuffs, order online or in store,” he says. Fit is guaranteed in everything. or whether or not to have peak lapels vs. notch. The small footprint of Acustom’s store allows it to provide a Acustom not only offers traditional custom suits and shirts, but face-to-face customer service experience without the risks and also makes bespoke-fit products such as jeans, chinos, cords, over- costs associated with stocking inventory. “In our first year open, coats, trench coats, shorts and polos. “This is a significant por- we are already well exceeding sales-per-square-foot averages of tion of the modern man’s wardrobe, all custom made at retail established stores in SoHo,” says Motlagh. prices equivalent to [those of] Hugo Boss,” says Motlagh. Up next? The company is striving to provide more types of gar- Because Acustom’s technology allows it to create bespoke pat- ments to its customers. Knits will launch soon with 100 percent terned garments without the traditional time and cost required by cashmere sweaters in six base styles. Custom fit, of course. a master patternmaker, the company is able to offer its products Are there any particular advantages to running a custom-fit at a fraction of the cost of traditional custom-tailored goods. “A apparel business? Let’s just put it this way: when Motlagh got few blocks away from our store, another retailer in New York City married in March, you can rest assured that he and all of the is offering bespoke jeans for $1200,” says Motlagh. Acustom is guys at his wedding were looking pretty sharp. able to sell bespoke denim for only $235. “That’s the same price — Jordan K. Speer as a premiere pair of jeans in SOHO,” he quips.

Betabrand San Francisco, Calif. | www.betabrand.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

any retailers talk about listening to their customers, but Betabrand Mhas taken this to a whole new level. This is how it operates: 1. Rather than create its own collections, the online retailer actively solicits design ideas from its community as well as all of its internal employees (i.e. not just its four designers). 2. Customers submit designs to the “Think Tank” section of Betabrand’s website. 3. Betabrand solicits feedback in the form of votes as well as comments in sketch format. 4. If a new style receives enough votes, then a prototype is made and photographed as quickly as possible. 5. The style is posted on the website for Crowd Funding for 30 days. 6. A newsletter is emailed twice per week to alert fans of new styles under consideration. 7. If sufficient numbers of customers pre-order the style, then it is produced and shipped. 8. Ultimately, the customer “owns the story.” To be sure, Betabrand is not your grandmother’s clothing store. “There are no ‘collec- tions,’ no ‘seasons,’ no pre-determined ‘merch mix’” to direct what you will wear, says Lana Hogue, director of product development and production. Getting the word out about Betabrand comes primarily from web publications and organic social media — and it often goes viral, says Hogue. There’s a lot of buzz around the brand,

18 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

with a community that “loves to debate as of press time it had achieved 10,408 per- The Betabrand model really turns retail- ‘Dress Pant Yoga Pants,’ ‘Black Sheep cent funding, since hitting 100 percent fund- ing on its head by putting the power of Sweaters,’ ‘Space Jackets,’ ‘Gay Jeans,’ ing on Jan. 17, 2014. The company’s design and production decisions in the and shirts with ‘Poo Emojis’ all over them,” crowdfunding goal is to meet production hands of the customer, while eliminating says Hogue. Other popular designs have minimums and fund the production. the challenge of forecasting demand, says included Executive Hoodies (which came Betabrand produces enough inventory to Hogue. It also solves the problem of rais- about in response to a particular company’s cover its projected demand for about four ing capital for manufacturing, as customers IPO), ‘Chef Jeans’ for Chris Cosentino, and to five months, says Hogue. have paid for the cost of production before an adult onesie designed by comedienne Betabrand, founded by Chris Lindland it even starts. “This is the future of the Margaret Cho. in 2009 (prior to that it was called Cor- apparel industry,” she says. The earlier a customer funds a design, darounds, which got its start in 2005), sells “I have worked in the garment industry the greater the discount offered. After a primarily online, but also has a flagship for more than 25 years and for more than a style has been crowdfunded, it becomes store at its San Francisco headquarters. Also dozen companies, both big and small. available for sale — at full price — to oth- awesome: 70 percent of Betabrand clothes Betabrand is by far the most innovative com- ers who want to get in on the action. To are made in the United States (in San Fran- pany I have ever worked with,” she concludes. date, the Straight Leg/Gray Dress Pant Yoga cisco and Oakland), with the balance pro- — Jordan K. Speer Pant is the site’s most popular item ever: duced in China, Korea and Thailand.

Mizuno Running Atlanta, Ga. | www.mizuno.com

NOMINATED BY: Promoboxx | www.promoboxx.com

an you name one thing that alone could potentially boost U.S. CGDP by $25 billion, eliminate the smoking of more than 48 mil- lion cigarettes daily, decrease homelessness by 46 percent, increase earning potential by 10 percent and eliminate $143 billion in health care costs in the United States? Stumped? According to Mizuno, the answer is running. That’s the conclusion the 109-year-old company came to after it posed the question: “Can running really transform the world?” and then set out to find out, partnering with the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flager Business School to conduct a sta- tistical analysis to determine how running can change the world The platform enabled the specialty running shops to spread in positive ways. the #IfEverybodyRan message in their local communities through Drawing on the thought-provoking statistics that resulted from Facebook, Twitter, email and on their respective websites. its research, Mizuno then debuted its “What If Everybody Ran” Additionally, via the Mizuno Baton mobile app, consumers campaign online in March 2014 to inspire consumers by demon- were able to transform the power of running into community action strating the potential power of running to transform lives, and by promising to donate $1 for every mile run with the app to Back society as a whole. on My Feet, a nonprofit organization that helps those experienc- Via social media, using the hashtag #IfEverybodyRan, Mizuno ing homelessness turn their lives around through running. (That promoted the analysis results, including such gems as “7 billion 46 percent figure above? Not hypothetical. Since its founding in more hours spent outside,” “63 million happier dogs,” “14 2007, 46 percent of residential members (the homeless) have moved billion fewer hours spent online,” and “135 million more vic- themselves forward with a job, a house, or both.) Via the app, tory beers.” the company raised more than $90,000 for the organization. Findings from the analysis were promoted primarily online During the initial launch month (March 2014), “Mizuno expe- but the campaign also included an in-store component at inde- rienced 110 percent growth in U.S. unique visitors to its website pendent running retailers across the United States. compared to March 2013 traffic, its Facebook followers increased Using Promoboxx, a brand-to-retail digital marketing plat- by more than 25 percent in the first two weeks following the launch form, Mizuno distributed digital content promoting #IfEvery- of the campaign and Twitter engagement increased by 121 per- bodyRan to more than 300 of its retail customers across the cent in March 2014 vs. February 2014,” says Kim Hoey, Mizuno country. USA’s running division brand marketing director.4

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 19 TOP INNOVATORS

If everybody ran, there could be 20 million more great grand- erans called “The Shepherd’s Men.” This team will be running mothers, 60 million more pounds of pasta eaten, 37 percent more 911 miles in eight days to raise funds and awareness for SHARE smiles and 27 million more sunrises viewed per week. “It all starts Military Initiative, which provides free individualized treatment with one more run,” says Hoey. and counseling to veterans struggling with traumatic brain Last month, the company launched its 2015 campaign, “Every injury and post-traumatic stress disorder suffered during the wars Mile Changes You,” which evolves the “What if Everybody in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Ran” campaign in its goal to inspire more running across the nation. — Jordan K. Speer The campaign will continue to support Back on My Feet, and also will provide running apparel and shoes to a group of military vet-

Kathmandu Christchurch, New Zealand | www.kathmandu.co.nz

NOMINATED BY: JustEnough | www.justenough.com

ounded 25 years ago, Kathmandu has grown from a small retailer Fof outdoor clothing and equipment to “a global brand that designs trusted outdoor gear so our customers can live their dreams of travel and adventure,” says CIO Jolann Van Dyk. Paying attention to customer demand has helped Kathmandu grow into a vertically-integrated business that operates 158 stores across New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, and a growing e-commerce channel. With an eye on expansion, the company is scoping out international markets such as North Amer- ica and Europe. centralized location, was a very attractive feature. Its status as a Not long ago, it became evident that existing legacy systems Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV) partner was also a were no longer able to deliver against its business growth strate- plus, as all future versions of the product will integrate with Microsoft gies, said CIO Jolann Van Dyk. “Systems were either too slow, Dynamics AX enterprise resources planning software, which required significant time and effort to perform basic day-to-day will streamline upgrades. tasks, [were] rigid, unsupported or just antiquated.” Kathmandu added the hosted infrastructure-as-a-service (IAAS) More specifically, these solutions didn’t support systemized cloud-based platform in phases. For example, the assortment plan- forecasting and planning. Historically, the company managed ning tool went live in September 2013, followed by item planning these processes on multiple Excel spreadsheets, which required in January 2014, and allocations and replenishment in October manual revisions that were almost impossible to keep synchro- 2014. Already, Kathmandu has gained better visibility of its oper- nized across disparate spreadsheets. It was a time-intensive and ating stock requirements, which is leading to better planning prac- inefficient process that lacked the functionality needed to man- tices around assortment range planning, option count and product age an increasingly global company. lifecycle, says Van Dyk. “Our planners also have more informa- During a routine business planning session, listening to the tion available to make more informed decisions.” strategic objectives of executives from each business area, it became Van Dyk noted that one of the biggest results the chain has clear that the company’s current business systems could not deliver achieved is a significant reduction in overall stock holdings; insights against their requirements, Van Dyk recalled. provided by the solution enable it to purchase smarter, he says. With an eye on assortment range planning, Kathmandu began Its full-speed-ahead momentum continues, as the company its search for a technology partner. The company sought a system looks to achieve better space management and just-in-time replen- that would reduce the risks associated with forecasting and ishment, with architecture that can better manage stock through- planning knowledge, deliver timeliness of data entry and avail- put and add boundaries to deal with out-of-stock exceptions, rather ability, and manage accurate information so that the retailer could than having to troll through all data and traffic to understand prod- make informed business decisions. From an architecture stand- uct movement. point, it wanted a stable environment with limited required con- More immediately, the company is focused on embedding its figurations and modifications; the system also had to align with new core business systems and unlocking the next stage in busi- the chain’s best practices. ness capability, Van Dyk concluded. Kathmandu found its ideal solution from JustEnough, Irvine, Calif. The solution’s functionality, including having all data in a — Deena M. Amato-McCoy

20 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS Under Armour Baltimore, Md. | www.underarmour.com

NOMINATED BY: SPS Commerce | www.spscommerce.com

altimore-based athletic performance apparel upstart Under BArmour has a knack for spotting talent, as evidenced by its long sponsor relationship with current golf darling Jordan Spieth — whose masterful (pun intended) performance at the Masters last month propelled the brand into the consciousness of millions of fans and amateur players alike. Under Armour has made no secret of its desire to catch up to dominant rivals such as Nike, whose approximate $20 billion annual revenue is something the Baltimore brand can only dream of at the moment. As Bill Nienberg, Under Armour's vice presi- dent of global merchandise and sales planning, said last year, "We're a $10-billion brand that just happens to be doing $2 bil- teams to deliver and analyze weekly sales recap reports, vendor lion of business." report cards using each retailer’s particular metrics, new store sales It’s also no secret that Under Armour loves to use technology performance, and trend reports for key categories. to its advantage, not just in creating industry-leading (and “With our SPS solution, buyers are more inclined to trust and headline-grabbing) apparel innovations but in embracing soft- act on our recommendations when we provide the data to sup- ware platforms that make a tangible difference in corporate oper- port them,” said Caryn Hall, retail planner for Under Armour. ations — and the bottom line. “The POS solution from SPS Commerce allowed our sales staff An SPS Commerce POS reporting customer since 2005, Under to discover opportunities to grow our business,” added Hall. “As Armour used data from its top retail partners to gain action- a result, we were able to quickly switch gears and utilize only able insights into sales information by a host of attributes, reports generated from SPS to monitor our sales performance.” from store and style to color and size. For a while this approach Hall credits the analytics platform for boosting sell-through by helped the brand’s sales team identify new opportunities and store, style and color and maximizing business in high-perform- become more collaborative with retailers, analyzing metrics such ing areas as sales staff has leveraged insights to improve product as weeks of supply, sales-to-stock ratio, sell-through rates and placement. “We have been able to share our selling reports and inventory turnover. analysis with our retail partners,” she adds. “This analysis helps As growth exploded, however, Under Armour upgraded to SPS’ facilitate business conversations as we partner together to grow more robust Enterprise Analytics platform, which now is used by our business.” 90 employees in the sales, product development and planning — Jessica Binns Koos Manufacturing South Gate, Calif. | www.koos.com

NOMINATED BY: Gerber Technology www.gerbertechnology.com | www.yunique.com echnology can close a whole host of gaps these days; new advance- Tments enable far-flung design teams to share ideas across the globe and view fabrics and inspiration ideas remotely, but there’s nothing quite like touching and feeling a sample churned out in as little as a single day by the company right across town. That’s the beauty of committing to domestic production, according to Soo-Jin Behrstock, CIO for Koos Manufacturing, headquartered in South Gate, Calif., just seven miles from downtown L.A. Though American Apparel usually gets all of the “vertically integrated” buzz, Koos is one of those rare apparel companies where design, cutting, sewing, washing and finishing are all per-

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 21 TOP INNOVATORS

formed under one roof (it’s the only such integrated jeans facil- tight integration between Accumark, Gerber cutting and Yunique ity on the West Coast, Behrstock points out). Headcount stands PLM, redundant work will be eliminated and errors that often at more than 850, the company produces more than 2 million units occur between creative and development teams will be minimized. annually, and sales for 2014 reached about $150 million. Founder “We hope to streamline product development processes, Yul Ku grew up in a family with a strong apparel manufacturing enhance productivity and create a more effective design envi- background and launched the company 35 years ago, initially pro- ronment,” she adds. ducing denim for brands such as Calvin Klein, Gap and Lucky. Anticipating that the migration would be a significant change Eventually Ku stepped away from the private-label business for employees, Koos took pains to minimize confusion around the to partner with Adriano Goldschmied and launch the AG Adri- new system and also to encourage workers to take ownership of ano Goldschmied brand in 2000, entering into an exclusive license it. In-house training was also a new endeavor for Koos, so the business for the Big Star brand three years later. company decided that brief, 30-minute sessions on targeted “Made in the USA is something that we support in a signifi- topics would be the most successful approach. “This minimized cant way, as evidenced by most of the AG-branded denim being employee downtime from their job responsibilities and increased manufactured entirely in Los Angeles,” says Berhstock, who notes their ability to retain the information that was presented to them,” that the company values supporting the local community and Behrstock says. keeping jobs in the United States. Koos is also undertaking this year an Oracle JD Edwards Enter- “Koos obviously has to operate leaner in order to compen- priseOne implementation that will be tightly integrated with sate for the higher cost of labor in the U.S.,” she continues. “How- YuniquePLM, Accumark and Retail Pro POS. ever, our overriding objective of delivering the highest quality Beyond technology, Koos is also on the hunt for innovation on product necessitates that we directly control our manufacturing the material side of the business, partnering with mills to engi- processes locally rather than use overseas labor.” neer new fabrics and proprietary washes. “Environmentally friendly A Gerber Technology customer for more than 20 years, Koos practices are also extremely important to the company,” says Behr- is migrating from WebPDM to YuniquePLM, which will integrate stock, “and we continue to demonstrate our commitment to being nicely with the software company’s AccuMark pattern design plat- responsible and sustainable with biodegradable chemicals and form. “The data on material yields and points of measure from energy-saving equipment.” Accumark will be used to generate costing and product tech packs — Jessica Binns for our Yunique PLM users,” Behrstock explains. “By having a

L.L. Bean Freeport, Maine | www.llbean.com

NOMINATED BY: Kalypso | www.kalypso.com

ne can only wonder what outdoorsman and entrepreneur Leon OLeonwood Bean would think about the “lumberjack chic” teen trend that’s driving eye-popping sales of the iconic handcrafted leather and rubber boots his eponymous company L.L Bean has been famous for since he brainstormed them in 1912 to put an end to cold, damp feet on hunting excursions. In fiscal year 2014 the Freeport, Maine, outdoor apparel company posted annual net revenue of $1.61 billion, up 3 percent year over year, and manufactured 450,000 pairs of Bean boots. This year L.L Bean landed the no. 5 spot on Forbes’ Best Employers list, leading all companies in the apparel, footwear and sporting goods vertical. Known for its catalog mail-order business, the company is steadily expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint from a current fleet of 22 stores outside of Maine to 100 by 2020, according to Car- olyn Beem, public affairs manager. Four store openings are on tap for 2015, the first of which took place in March in Cleveland — the retailer’s first physical foray into Ohio. E-commerce is also doing well; web sales jumped 7 percent last year.

22 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

L.L Bean likely wouldn’t be in its current position without its This focus on and passion for product quality led L.L. Bean to legendary commitment to customer service, including a 100 per- partner about 12 months ago with consulting services provider cent satisfaction guarantee — a rare promise in the apparel world. Kalypso, which is offering expert assistance with a PLM imple- Despite dramatic changes throughout the years, from rapidly evolv- mentation. “We were seeking ways to streamline our processes ing technology to changing consumer tastes and management while maintaining a clear focus on research and development and mandates to new product ideas, the company’s emphasis to ser- most importantly, product quality,” notes Beem. vice has never wavered. “Customer service is not just a depart- “Kalypso works with many other respected clients who have ment but a commitment we all share,” says Beem. Indeed, J.D. a broad array of products. Since we have similar challenges, we Power and Associates honored L.L. Bean as achieving “Highest felt Kalypso’s capabilities would serve us well in our endeavors to Customer Satisfaction Among Apparel Retailers” in 2012. maintain a focus on product quality while collaboratively facili- L.L. Bean’s confidence in its products stems in large part tating innovation.” from its strong supplier relationships, some of which span decades, While Beem says it’s too soon to measure the results of the according to Beem, who says the company looks for partners that PLM deployment, L.L. Bean is pleased with the robust tools that share the same corporate values. This exclusive number of stable have been developed, which will be instrumental in ensuring seam- partnerships with select mills and suppliers both large and small less collaboration with internal and external teams to reduce devel- enables L.L. Bean to collaborate on fabric development and cre- opment costs, keep them closer to market trends and ensure ate innovative new products such as Ultralight down outerwear that products pass their high quality and compliance standards. and packable down apparel. What’s more, treating these crucial —Jessica Binns partners as “part of the family” means the apparel company need not spend countless hours hassling over supplier negotiations. Harry Rosen Toronto, Canada | www.harryrosen.com

NOMINATED BY: Infor | www.infor.com

t may have been built on legendary old-school service, but high- Iend Canadian men’s wear retailer Harry Rosen has upgraded its hands-on approach to the customer experience with decidedly new-school technology. With 16 stores in its fleet, the Toronto-based company has been serving a discerning clientele since founder Harry Rosen and his brother Lou put $500 down for their first shop in the city’s Cab- bagetown neighborhood, though the retailer now has 40 per- cent market share in an ultra-competitive environment and achieved 10 percent annual revenue growth from 2009 to 2013. Current CEO Larry Rosen — Harry’s oldest son — describes the clien- tele as “MOPES:” managers, owners, professionals, entrepreneurs, million, rendering manual management unwieldy and unsus- “to which we would add professional athletes and entertainers,” tainable. The company undertook a much-needed upgrade to Infor he says. “Our clients are leaders or aspire to be.” CRM, which enables clothing advisors to share data between stores Those clients are as much attracted to Harry Rosen’s com- and segment customers according to clothing preferences, prehensive mix of brands — from traditional luxury labels such as shopping frequency and average purchase price so they can Ermenegildo Zegna and Giuseppe Zanotti to modern offerings offer timely and informed sales recommendations. from the likes of Citizens of Humanity and Original Paperbacks While this digital system solved a host of problems, Harry Rosen — as they are to the kind of high-touch service provided by a com- wanted to take things one step further. A client who dropped in pany whose most senior clothing advisor has been on duty for for an unscheduled visit usually caught clothing advisors off-guard, an astonishing 59 years. “We’re famed for our longevity and reten- prompting them to sally forth to access the customer database. tion of staff,” notes Rosen. “Many have worked with us for more Because side-by-side service is perhaps the essence of a high- than 10, 20, 30 years.” touch clienteling environment, CIO Stephen Jackson realized that Initially the clothing advisors kept meticulously detailed notes extending CRM to mobile platforms could elevate the experi- regarding client preferences on hand-written index cards, but that ence for both customers and clothing advisors — and increase rev- all changed once the company’s client roster ballooned to half a enue per visit.4

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 23 TOP INNOVATORS

“My role as CIO is to align technology with the business and paign calls. What’s more, the software also integrates with to provide our clothing advisors with a competitive edge through Harry Rosen’s labor scheduling platform, increasing operational the most advanced clientele systems within the retail industry,” efficiencies and allowing clients who log into the company’s web- says Jackson. site to view their clothing advisor’s availability. Harry Rosen supports a BYOD environment; clothing advisors “Everyone thinks we sell clothes, but we sell advice and wardrobe use their own smartphones, which results in a mix of Android consulting,” explains Rosen. “We earn clients’ trust and create phones, BlackBerrys and iPhones, and a few carry tablets on the relationships. We haven’t changed our values since our found- store floor. The average store includes 18,000 square feet (though ing days, we’re just letting the machines work for us.” the flagship clocks in at 55,000), making connectivity from any Over time, user adoption of the mobile CRM platform has location within the four walls of utmost importance, especially grown from 33 percent to 95 percent, helping clothing advisors to as clients’ communication preferences have transitioned over be more productive and efficient. the years from calling to texting and emailing, notes Rosen. “The pace of adoption to the mobile platform really depended Infor’s mobile CRM version integrates with Harry Rosen’s e- on the age and awareness of the clothing advisor,” Rosen says. commerce site and POS, creating a unified source of enterprise “Our younger, tech-savvy advisors were quick to adopt. But every- data. The software tracks important KPIs such as sales, customer one has come on board, proving there is no truth to the adage that visit frequency, time spent with clients, revenue per client visit/life- you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” time, multiple unit sales percentage, profiled clients, and cam- — Jessica Binns Brooks Brothers New York, N.Y. |www.brooksbrothers.com

NOMINATED BY: 7thOnline | www.7thonline.com

hen you think of the Brooks Brothers brand, the limitations for Brooks Brothers to efficiently Wphrases “classic,” “iconic” and “conservative” manage rising stockkeeping units (SKU) counts, instantly come to mind. Yet, the retailer is synony- and proactively address shifting demand pat- mous with innovation when it comes to continu- terns. Specifically, these aging operations ously meeting shifting consumer demand and new were disparate, “making it impossible to look market opportunities. In fact, this strategy is the key at our business as a whole,” he explained. to its 197-year staying power. “These are hindrances to a global omnichan- A company that built its reputation as a men’s nel brand, and also the issues that prompted clothier with a proud record of outfitting 39 out of us to change our direction.” 44 U.S. presidents, Brooks Brothers has grown into It was clear the company needed to elim- a lifestyle brand for men and women alike. From inate data siloes, consolidate enterprise an operational perspective, the company continues technology, and create one version of the its transformation efforts — a move that enables truth running through all enterprise sys- closer customer ties and seamless shopping expe- tems. A top priority was to modernize the riences for both existing and new customers. Brooks company’s demand planning and execution Brothers’ current transformation strategy priority is processes. This required the company to retire “to become a global omnichannel player,” explained manual Excel spreadsheets that different lines of Sahal Laher, executive vice president and CIO of the business used to compare data, and instead auto- company. mate its merchandise and assortment planning However, global expansion is always easier said capabilities. than done. “Like many retailers, we were doing busi- While investing in best-of-breed solutions can ness in multiple countries, yet were not ‘truly global,’” help modernize processes, “too often companies Laher said. “We had stores, operations and offices install new packages believing all of their prob- overseas, but processes and infrastructure were not lems will go away,” Laher said. “When they are set up to support and scale a global operation.” still running antiquated processes, and new solu- Specifically, Brooks Brothers was using a combi- tions don’t help, retailers don’t understand why.” nation of a legacy planning system and spreadsheets. Determined not to go down that path, Brooks As the business continued to grow in scale and com- Brothers began exploring consolidated, yet scal- plexity, the largely manual process and tools posed able solutions that could break down barriers between

24 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

channels, and create a foundation for assortment planning. This ers will gain complete demand visibility, streamline processes and is especially important for an apparel retailer such as Brooks Broth- anticipate profit opportunities and inventory risks in a timely man- ers that regularly manages tens of thousands of SKUs. ner. “We sought a planning solution that was powerful, yet light- “We needed a systematic platform that can conduct automated weight to implement and easy to tailor for our unique needs,” said scientific modeling scenarios that respond to different factors,” he Laher. “The platform will provide a single point of demand visi- explained. “It requires us look at demand as the driver of what bility for our direct-to-consumer business.” specific product is needed in stores.” The chain plans to begin implementation for its North Amer- The company found its ideal industry-specific solution from ican operations in July, and Laher expects to begin seeing bene- 7thonline. At a high level, 7thonline’s solutions will enable Brooks fits by the end of the year. “Our expectation is to learn the Brothers to gain visibility of consumer demand signals at the most impact of customer demand, and delve into sales lost due to not granular level, and optimize inventory positions for greater mar- having the right sizes available, or directing them elsewhere to gins and lower financial risks. save the sale,” he said. “We expect a massive opportunity that will By adding the supplier’s Fabrix Retail Suite as its corporate mer- enable us to have the right product in stores at the right time.” chandise and assortment planning solution, for example, all These efforts are setting the tone for the company’s contin- planning and reporting processes are streamlined into an inte- ued investments in its global omnichannel capabilities, espe- grated process. This includes insight into multiple factors, includ- cially as the company inches toward its 200th anniversary. “We ing actual and predicted sales for specific stores and channels. This are always considering strategies that will keep us relevant for helps the chain create an accurate global financial model for all another 200 years,” he said. “If we are going to be a serious global channels. Meanwhile, 7thonline’s Size Optimization Services are omnichannel lifestyle brand, we need the right processes to sup- designed to match merchandise size allocation with local demand port that [goal].” across all stores. — Deena M. Amato-McCoy Making the move away from legacy systems and manual spread- sheets to the integrated, analytics-rich platform, Brooks Broth-

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 25 TOP INNOVATORS Everything But Water Orlando, Fla. | www.everythingbutwater.com

NOMINATED BY: Mi9 Retail | www.mi9retail.com

rivately-held, 30-year-old Everything But Water operates 95 Pstores and an e-commerce channel catering to women’s swimwear, resort-wear and accessories. Besides being a destination for shop- pers seeking chic vacation wear, pool party ensembles and sum- mer style-inspired merchandise, loyal customers are also attracted to the retailer’s sales associates who provide personal attention and help transform what could be a stressful swim shopping expe- rience into “a relaxed ‘me-moment,’” noted the retailer’s chair- man, Randall Blumenthal. However, when Blumenthal purchased the company five years ago, he immediately noticed that an aging operating system was indirectly impacting the exceptional service on which the brand built its reputation. “The main pain point at the time was a slowness within the [operating] system,” he explained. “Besides sale and store operations solutions. The comprehensive, scalable, the platform being slow, it had poor reliability and reporting, end-to-end merchandise management and store systems solu- and was not scalable.” tion provides the retailer with best-in-class technology, real-time When preparing to replace the outdated legacy retail system, data accessibility and omnichannel functionality — all features Blumenthal began evaluating new platform options that would that deliver meaningful visibility into shopper behavior, product support integrated omnichannel capabilities, including buying, performance and vendor reliability. pricing, inventory management, inventory valuation and customer While rolling out an all-encompassing solution can be a daunt- relationship management. These processes are especially impor- ing task, Blumenthal has spent the past 24 months deploying tant within an omnichannel experience that requires a tight con- the platform in stages. The first phase was the enterprise-wide nection between demand chain operations, and one that can ensure installation of the solution’s business intelligence module, “and that proper product assortments hit the right business channel currently all primary modules are installed,” he said. at the right time. Since beginning the deployment, the retailer has increased These efforts required a scalable platform that supports a cen- business efficiency, streamlined its processes, and managed its tralized database to feed these solutions, as opposed to using man- merchandising operations and order fulfillment with improved ually-managed disparate data marts. “We also required a solution visibility. “Operating one system ensures that nothing gets lost in that offered several modules that work well together, [tied together] translation, and our advanced reporting capability has contributed with well-written software,” Blumenthal explained. For Everything to virtually no errors in our fulfillment processes,” he added. But Water, Miami-based Mi9 offered the ideal solution. This end-to-end retail suite includes retail analytics, merchandise — Deena M. Amato-McCoy management with a fully-integrated mobile platform, point-of- Macy’s New York City, N.Y. | www.macys.com

NOMINATED BY: Alvanon | www.alvanon.com

orty-five million albums sold. More than beloved Mexican superstar Ariadna Thalía ing and influential demographic as evi- F24 million followers across Facebook, Sodi Miranda, better known as just Thalía. denced by Kmart’s Sofia by Sofia Vergara Instagram and Twitter. Eight telenovelas With Hispanics accounting for 15 percent collection and Jennifer Lopez’s partnership watched by more than 2 billion viewers of adults and 22 percent of Millennials in with Kohl’s. in 180 countries. the United States, wielding purchasing Before even considering design elements With numbers like these, it’s little won- power estimated to reach $1.5 trillion this that would speak to Hispanic shoppers, der Macy’s jumped at the opportunity to year, retailers have been paying particular Macy’s knew that perfecting the fit of the collaborate on a fashion collection with attention in recent years to this fast-grow- collection would be half the battle. The

26 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

retailer reached out to fit firm Alvanon, back on what's important for the Latina cus- “Offering a preview of the collection which took more than 20,000 body scans tomer,” notes Haimbach. “She identified through the first-ever Facebook launch of to help develop the right size and fit. “We animal print as a neutral for this customer a new brand via a live stream fashion show also sent cross-functional teams to Mexico that should be in the collection at all times.” was the perfect opportunity to allow her City to learn more about this customer and From shoes and jewelry to apparel and fans access through a platform they are her fashion needs,” says Marcia Haimbach, accessories, the Thalía collection features already using daily,” she continues. The executive vice president of ready-to-wear vivid colors, eye-catching prints and ver- runway preview aired on Thalía’s Facebook and intimate apparel for Macy's merchan- satile, flattering silhouettes that Macy’s page in January and has now been viewed dising group. hopes appeal to millions of women glob- by more than 3.5 million fans globally; the Fit research spanned 18 months and ally in addition to the Hispanic shopper. collection officially launched on March 5. yielded key learnings about specific body When the time came to unveil the col- As the Hispanic demographic will only attributes for the target customer. “The lection, Macy’s leveraged Thalía’s status as continue to grow in size, importance and Thalía fit caters to the woman who has less a digital influencer and tapped into the influence in the United States, Macy’s expects curve between her waist and hips with evolving social networking trends among to have an ongoing and productive rela- shorter rise,” Haimbach explains. “She also Hispanics. In recent years the retailer has tionship with the blond bombshell, who has a fuller upper body. She shops our stores fine-tuned and shifted more of its targeted was named one of People Magazine’s Most but for different brands and fits, so our goal marketing to the Hispanic consumer away Beautiful (Los Más Bellos) a whopping nine was to create a one-stop shop for her.” from traditional media and into digital media times (a record!) and one of the top 25 most Once Macy’s had established the ideal platforms, especially mobile. “Over the past powerful Latinas by People en Español. fit, it was time to get down to brass-tacks few years, we've seen dramatic increases “We see Thalía as a long-term brand at with Thalía, who Haimbach says was very in consumption of media by Hispanic cus- Macy’s with growth opportunities,” Haim- involved in the overall look of the collec- tomers across digital platforms,” says Haim- bach concludes. tion, from color and print to design (and bach. “Thalía is a highly followed social — Jessica Binns even fit, too). “She meets with our team for media influencer, with millions of fans color and print reviews and to give feed- worldwide. Twice as Nice Uniforms Atlanta, Ga. | www.TwiceAsNiceUniforms.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

edical scrubs are traditionally baggy, Even so, there has been little to no change “Munisex, pajama-like garments con- in terms of style, fabric or functionality since structed of low-grade poplin cotton,” says they became a mandatory uniform for hos- Debora Carrier, founder and CEO of Twice pital personnel in the 1980s, says Carrier. as Nice Uniforms. “The medical industry continues to evolve; Carrier knows this first hand. As a long- patients are demanding higher levels of care time dental hygienist, she struggled to stay and medical scrubs must follow suit,” she both comfortable and professionally pre- says. sentable in her chilly dental office, but could In addition to wearing scrubs that look not find any uniforms that would enable her drab, clinicians also must suffer the cold, as to stay warm and comfortable while look- temperatures in medical facilities are typi- ing stylish and also professional. So she decided cally kept low to accommodate hospital equip- to make one herself, securing a patent for her ment, says Carrier. To keep warm, workers design in 2013. often layer their uniforms with hoodies or It’s not a bad time to be focusing on the other outerwear, a practice that is both unhy- healthcare business. With more than 59.2 gienic and unprofessional in appearance. million1 workers, the medical industry is one “These are typically 40-plus-hour-a-week of the largest and fastest growing industries jobs. That’s a significant amount of time to globally and most of those workers need wear baggy, uncomfortable clothes.” In short, scrubs. Spending on scrubs in the United she says, “the medical uniform has long been States alone will surpass $532 million in 2015.2 overdue for an overhaul.”

28 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

Enter Twice as Nice Uniforms, which has taken a new approach with two-way stretch that maintains its shape. The liner is interquilt, to scrubs by adding a patented, removable, hidden liner made of which Carrier says keeps the wearer looking fresh and fitted all lightweight performance fabric that is both antimicrobial and mois- day, and pockets have been strategically placed and structured ture-wicking. “This scrub not only looks better, but also regulates to accommodate today’s tablets and various sizes of smartphones. the body temperature of the health care clinician, eliminating With investor funding, Twice as Nice Uniforms is currently in the need for layers over or under the uniform,” says Carrier. The its second production run with a New Jersey-based manufacturer. wearer can also quickly remove the liner (it’s attached with a With this second run, it has launched a men’s line and expanded branded snap tape), which creates two uniforms in one — thus its color options for its women’s line. The company is growing the Twice as Nice name. quickly and using social media and its website to build brand Twice as Nice Uniforms also offer an improvement over the awareness, says Carrier. boxy fit of many scrubs on the market, which Carrier says typi- Uniforms are marketed online, via local trunk shows at med- cally offer style variations only in color and pattern. ical professional association gatherings and via a team of brand Working with fit expert Renée Bavineau of Raise the Bar RTB ambassadors gathered from within the medical community. LLC, Twice as Nice Uniforms developed two scrub styles with fea- — Jordan K. Speer tures designed to flatter every body type, says Carrier. 1 World Health Organization 2008, http://www.who.int/hrh/documents/ Twice as Nice Uniforms also feature enhanced fabric and fin- counting_health_workers.pdf ishes. Its premium scrub fabric is a silky poly-rayon-Spandex blend 2 2014 Health Care Staff and Scrub Retailer Survey, Uniform Retailers Association (URA) Mountain Equipment Co-op Vancouver, BC | www.mec.ca

NOMINATED BY: Visual 2000 International | www.visual-2000.com

hether it is customer-inspired or inter- organizations that help conserve ecologi- Wnally focused, sustainability and the cally and recreationally important areas. environment are at the forefront of every While MEC strives to inspire and enable business decision that Mountain Equip- Canadians to lead active outdoor lifestyles ment Co-op makes. By tightening its focus with environmentally sound merchandise, on collaboration, the company is creating this is more than just lip service. Honoring a roadmap that will help it achieve its goals the environment is a business strategy that much faster. that drives all internal operations, including Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment product production. “We create our prod- Co-op (MEC) evolved in 1971 when a group ucts carefully, and we constantly explore of West Coast mountaineers agreed to turn new ways to improve our practices and reduce an unconventional retail model into a thriv- our impact on the environment,” said San- ing business. Eager to create a local mar- dra Rossi, MEC’s director of product design. Because this was a shared goal across ketplace for Canadian outdoor enthusiasts, It is this commitment that led the com- different departments, it forced everyone six comrades developed a consumer co- pany to bluesign. Officially known as blue- to work together as a team. One way to operative (with an unlimited number of sign technologies AG, this Swiss organization keep the team on the same page was through equal membership shares) that sold qual- works with fabric mills to ensure that envi- its adoption of a product lifecycle man- ity gear for rock climbing, mountaineering, ronmental standards — from energy, raw agement (PLM) system. While the PLM ski mountaineering and hiking. Fast-for- materials and chemicals going in, and water solution was not the catalyst for the pro- ward more than 40 years, and the company and air emissions going out of the envi- ject, “it is a tool that will help us easily track has evolved tremendously. By matching ronment — are met. products, material yardage and certifica- people with expertise, experience, enthu- Already designing merchandise with tions that support our bluesign and envi- siasm, clothing and gear for camping, snow bluesign materials, MEC upped the ante ronmentally preferred materials efforts,” sports, water sports, cycling, climbing, hik- and set a goal that it would reach 100 she said. “It provides us with an easy tool ing, running and fitness, the company has percent bluesign materials used in apparel to analyze our progress and set goals for attracted more than 3.75 million members and sleeping bags by 2017. “We were mak- the future without a lot of extra work and across Canada. With a commitment to “give ing incremental increases season after sea- spreadsheets. Everything we need is recorded back to the planet,” every year members’ son, but until we made a concrete goal, the and found in PLM.” purchases enable the company to donate 1 conversion was slower than we wanted,” In choosing the best system to support percent of sales to Canadian non-profit she explained. its needs, the company sought a PLM sys-

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 29 TOP INNOVATORS

tem that was best suited to a small- to medium- The solution is clearly working its magic, got lots of ideas, and Visual 2000 thus far sized, but growing, company, Rossi said. as the co-op continues making signifi- has been very supportive and we’ve got- By choosing a solution from Montreal- cant progress in reaching its fast-approach- ten everything we’ve asked for,” she added. based Visual 2000 International, the co-op ing bluesign goal. “At the end of 2015, “As we use it more, we expect to con- can streamline all product and material we will be at 70 percent,” Rossi reported. tinue working with Visual 2000 to get even specifications, as “everything about a style “The last 30 percent will be the toughest, more out of the system.” is now recorded in one place,” she said. but we are all dedicated to working together — Deena M. Amato-McCoy “Anyone in the organization who needs and making it happen.” information can access the portion they Of course, bluesign is only one of many need within PLM.” projects the PLM system supports. “We’ve

JustFab Los Angeles, Calif. | www.justfab.com

NOMINATED BY: NGC | www.ngcsoftware.com

ince its launch in 2010, e-commerce dar- forms. “With our rapid growth and need Sling JustFab has been on the forefront to expand our sources of supply, we required on many of today’s biggest retail trends: a system that would provide a single source the convenience of online shopping, the of data across cross-functional teams,” addiction of fast fashion, the desire for a explains Russel Steingold, senior vice pres- personalized, curated experience, the sub- ident of Fabletics and global sourcing. “We scription business model. Through a series wanted a cloud-based solution that our of acquisitions, JustFab Inc. now includes accounting, merchandising, design, prod- Fabletics, FabKids and ShoeDazzle, with 3 uct development and supply chain teams million VIP members signed up to receive could use for their needs, respectively. We a shiny new item — whether shoes, cloth- could no longer function using spreadsheets ing or accessories — from their unique bou- due to the complexities of our business and tique each month for a flat fee of $39.95 the rapid growth we were seeing.” (shipping’s on the house for orders of more In the first quarter of 2014, JustFab began than $39). implementing NGC’s PLM platform to JustFab can keep its prices so low because effectively collaborate with suppliers and it designs everything in-house in Los Ange- keep tabs on changes throughout the prod- les; there’s no middleman to mark up prices uct development process. The software aids to department-store or specialty retail lev- with line planning, material development, els. On track to surpass $500 million in rev- sampling and sourcing, and includes work- enue this year, JustFab has been growing flow calendars and an exception dashboard at a rapid clip by moving into new cate- to help keep all aspects of design both on gories, increasing product offerings and time and on budget. Today 80 users are on expanding internationally; between Just- the NGC platform. “As a fashion company, we are constantly Fab and Fabletics, the company serves Aus- Streamlining its product development looking to evolve the personalized expe- tralia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, department enables JustFab to pursue inter- rience we give our members,” Steingold Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, esting opportunities and collaborate on says. “I think the customer experience will in addition to the United States and Canada. special collections, as it did with People Style- continue to evolve and become more and With its “need for speed” approach, Watch — a top style source for Millennial more customized and engaging. The Just- JustFab can capitalize on the latest trends women — on a 32-piece capsule in March. Fab Inc. brands have been focused on chang- and deliver fresh, of-the-moment products The 25 shoe styles and seven handbags fea- ing the way people are shopping for fashion to customers quickly, feeding the relent- tured the latest designs and colors for spring, online, and we are always enhancing that less appetite for new, new, new. allowing JustFab to reach People StyleWatch’s experience.” But enviable growth always comes with 10.5 million subscribers. —Jessica Binns a few pain points, and eventually the com- Going forward, JustFab plans to con- pany outgrew some of its operational plat- tinually fine-tune the customer experience.

30 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS Performance Scrubs Brentwood, Tenn. | www.performancescrubs.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

orget New York, forget Los Angeles, forget San Francisco: if Fyou’re looking for true innovation in apparel, look south, past the well-known hotbeds of North and South Carolina into the heart of the deep South: Alabama. The rumblings of a Made-in-America renaissance are alive and well in Florence, Ala., where high-tech medical apparel manu- facturer Performance Scrubs unveiled in October 2014 a brand- new 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that houses highly skilled and specialized seamstresses, cutter operators, software engineers, and sales and marketing staff. Not that domestic pro- duction is necessarily new to the company. For many years Per- formance outsourced production to cut-and-sew factories in and around Cullman, Ala., says J. Kirby Best, co-founder and CEO. Research reveals that consumers want and expect a wide range “About six years ago Performance bought the assets of an old of options in every product, Best notes. “The solution is to inte- cut-and-sew operation and decided that one of our core strengths grate all of the systems so that the order flows directly from the would be the manufacturing of products right here in the United customer completely through the system without human inter- States,” explains Best. “Today, Made in the USA is one of our iden- ference, without building inventory while still offering millions of tifiers, although we often say ‘don’t buy it because it is made in unique product combinations.” the USA, buy it because it’s the best in the world.’” In addition to scrubs, the company also produces sportswear To Best, the value proposition of committing to domestic man- and sleepwear, all of which leverage similar technical fabrics ufacturing seems clear as day. “Many apparel companies are seek- that deliver moisture-wicking, antimicrobial, wrinkle-resistant, ing ways to bring their manufacturing back to the U.S. but cannot color control and odor elimination properties. Every product can seem to get past the prices they are receiving in China,” he notes. be customized to the client’s specifications, says Best. “However, if these companies examined the entire costs associ- Beyond quality and ensuring that each item shipped meets ated with manufacturing the supply chain offshore and not just the highly defined specifications, Performance’s most closely tracked price per piece, the benefits would become obvious.” metric is operations per hour. Because every garment requires a The new technologically advanced factory is the result of many unique set of operations, the only measurement that means years of research and collaboration with thought leaders across anything out on the floor level is operations per hour per shift, industries, according to Best. “Great minds with top experience explains Best. “The whole management team carries iPads around from IBM, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the largest on-demand the shop and can always give any of the team members their exact digital printing company came together to develop a whole new counts at any moment,” he explains. “Soon every workstation will way to do business,” he explains. “The supply chain has been be equipped with a monitor that will scroll through the neces- stretched to the limit in the clothing business. Performance seized sary functions and information needed.” the opportunity and collaborated with experts whose boldly cre- Instead of resting on its laurels, Performance is investigat- ative and technically brilliant minds created a solution that addresses ing new ways to enhance its facility and service, experimenting these challenges.” with computerized avatars, 3D laser measuring systems, and That solution is the OnPoint system, which features Recircu- robotic arms to deliver even greater levels of automation and lation Backbone Technology (RBT), an automated manufacturing customization. platform that employs software-driven proprietary workflows and Best is certain that the apparel industry will have to evolve sig- a smart three-dimensional conveyer system. Essentially, RBT shut- nificantly in coming years. “Business lines will blur more and faster tles totes filled with cut fabric to the right sewer in the right sequence, than before. Retail will move towards showrooms, and manu- though it’s actually much more sophisticated than that, says Best. facturing or high-speed distribution will adapt to make this hap- “By automating the entire supply chain from order entry to pen,” he says. delivery, you can use one factory to make millions of unique prod- “An omnichannel approach to selling will win, but the ques- ucts simultaneously,” he adds. For clients, this means inventory tion now is just how long will it take, and can manufacturing drive can be greatly reduced or even eliminated in some cases as stock it fast enough?” can be replenished literally overnight. And RBT is cost-effective — Jessica Binns even for one-off runs.

32 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS Mitchells Family of Stores Westport, Conn. | shop.mitchellstores.com

NOMINATED BY: ThoughtWorks Retail | www.thoughtworks.com/retail

hile it describes itself as late to the tech- real-time. While he wouldn’t share specific customers are using functionality, we were Wnology game, Mitchells Family of Stores details, Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, the excited to see a higher number of users than is certainly making up for lost time as it chain’s vice president of marketing and cre- expected,” Mitchell-Namdar said. “Now expands the customer engagement tech- ative services, reported that reserved prod- we are focused on increasing the ease of nology platform that earned the com- uct levels and in-store traffic are both on functionality.” pany one of Apparel Magazine’s Top the rise. Mitchells has clearly covered a lot of Innovator spots in 2014. With an eye to the future, Mitchell- ground in six months, and the chain shows When Westport, Conn.-based Mitchells Namdar didn’t waste time expanding the no sign of slowing down. In fact, there is earned this honor last year, the company platform’s functionality. Almost in tandem, a two-year wish list burning a hole in was embarking on a platform that could the retailer launched its e-commerce site, Mitchell-Namdar’s proverbial pocket. Among enable a true one-to-one engagement strat- www.mitchells.com. Now, Mitchells is tak- the first projects is a recommendation engine egy. Fashioned around a rudimentary, albeit ing steps to integrate the two pieces together — but not just any engine. “Too many seem effective, practice, engagement came in the to create an all-encompassing interactive automated. We need something that feels form of store associates using their per- customer engagement tool. “By merging like a virtual stylist is making recommen- sonal cellphone cameras to take photos our e-commerce solution, we have truly dations,” he explained. “We are working of merchandise. These shots were shared created an omnichannel structure that has to bring the in-store experience online as with loyal customers via emails and texts the ability to drive in-store and online sales,” best as we can, but we also need to make to update them on new arrivals. The process, he explained. changes that create a true omnichannel called Mpix, set the tone for the company’s One new piece of functionality within experience. Our mantra is the customer has evolving omnichannel customer engage- the platform (now known as M World), is to see the benefit of all of our services brand- ment strategy. the ability for online customers to sign in wide, or they will shop elsewhere.” In fall 2014, Mitchells, partnering with and chat with a virtual style advisor who To ensure no grass grows underfoot, Chicago-based ThoughtWorks Retail, intro- serves customers based on their preferences Mitchell-Namdar is planning to add more duced a web-based customizable platform and style needs. The platform also features people to the retailer’s technology team so that delivers much more easily accessible an interactive virtual closet — a personal- it can move as fast as it can, he explained. robust customer information to sales asso- ized digital catalog of every purchase each “Technology changes very quickly and we ciates. A cloud-based database stores details individual customer has made brand-wide have lots of wonderful ideas.” such as preferences and purchase history, over five years, both in-store and online. “It is a great feeling to have [won the Top as well as the associates’ Mpix library of Meanwhile, the retailer also launched Innovator] honor more than once, but the chainwide inventory and related product an interactive dashboard that enables cus- best acknowledgement is still when I am information needed to expertly share offer- tomers to view the status of alterations stopped at a store by a shopper who says ings with their clients. Six months into its requested in-store, as well as collaborate how much she loves the site,” he noted. “This launch, the platform now manages 15,000 with their individual style advisors regard- means we are innovating in the right way.” SKUs, and all data shared between style ing new arrivals and track reserved- — Deena M. Amato-McCoy advisors and customers is updated in near- product status. “While analyzing how many SustainU Morgantown, W. Va. | www.sustainuclothing.com/store

NOMINATED BY: Self

uthentic. Honest. True to its roots. These From long- and short-sleeve t-shirts to limited resources, SustainU has made it Aare more than words to Morgantown, hoodies and zip-up fleece sweatshirts, Sus- mission-critical to use post-industrial Va.-based SustainU Clothing. These words tainU is a 23-person, six-year-old company cottons and post-consumer polyester to define a business mission that has con- that produces American-made apparel from make its comfortable, yet durable fabrics. tributed to growth for the young apparel recycled materials. Dedicated to the impor- These efforts alone save millions of gallons company. tance of conserving the earth’s increasingly of water, petroleum, agrochemicals and

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 33 TOP INNOVATORS

CO2 emissions, according to the company. companies leading the way in developing and developed a partnership. Their first event: What is equally as important as the com- this area of the apparel industry.” the 2013 America’s Cup. “That was an excit- pany’s love for the earth is its love and pride These characteristics have contributed ing event and it went very well,” Yura said. for its country. While the trend in fashion to significant growth over the past five years. Positive results prompted the duo to has been to slash operating costs through The brand is especially attractive to other team up for SustainU’s most recent endeavor, outsourcing labor overseas, the company local companies with similar mission state- designing and manufacturing official game has a vested interest in domestic manu- ments. One of its most recent partners: shirts sold by FMI during the 2015 College facturing. The result is quality apparel Facility Merchandising Inc. (FMI), the 30- Football Playoff National Championship and the reinvigoration of a vital American year-old Woodland Hills, Calif.-based dis- played in January. The game, which fea- manufacturing sector, the company reports. tributor of non-consumable merchandise tured the University of Oregon Ducks and Local production, comprised of smart across arenas, stadiums and events nation- the Ohio State University Buckeyes going supply chains, also contributes to the cre- wide. The company recently acquired the head-to-head at AT&T Stadium, in Arling- ation of an affordable product, debunking rights to operate the retail concessions, ton, Texas, gave the West Virginian man- the widely held belief that sustainable cloth- become the master licensee, and handle all ufacturer national exposure. ing is synonymous with being expensive. e-commerce operations for the prestigious “It's an incredible blessing to be able “When you show that you can be price America's Cup yachting event. Also dedi- to reach that national market,” said Yura. competitive and the quality can actually be cated to sustainability and reducing its car- “Our company has gotten a lot of atten- better [using recycled materials], and cre- bon footprint, FMI plans to use the upcoming tion in the sports apparel community. We ate jobs domestically it's a win-win for col- America's Cup as its first venue to intro- have a lot of good employees putting in lege sports and consumers,” said Chris Yura, duce an entire product line developed from some hard work.” SustainU’s CEO, as quoted in The State Jour- 100 percent post-consumer waste. — Deena M. Amato-McCoy nal, a business publication covering West Based on similar business goals, it makes Virginian businesses. “We're one of the sense that the two companies found each other

Buffalo Exchange Tucson, Ariz. | www.buffaloexchange.com

NOMINATED BY: Celerant Technology | www.celerant.com

apper Macklamore may have made it The brand, which generated Rcool for the masses to go thrifting and $81.6 million in revenue (as of “pop some tags,” but this is “business-as- December 2012), features vin- usual” for Buffalo Exchange, a company that tage clothing from the 1930s to has created a successful enterprise by fea- the 1980s, thanks to customers turing high-end one-of-a-kind vintage cloth- who bring in their fashionable ing and a knowledgeable sales team. By high-end apparel for resale, all implementing a retail management plat- sold in clean, fun stores with a form, it is now blending innovation into its boutique atmosphere. Consignment cus- sible to manage without an automated sys- vintage-inspired chain with real-time insight tomers receive payment once their mer- tem. “We can sell between 4,000 and 5,000 into its inventory chain-wide. chandise is sold, and at that time, have the SKUs a week. When you multiply that times The Tucson-based company started in option of receiving cash or trade credit for 48 stores for 52 weeks a year, it shows the 1974 by Kerstin and Spencer Block as a 450- their used clothes. depth of what we are managing, purely square-foot store that bought, sold, traded In addition to the vintage clothing, from a replenishment standpoint,” said and took vintage fashion clothing on con- about 20 percent of the stores’ merchan- Rebecca Block, the chain’s vice president, signment. At a time when resale shopping dise is new. and Kerstin and Spencer’s daughter. “Inter- carried a stigma, the Blocks were deter- The chain manages more than 200,000 nally, nothing talked together, or accom- mined to reverse this trend. Between Ker- SKUs, but struggled with how to see what modated our SKUs. Instead, we would stin’s two loves of fashion and finding a merchandise sold best in which locations, create new unique SKUs, replicate the num- good bargain, the couple grew the com- as well as how to calculate margins. ber in our mainframe, and flood the oper- pany into a 47-store, two-franchise chain Meanwhile, each piece of merchandise ating system that was supported by DSL across 17 states. has its own unique SKU, which is impos- or T1 lines.”

34 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

Buffalo Exchange tried to modernize its processes times before. “I can look anytime, in real-time to see sales for any given day, With most enterprise point-of-sale (POS) systems in the mar- review a customer’s purchase or trade history, and even deter- ketplace designed to manage traditional sales, they couldn’t sat- mine if any customers are flagged as problematic, connected to isfy Buffalo Exchange’s needs. Yet, the chain was determined to questionable or stolen high-value merchandise,” Block said. automate and distinguish its merchandise trades and cash pur- Looking ahead, the chain plans to open new stores in Pitts- chases, and manage its unique inventory identifiers. The company burgh and throughout Florida, as well as launch an e-commerce was ready for an automated retail management platform that could operation. With plans to launch this spring, the site will curate and pull customer information as they made a trade or purchase, sell vintage clothing. Simultaneously, the chain will augment and store it in a centralized database. It also wanted daily reports the site with a sell-by-mail program. Customers use a self-addressed, on sales compared to trade, as well as automated updates of stamped bag to ship consignment merchandise to be evaluated. total cost of goods. “Our POS terminal will conduct the process, and we will respond Buffalo Exchange was able to address its needs by adopting with a note revealing the value based on a cash or trade rate,” she Celerant’s Command Control platform. The vendor and retailer said. “Shoppers will alert us to whether they would like us to send worked together to customize the platform to address its specific a trade card or check.” needs, and in 2012, the chain launched a new POS system capa- As for POS-specific upgrades, Buffalo Exchange is evaluating ble of supporting and accounting for all of its desired buy, sell and new hardware, specifically equipment that is fashion-industry trade transactions. A centralized database is integrated within hardened to withstand store debris, such as lint and dust that reporting tools, and also within the chain’s existing accounting can clog fans. Upgrades could launch as soon as 2017. software. The chain also uses the software’s backend functional- — Deena M. Amato-McCoy ity, including its human capital management modules such as time clock functionality.

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 35 TOP INNOVATORS Canada Goose Ontario, Canada | www.canada-goose.com

NOMINATED BY: Gerber Technology www.gerbertechnology.com | www.yunique.com

ho would have thought 10 years ago than 70 manufacturing jobs. Wthat an outerwear brand whose roots Canada Goose churns out in lie with Antarctic expeditions would end excess of 500,000 premium up landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s jackets, each bedecked with 2013 swimsuit issue, gracing Kate Upton’s its signature red, white and curves no less? blue “Canada Goose Arctic That’s the story of Canada Goose, which Program” patch and many has transformed itself from the brand of trimmed with coyote fur. Purchased in 2010, ber’s Cut-Ticket process allowed us to choice amongst hardcore outdoorsmen and the Winnipeg facility also has expanded increase the number of fabric pieces we cold-clime scientists to a covetable luxury twice, and recently the company has taken could cut at once, while at the same time good with price tags as high as $1,590 over the building’s third floor as well, adding improving accuracy and reducing waste. and preferred by celebrities including Drake, 90 new positions in the process. Canada “The new machine is extremely precise Daniel Craig and Emma Stone. The Toronto- Goose employs more than 1,000 staff world- in cutting the fabric so that we’re not left based retailer’s meteoric rise — 4,500 per- wide, including 200 new hires over the past with much extra material, which becomes cent growth over the past decade, and U.S. year, and maintains offices in Denver, Lon- more and more important as we grow and sales up 30 percent since last year — has don, Munich, Paris and Stockholm. produce more jackets every year,” he adds. been helped along as much by the frigid Canada Goose runs a tight manufac- Since implementing the process more temperatures of 2013’s Polar Vortex and turing ship, implementing Gerber Tech- than a year ago, Canada Goose has reduced 2014’s Siberian Express as by CEO Dani nology’s cut-ticket process in Winnipeg in waste by as much as 3 percent. Reiss’s market and branding savvy. Cur- which AccuMark pattern design software “There are more than 325 employees rent revenues have soared past $200 mil- generates a ticket with all the important working in our Winnipeg facility and this lion and are expected to reach $300 million, information for the work order such as color, new technology has absolutely increased up from $150 million last year. Bain Cap- fabric types and quantities. The tickets then production volume, as well as improved ital acquired a majority stake in Canada can be scanned to provide precise instruc- efficiency and increased capacity, without Goose in 2013 at a $250 million valua- tions for Gerber’s spreading and Paragon sacrificing quality,” Riddlestone explains. tion, and Wall Street seems to be itching cutter equipment. “We pride ourselves on making the best for an IPO in the not-so-distant future. “Our company is growing rapidly so to and warmest jackets in the world, so qual- The company moved into a new 96,000- keep up with demand, we’re always look- ity is of the utmost importance.” square-foot Toronto factory last October ing for ways to increase capacity and improve — Jessica Binns to keep up with white-hot demand, dou- production efficiencies,” says COO Paul bling production capacity and creating more Riddlestone. “The implementation of Ger-

Stantt New York, N.Y. | www.stantt.com

NOMINATED BY: Lectra | www.lectra.com

here’s no denying that men’s wear is having a moment (and Tquite an extended one). According to NPD Group, sales growth of men’s apparel in 2013 outpaced women’s, and an IBISWorld report found that e-commerce sales of men’s clothing from 2010 to 2015 far surpassed every other category that analysts reviewed (eg, electronics, alcohol, auto parts, pet supplies). Translation: more than ever, men are paying increasing attention to fashion and style.

36 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

Yet in the midst of this madness for men’s wear, in the new- are an important part of the shopping experience as well,” he found enthusiasm for twee bowties and ironic suspenders and explains. Despite the initial first push via e-commerce, however, Instagram-ready pattern mixing genius, there’s still plenty of room the duo has discovered that there’s nothing like meeting poten- for a couple of outsiders with a new idea to step in and disrupt tial customers face to face. The Way Things Have Always Been Done. “We’re seeing old-school retailing, like setting up pop-up shops, Enter Kirk Keel and Matt Hornbuckle, co-founders of Stantt, is so much more impactful,” notes Hornbuckle. “We were in a new brand of casual dress shirts that Kickstarted its way to Chelsea Market recently, and having that one-on-one interaction success by crushing its funding goal in lighting-fast time: 200 per- with the consumer, and allowing him to actually try on the shirt cent funded in just 24 hours. Clearly, the brand’s mission res- and discover the amazing quality of our product is hundreds of onated with supporters. And that mission is to end the long-standing times more effective compared with the online customer acqui- idea of S/M/L sizing by delivering high-quality dress shirts in — sitions methods we were trying.” wait for it — 75 sizes. Each named for a street in New York City. The Chelsea pop-up was so successful that Stantt started another And it’s all possible because: data. six-week run on April 27. Keel and Hornbuckle, who both previously worked for John- Although Stantt launched with a manufacturing partner in New son & Johnson in brand management, decided that 3D body-scan- York, the brand now sources production in Central America ning technology would offer the best insights into the range of with a factory that can turn shirts around in less than one week, body types and sizes out there, partnering with Lectra and using 100 percent cotton fabric sourced in Europe. “This manu- leveraging its user-friendly platform. “We talked to every key sup- facturer empowers the 75-sizes methodology where our inven- plier of 3D modeling and patternmaking and Lectra’s system by tory levels are a fraction of what they are in the industry standard,” far was the easiest to use and the most helpful in terms of out- Hornbuckle says. put and data,” says Hornbuckle. Between physical and digital Stantt plans to expand to as many as 125 sizes this year and models, the pair fit 2,220 guys, informing the wide range of sizes is working on a new line of casual shirts that could launch as early now available on its Shopify-powered e-commerce site that has as this month at a $78 price point. As for competitors, Hornbuckle been up and running since December. Users simply enter their sees the brand as being alone in the crowd. chest, waist and sleeve measurements and an algorithm calculates “I see us as carving out a new space in apparel where we’re the ideal fit. Shipping and returns are free, of course. giving guys the best of ready-to-wear, which is a fast and easy Hornbuckle is quick to point out that the brand’s website expe- experience, but you get the fit like it’s custom made,” he concludes. rience is just as important as perfecting the fit of each shirt. “Today’s — Jessica Binns guy knows fit and style are really important but simplicity and ease bumbrella www.wearbumbrella.com | Bay Village, Ohio

NOMINATED BY: Self

id you know that restrictive shapewear bumbrella is a two-in-one panty-and- Dgarments can deliver a world of hurt (in slip garment that prevents the twisting, addition to that perfectly smoothed sil- turning and riding up often associated with houette)? Nerve compression, acid reflux, traditional half slips while providing mod- blood clots in the lower extremities — that’s esty and coverage beneath skirts and dresses. just the tip of the iceberg. Gallagher was inspired to create bum- “Most health care professionals would brella — “an umbrella for your bum” — by recommend wearing these shaping pieces her own embarrassing experience wearing for no more than three to four hours at a a black jersey dress to an outdoor funeral same kind of design inspiration to an under- time, thereby making them impractical for that unfortunately was revealed to be garment that was completely lacking in the daily wear,” says Tara Gallagher, whose see-through in the bright sunshine. And intimate apparel market.” career in marketing and advertising tran- her idea for the design came in part from Gallagher’s mother executed the first sitioned to practicing medicine as a physi- the workout skorts that had become the prototype, stitching together a cut-up cian, where she discovered the shapewear staples of her daily exercise regimen. half-slip and underwear and proving the issues that prompted her to launch alter- “As active as I was, I never had to think concept to be viable. As a newcomer to native undergarment brand bumbrella about the comfort of my workout wear,” the garment industry, the physician in 2012. explains Gallagher. “I wanted to bring this researched product development on the

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 37 TOP INNOVATORS

Internet, partnering with a pair of indus- in Asia to forge a contract with a small Chi- is not only brand awareness but also cre- try veterans, including a pattern- and nese manufacturer, which is especially for- ating awareness of a new product category sample-maker with 40 years of inti- tunate, says Gallagher, given bumbrella’s within intimate apparel,” she adds. mate apparel experience. startup status and low minimums. bumbrella may soon expand its offer- She went through roughly 15 rounds of “I was initially hesitant about manu- ings, as Gallagher says she’s considering a trial-and-error with different fabrica- facturing abroad due to the long lead times longer slip length, new colors, and plus sizes. tions. “I remember thinking the first sam- and perceived lack of control,” she adds, A children’s line may also be an option — ple felt a lot like a bathing suit,” notes noting that the finished product has far “I can’t tell you how many mothers have Gallagher, “which is definitely not what I exceeded her expectations. bumbrella offers said how hard it is to find a girl’s slip,” she wanted.” two style options: a hipster panty and a says — and a maternity product currently Eventually, her team settled on a light- thong, with a boy short version just about in the works will again leverage her med- weight, breathable nylon/spandex blend ready for production, all available in black, ical expertise. “It’s so important to consider with just enough stretch to hug the body nude and blue. anatomy, especially the changing anatomy and maintain its shape without squeez- Although bumbrella’s sales are split 50- of a pregnant body,” Gallagher says. ing uncomfortably. 50 between wholesale and direct-to- “I have always loved fashion and am Gallagher had to abandon her initial consumer at the moment, Gallagher would delighted I can couple my medical and mar- hopes of manufacturing in the United States like to become a pure wholesaler in the keting knowledge to create practical, mod- once she discovered the dearth of domes- future. Generating traffic to the bumbrella ern problem-solving garments that are also tic options for producing apparel with four- website has been an uphill battle, she says, fashionable and fun,” she concludes. way stretch fabric. Her product development along with attracting the attention of the — Jessica Binns partners leveraged their long partnerships all-important retail buyer. “The challenge

Ascena Retail Group Mahwah, N.J. | www.ascenaretail.com

NOMINATED BY: TradeStone Software | www.tradestonesoftware.com

scena Retail Group aspires to be a $10 president of operations, ascena global Doubts and fears aside, ascena recog- Abillion top-line retailer with top-tier prof- sourcing (AGS). nized that it needed to implement syner- itability — and an appetite for acquisitions Over the years, however, the organi- gies across the organization to support its — is helping them reach their goal. The zation has become reliant on these dis- overall growth business strategy. This addition of a collaborative platform that parate systems, tools and processes. What required a common and holistic platform unifies the design, sourcing, ordering and really began taking a toll on operations that featured one version of the truth through- delivery of retail goods will contribute to was reliance on email, spreadsheets and out the entire product lifecycle. achieving this goal as well. other manual processes that buyers and Based on these requirements, ascena Operating approximately 4,000 stores, suppliers used during collaboration. For chose TradeStone Software, Gloucester, and with close to $5 billion in annual sales, example, a buyer might perform an email Mass. Providing a single platform, Trade- Mahwah, N.J.-based Ascena Retail Group, search only to receive multiple downloads Stone manages all aspects of product known as ascena, is a holding company for of various PDFs and data exports from design, product development, collabo- missy and plus-sized women’s apparel com- Excel spreadsheets when finalizing the rative sourcing, production, quality man- panies Lane Bryant, maurices, dressbarn spring collection with one supplier. Those agement, supplier management, order and Catherines as well as tween apparel same cumbersome tasks would be repeated management, logistics, finance and busi- store Justice. for all involved suppliers. The organiza- ness intelligence. Overall, this end-to- ascena built its enterprise on the power tion finally recognized that without com- end configuration creates efficiency, of acquisitions, a strategy that is preparing mon processes and tools across collaboration and a stronger sense of the company for global growth. However, geographically dispersed ascena brands, community throughout the organiza- with every new acquisition, the company these challenges would only intensify. tion, regardless of the brand, or whether adds new complexities to an already-com- “It was becoming imperative to have a stores are operated domestically or inter- plicated existing infrastructure. common system in place so all brands could nationally. “We’ve acquired multiple brands over speak the same language,” Hunter explained. The web-based application supports time, and each came with its own ways of “Yet, it was also challenging to know that streamlined collaboration with supplier working from process, systems and tools each brand was at a different starting point partners, and seamlessly integrates with perspectives,” said Jennifer Hunter, vice in this potential journey.” the parent company’s enterprise resource

38 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

planning (ERP) solutions, including finan- cials. To manage the deployment, a collab- orative project team comprised of members of the business, finance and IT departments identified problems and resolutions. By choos- ing to keep the configuration as vanilla as possible, the team ensured the solution was primed to create the highest level of effi- ciencies enterprise-wide. The company started applying the solu- tion across the Justice brand in 2014. Begin- ning with lifecycle management, tight integration enabled the brand to collaborate with its vendor and factory partners — a growing community of more than 55 direct sourcing vendors and 120-plus factories. These global partners now have access to a single platform to find, design, source and buy merchandise for the retail brand. Since going live, the brand has seen efficiency savings, which has been a large contributor to the project’s return on invest- ment. The company is also using Justice's successes as its implementation model as it ramps up subsequent brands. ascena currently has two brands using TradeStone as its core platform: Justice and maurices. But this is just the beginning. “As we think about growth, we believe each one of our brands has significant organic top and bottom line opportunity,” said ascena’s CFO, Robb Giammatteo. “We see signifi- cant growth potential across all our brands related to expansion of our existing mer- chandising assortment, and as we continue our journey toward full realization of our omnichannel capability.” Leveraging a shared services platform and the establishment of a global community fur- ther positions ascena for continued growth and cultural transformation. “When we first set out, we thought we were just doing a system implementation project; it was much more than that,” said Hannah Schmitz, director of sourcing sys- tems for AGS. The diverse community consisting of brand partners and Shared Services (including AGS and IT) knew failure was not an option. “What we really did was build a global commu- nity devoted to changing how we streamline our implementation methodology and prod- uct innovation processes to take our busi- ness to a new level,” Schmitz added.

— Deena M. Amato-McCoy

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 39 TOP INNOVATORS Francesca’s Houston, Texas | www.francescas.com

NOMINATED BY: MarketLive | www.marketlive.com

hen you visit Francesca’s.com, the web Francesca’s is working to achieve this Results can be seen in the numbers: Wsite reminds shoppers to “Make sure goal, in part via an e-commerce platform Direct-to-consumer sales increased 64 per- to look in every nook and cranny, because from MarketLive, a platform that helps cent in fiscal 2014 versus the prior year due around every corner, Francesca’s is brim- companies to create cross-channel com- to increased traffic. ming with treasures that are sure to become merce customer experiences, engaging social Another enhancement that Francesca’s favorite pieces in your collection.” The brand campaigns and marketing and merchan- found success with was MarketLive’s geo- takes this advice to heart, as it continues to dising features across all customer digital location-based boutique locator. (The com- add innovations to help shoppers to find touch points, regardless of whether they pany has temporarily disabled this feature these treasures, whether they visit online are accessed in-store or virtually. due to a lack of internal resources to sup- or in-store. To ensure digital shoppers get the same port it.) Fueled off of a shopper’s desktop, Francesca’s opened its first store in Hous- service as those shopping in-store, for exam- laptop or mobile device’s current IP address, ton in 1999, a location that featured a fun, ple, the chain enhanced its online offer- the application was able to present the engaging assortment of handpicked mer- ing with an innovative interactive “Collections address, hours and phone number of the chandise. The retailer says its merchandise Outfit Page,” which makes it easy and boutique nearest to the shopper’s device. — an eclectic mix of carefully-curated cloth- fun for shoppers to find just the right out- Convenient links also offered directions to ing, bright baubles, bold accessories, and play- fit, even if they can’t make it to an actual find another store if multiple locations were ful gifts — is as fun to give as it is to receive. store location. The page is updated regu- available in a shopper’s city. An additional Today, Francesca’s has more than 500 larly for special occasions, holidays and sea- content fill slot available on the mobile opti- boutiques operating in 45 states across the sons and is also mobile-optimized. mized site allowed the chain to populate country (88 new boutiques opened in fis- The flexibility of the platform enables promotional and event-related informa- cal 2014 alone), and operates online at the retailer to round out the interactive tion tailored to each individual boutique. francescas.com, and the chain is striving experience through social campaigns, con- This enabled shoppers to see content per- for an omnichannel operation that allows sistent pricing and promotions featured tinent to their chosen boutique. consumers to browse, surf or shop when- across touchpoints brand-wide. ever it strikes their fancy. — Deena M. Amato-McCoy

RG Barry Pickerington, Ohio | www.rgbarry.com

NOMINATED BY: Simparel | www.simparel.com

hen manufacturer RG Barry acquired new brands within its a developer and marketer of premium insoles, and baggallini, a Wproduct portfolio, it was a blessing and a curse. Sure, it expanded manufacturer of handbags, tote bags and travel accessories. These the company’s breadth, but it also increased IT issues. By deploy- three brands have helped RG Barry evolve into a strong and grow- ing a category-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) sys- ing accessory lifestyle manufacturer. tem, the company was able to overcome challenges caused by Following the brand acquisitions however, one major challenge disparate systems, including improved order accuracy and stream- emerged. “We struggled to fold all three unstructured ERP sys- line shipments. tems into a single system of record,” said Tom Stoughton, direc- A 60-year-old company, RG Barry originally built its reputa- tor of information services, RG Barry. tion on its development of the iconic Dearfoam slipper brand. In Each brand used a different solution, and they were also at the mid-1980s, slippers were no longer being merchandised as three stages of usage. For example, one brand wasn’t fully lever- “footwear,” and began to be categorized as an accessories cate- aging their platform. Another completed its design processes gory — a move that prompted RG Barry to begin competing in a offline, because it didn’t have the capacity to store all working data. new category. This transition also gave the company more oppor- Meanwhile, RG Barry had its own ERP issues. It relied on aging tunity to grow its portfolio. With an eye on new accessory lines, mainframe software that was not only generic, it had not been RG Barry pursued a series of acquisitions, including Foot Petals, customized to support the growing accessory company’s increas-

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 41 TOP INNOVATORS

ing volume. Described as between 30- and 40-year-old technol- purchasing, sourcing and electronic data interchange. Users also ogy, the system was inflexible, non-scalable, and required upgrades traded in antiquated legacy-based “green screens” for interac- that could take an entire weekend to accomplish. tive graphical user interfaces (GUI). In June 2011, RG Barry began exploring integrated, apparel- “Using synchronized data, we can drill at many different lev- specific options that could support its company, especially its els, and easily export and extract information to manipulate and expansion goals. Prerequisites included usability across all RG manage in real-time,” he said. “It's much easier and accurate than Barry’s brands, and the ability to identify retail customers across relying on information produced in a nightly batch process." its specific brands. It had to manage merchandise at granular style, Most importantly, the solution allows the company to com- color and size levels, and identify the way its customers ordered. municate with vendors via an online portal, “so we know order “Our old system didn’t have the logic to handle these processes, prices and quantities, and can determine warehouse space needed requiring us to custom-write code,” he said. during peak times, and ship orders on-time,” said Stoughton. With so many options to choose from, Stoughton and his team The ERP system is also supporting new endeavors, such as the began vetting apparel-specific options. “We immediately elimi- company’s baggalini brand’s new e-commerce program, which nated those solutions that were missing components we wanted, launched in March. As consumers place orders on www.bag- as well as systems that weren’t fully integrated,” he explained. galini.com, information is stored in the ERP solution via elec- “That narrowed the field from 30 options to nine. We streamlined tronic data interchange (EDI). “We have a very mature EDI the choices to three requests for proposal [RFP], and then pared environment that supports 85 percent of orders taken and shipped,” these down to two choices that featured demonstrations for our Stoughton explained. “Since our order management and pro- steering and IT teams.” cessing is integrated with Simparel, all information is shared. It Simparel emerged as the clear choice, and RG Barry began a is an exciting time, and we are enjoying the results so far.” 13-month implementation process that included transitioning — Deena M. Amato-McCoy to the new platform, as well as the ERP’s supporting systems, including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), accounts payable,

Kokatat Arcana, Calif. | www.kokatat.com

NOMINATED BY: Self

emember what it was like when you were instead of a small fish in the big pond of out- Ra kid, and you had to get up in the middle erwear apparel, a move that honed its focus of the night to visit the bathroom, and you on perfecting apparel for its niche. were wearing your one-piece footie pajamas? Since that time, the company has been improv- That’s a bit akin to the experience of an ing upon paddle sportswear, experimenting avid kayaking enthusiast who wears a one- with different materials and sealing methods, piece dry suit to stay comfortable and un-soaked and thanks to Kokatat, today the in-and-out during a kayaking expedition. Full-body dry suits challenges of the one-piece dry suit are history. With have traditionally been one piece, because when you its newly launched GORE-TEX Idol dry suit, Kokatat try to stay dry using separate tops and bottoms, it’s has kept the crucial goal — staying dry — of the one- nearly impossible, says Jeff Turner, sales manager. piece intact, while solving the problems that come with “Water finds its way in.” having to fully remove the suit. Kokatat would know. The company, which got its How did it do that? Rather than incorporating a zip- start in 1971 as a backpacking and bicycling shop in per than runs vertically from top to bottom on the torso Arcata, Calif., and moved into wholesaling outdoor or the back, the Idol incorporates a fully separating, apparel and gear to companies such as REI, eventually waterproof, SwitchZip system that circles the waist, decided to focus exclusively on paddle sports apparel eliminating the torso zipper and allowing for maximum after a lawsuit brought against the company — then freedom of movement, says Matt Porter, who can be called Blue Puma — by sportswear company Puma seen explaining the finer points of the company’s forced it to make a decision about its direction. “It was kayaking apparel in a series of videos on the com- the best thing that ever happened to us,” says Steve pany’s web site. “The zipper placement sits between O’Meara, president and co-founder. The company the back band and the seat, and below the skirt so as not to decided to be a big fish in the small pond of kayaking products interfere with boat outfitting,” he notes.

42 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com TOP INNOVATORS

Additionally, the top can be worn separately as a dry top, The ISO-9001 company is a stand-out in the industry, with with the zipper flap folding over the chain of the zipper to protect about 60 percent of Kokatat’s revenues coming from recre- it when it’s in use in this manner. “The SwitchZip acts as the entry ational apparel and the other 40 percent from apparel and gear zipper and release zipper in one, allowing men and women to manufactured for the military, a venture that got its start after have front and rear relief,” he adds. An Idol will run you about GORE-TEX saw the advances Kokatat was making in its products $1,000, which is quite a bargain, given its 2-in-1 feature. As Turner and sought it out as a partner for a project with the Navy Seals. explains, a drysuit and a dry top together will typically run you Kokatat products also are almost entirely Made-in-the-USA at about $1,500, but because the Idol can also be worn as a dry top, the company’s Arcata factory, which employs 150. (Some envi- there’s no need to have both. Each Idol, like all of its drysuits, is ronmentally friendly Gaia® PVC-free flotation foam that it uses in tested for leaks and guaranteed to remain completely dry for the its life vests comes from Asia.) Keeping production close at hand lifetime of the suit. The Idol also features 3-layer Evolution GORE- allows the company to control quality while also focusing on con- TEX® Pro Shell fabric, used in combination with 330 Cordura® tinued research and development, says Turner. GORE-TEX® Pro Shell in areas of high abrasion. The Idol has already received accolades from “Gear Junkie,” When problems do arise, Kokatat has a repair and service facil- being recognized as “Best of Show” at the 2014 Summer Outdoor ity in California (and recently opened one in the UK for its Euro- Retailer. “It is a game changer!” he concludes. pean customers) offering services ranging from gasket replacement — Jordan K. Speer and water testing to leak repair and retrofitting.

Hatley Lasalle, Quebec | www.hatley.com

NOMINATED BY: Visual 2000 International | www.visual-2000.com

omeone should remind Hatley — the emblazoned onesies into the country but 18 percent duty on garments, while simi- SLaSalle, Quebec-based retailer known ultimately ship the majority of those units lar tariffs in the United States and some for its whimsical kid’s clothing and 100 per- for sale abroad — are spared from paying other countries are considerably lower. cent cotton pants — that it’s not a bil- duties on products not destined for the Using the End-2-End platform, Hat- lion-dollar corporation. Because it’s sure Canadian market. “It’s sort of a personal ley established subsidiary companies in behaving like one. free-trade zone,” Oldland explains. Australia, United Kingdom, and the United Hatley maintains 3,200 points-of-sale Being able to take advantage of the DDP States without setting up multiple ware- worldwide, mostly with key wholesale part- requires very sophisticated systems and houses, affording a competitive advantage ners such as Nordstrom, John Lewis in the software, so Hatley turned to Visual 2000 over similar enterprises that rely on a dis- United Kingdom and Australia’s David for assistance developing the End-2-End tributed warehouse model rather than a Jones, though it sells to high-end children’s platform that tracks vital information such centralized one. boutiques as well. The company runs 16 of as import numbers of units shipped into Hatley finds that duties factor into myr- its own retail stores in Canada, constantly Canada along with the currency exchange iad areas of its business. It recently added expanding to new locations such as Mon- rate for the import date. If a unit sells in international shipping to its e-commerce treal International Airport, and operates an Canada six months after import, Hatley site, relying again on data from End-2-End e-commerce site that drives about 3 per- pays the duty based on the exchange rate as well as UPS for what duties and taxes cent of the business. Hatley has plans to on the day it was imported. If the unit is would be appropriate to charge. open retail franchises in New Zealand and further exported for sale, Hatley notifies “We charge a $35 flat fee for shipping distributorships in South Africa, while Aus- the Canadian government that the unit has and a flat 20 percent for duties and taxes,” tralia and mainland Europe are its biggest left the country and thus skips out on duties explains Oldland. “That’s a lot of money, growth markets. altogether. but when you’re buying $300 to $400 of In 2007, the Canadian government cre- “When you’re importing millions of dol- kids’ clothing, it does amortize pretty quickly.” ated the Duty Deferral Program (DDP) to lars of product, the later you can avoid pay- — Jessica Binns help corporations, and especially large auto- ing your duties, the less you’re going to pay motive companies, operate more efficiently, because you borrow money to pay for duties,” says Jeremy Oldland, CEO of Hatley, which notes Oldland. expects to do about $42 million in revenue “We save a ton on interest every year,” this year. In essence, net exporters — com- he continues. “It’s much more efficient for panies that, for example, import 100 owl- cash flow.” Case in point: Canada levies an

www.apparelmag.com • MAY 2015 43 TOP INNOVATORS Topson Downs Culver City, Calif. | www.topsondowns.com

NOMINATED BY: California Fashion Association | calfashion.org

opson Downs may be a private-label supplier, but thanks to Rachel Roy’s overarching creative vision is contributing to Top- Tits strong passion and “a branded mindset,” it strives to solid- son Downs’ strategy to focus on brands via innovation and a focus ify customer connections that tend to be synonymous only with on the customer, and it also gives the company an opportunity brand names. Its recent acquisition of Rachel Roy is enabling the to be involved with a direct-to-consumer business. “This acqui- manufacturer to pursue this branded business strategy, while diver- sition is the first step in our branded strategy: partnering with busi- sifying its portfolio. nesses where we can add our expertise to fuel long-term growth.” “Private label — or private brand as our retailers refer to it — Building off of a successful ready-to-wear category, Topson is a vibrant segment in apparel,” said Danny Abramovitch, the Downs is expanding the brand’s matrix to include footwear and company’s director of sales. “It creates options for customers — accessories, followed by lifestyle-driven categories such as home both retail customers and end-use customers.” and beauty,” says Abramovitch. Since its debut in 1971, the company has been committed to The company is also planning a Rachel Roy e-commerce chan- creating trend-right product, taking time to really understand the nel, investing in a new commerce platform and back-end func- marketplace and listen to its customers’ needs, says Abramovitch. tionality that will help create an engaging and effortless brand Within its own four walls, the company has employed the same experience, Abramovitch said. “The digital world is highly com- nurturing and attentive environment, which he says is a “key dif- petitive, but we see it as a huge opportunity to interact directly ferentiator” for the business. “This marketplace insight has helped with the consumer, and offer her the widest assortment of Rachel the company create goods that reflect fashion at a great value.” Roy product with excellent customer service.” “Today’s customer is more informed than ever, and she wants Since launching Rachel Roy, Topson Downs is enjoying “a the newest trend almost instantaneously,” Abramovitch said. healthy and growing business,” and is looking forward to build- “While private label can be considered disruptive to brands, when ing momentum in the brand in a calculated and strategic way. you approach it from a place of integrity and strategy, it becomes “It’s important that we nurture and protect the brand, and con- a companion to brands.” centrate on the projects and categories that will add value both Enter the Rachel Roy brand, formerly operating under The Jones from brand and monetary points-of-view,” he added. “We are Group, which became a Topson Downs property in the summer striking a delicate balance between our private label and branded of 2014, when the manufacturer purchased a majority equity stake businesses. That said, we are always open to conversations and in the designer’s company, and gave a new home to the brand’s opportunities to add to our portfolio, but we are extremely disci- six-year-old team dedicated to design, merchandising, sales, pro- plined about those opportunities. It has to be the right fit, not only duction, in-store development and marketing. Rachel Roy for the executive team, but for our entire organization.” maintains 100 percent control of her name, while Topson Downs is responsible for developing marketing and licensing the brand. — Deena M. Amato-McCoy The manufacturer also created a new branded head office for Rachel Roy in the heart of New York City’s fashion district.

44 MAY 2015 • www.apparelmag.com