California Apparel News

Serving a market obsessed with the next big thing, mid-size and small fashion businesses have been criticized for falling behind the technology curve that is needed to be more efficient and competitive.

But that criticism might be a thing of the past, according to a growing number of technology entrepreneurs looking to sell fashion business apps and software for digital marketplaces.

While many major fashion companies already run back-office tasks with their own software systems, mid-size to small businesses still do it the old-fashioned way—with emails, fax machines, and pencil and paper.

With an increasing number of tech companies offering new business systems, some fashion businesses are on the verge of taking that giant digital step forward.

Fashion people are headed for the digital world because average people are becoming more comfortable with technology in their personal lives, said Ronda Walker, who in 2001 founded the prominent fashion trade event Pooltradeshow. She sold it in 2005 to MAGIC producer Advanstar Communications Inc.

Walker has embraced the digital world and is scheduled to debut an e-fashion marketplace, called Factory People, in the first quarter of 2013. It will be open to consumers and apparel companies alike. “Before, it [tech marketplaces] was a big, scary monster,” she said. “But look at how much consumer tech has been incorporated into people’s daily lives.”

For Heath Wells, co-founder of West Hollywood, Calif.–based tech company NuOrder, the time is right for fashion business to go digital because tablets and iPads, which are easy to carry at trade shows, are becoming as ubiquitous as desk computers. Apple sold 12 million to 24 million iPads in the third fiscal quarter of 2012, which ended June 30, according to estimates compiled by Fortune (www.fortune.com).

“The iPad was the device that could replace pen and paper,” Wells said. “It was market-ready, and it is available at a good price.”

A number of fashion tech veterans and new companies are introducing apps and digital marketplaces, as well as wrapping up beta testing for new digital products. These companies include Los Angeles–based Brandboom and AIMS360, San Francisco–headquartered ThreadSuite,and New York’s Joor and Pop-Market.

Many of them offer services of being a virtual showroom or a marketplace where retailers and vendors can distribute lookbooks, exchange trade show notes and execute orders, said Joe Shohfi, chairman of Pop-Market.

“We provide the ultimate buyer’s assistants,” Shohfi said. Pop-Market officially debuted in June and said 300 brands, including American Eagle and Aeropostale, are doing business on its marketplace.

Members of Pop-Market must be invited to the forum, Shohfi said. On the forum brands run a secure online showroom where they can offer pictures of their designs and product information. Retailers can seek out products by category, looks, delivery or price point. Buyers can take style notes, assort deliveries and place orders online.

Pop-Market also offers other tools, such as a buyer’s network, where retailers can frequently be updated on who is selling and who is seeking deliveries of Immediate goods.

NuOrder—which offers a cloud-based platform for companies to create custom line sheets, place orders, and update inventory in their offices or trade shows—is on a growth spurt. In November, it secured $3 million in capital from venture capitalists such as Los Angeles–based GRP Partners, as well as a host of other investors, including Creative Artists Agency and Rachel Zoe Inc., Wells said. Levi’s, Helmut Lang and Alternative Apparel are among the companies that are using NuOrder.

Factory People also offers a digital marketplace for wholesaling. But it also will feature a platform where influential fashion consumers will be able to get a first peek at the styles featured on the virtual marketplace, purchase them, and, in turn, act as the brand’s advocate.

“Consumers just don’t buy product,” Walker said. “They promote it. They build brands. Consumers are the brand’s best friends when they have a style to promote.”

Retailers, manufacturers and showrooms typically field requests to try out these new digital marketplaces and apps before and after trade shows. Some of these fashion businesses have offered reviews.

Karen Meena, vice president of buying and merchandising for the influential Ron Robinson boutiques at the Fred Segal compounds in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., said she looks forward to a time when these digital apps streamline the time-consuming tasks that take place at trade shows. She would like to see them summarize the multitude of new collections and trends at the gargantuan trade events she needs to cover. She currently does much of that work with pen and paper.

She said many of these digital marketplaces and apps are getting close to being excellent trade show assistants. But she doubts if they will replace entrenched computer systems her company already uses, such as RetailPro. She also reports fatigue from being asked to join yet another new digital marketplace. “I have assistants and buyers. I don’t need your help,” she said, referring to being pitched a new digital marketplace.

Serving a market obsessed with the next big thing, mid-size and small fashion businesses have been criticized for falling behind the technology curve that is needed to be more efficient and competitive.

But that criticism might be a thing of the past, according to a growing number of technology entrepreneurs looking to sell fashion business apps and software for digital marketplaces.

While many major fashion companies already run back-office tasks with their own software systems, mid-size to small businesses still do it the old-fashioned way—with emails, fax machines, and pencil and paper.

With an increasing number of tech companies offering new business systems, some fashion businesses are on the verge of taking that giant digital step forward.

Fashion people are headed for the digital world because average people are becoming more comfortable with technology in their personal lives, said Ronda Walker, who in 2001 founded the prominent fashion trade event Pooltradeshow. She sold it in 2005 to MAGIC producer Advanstar Communications Inc.

Walker has embraced the digital world and is scheduled to debut an e-fashion marketplace, called Factory People, in the first quarter of 2013. It will be open to consumers and apparel companies alike. “Before, it [tech marketplaces] was a big, scary monster,” she said. “But look at how much consumer tech has been incorporated into people’s daily lives.”

For Heath Wells, co-founder of West Hollywood, Calif.–based tech company NuOrder, the time is right for fashion business to go digital because tablets and iPads, which are easy to carry at trade shows, are becoming as ubiquitous as desk computers. Apple sold 12 million to 24 million iPads in the third fiscal quarter of 2012, which ended June 30, according to estimates compiled by Fortune (www.fortune.com).

“The iPad was the device that could replace pen and paper,” Wells said. “It was market-ready, and it is available at a good price.”

A number of fashion tech veterans and new companies are introducing apps and digital marketplaces, as well as wrapping up beta testing for new digital products. These companies include Los Angeles–based Brandboom and AIMS360, San Francisco–headquartered ThreadSuite,and New York’s Joor and Pop-Market.

Many of them offer services of being a virtual showroom or a marketplace where retailers and vendors can distribute lookbooks, exchange trade show notes and execute orders, said Joe Shohfi, chairman of Pop-Market.

“We provide the ultimate buyer’s assistants,” Shohfi said. Pop-Market officially debuted in June and said 300 brands, including American Eagle and Aeropostale, are doing business on its marketplace.

Members of Pop-Market must be invited to the forum, Shohfi said. On the forum brands run a secure online showroom where they can offer pictures of their designs and product information. Retailers can seek out products by category, looks, delivery or price point. Buyers can take style notes, assort deliveries and place orders online.

Pop-Market also offers other tools, such as a buyer’s network, where retailers can frequently be updated on who is selling and who is seeking deliveries of Immediate goods.

NuOrder—which offers a cloud-based platform for companies to create custom line sheets, place orders, and update inventory in their offices or trade shows—is on a growth spurt. In November, it secured $3 million in capital from venture capitalists such as Los Angeles–based GRP Partners, as well as a host of other investors, including Creative Artists Agency and Rachel Zoe Inc., Wells said. Levi’s, Helmut Lang and Alternative Apparel are among the companies that are using NuOrder.

Factory People also offers a digital marketplace for wholesaling. But it also will feature a platform where influential fashion consumers will be able to get a first peek at the styles featured on the virtual marketplace, purchase them, and, in turn, act as the brand’s advocate.

“Consumers just don’t buy product,” Walker said. “They promote it. They build brands. Consumers are the brand’s best friends when they have a style to promote.”

Retailers, manufacturers and showrooms typically field requests to try out these new digital marketplaces and apps before and after trade shows. Some of these fashion businesses have offered reviews.

Karen Meena, vice president of buying and merchandising for the influential Ron Robinson boutiques at the Fred Segal compounds in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., said she looks forward to a time when these digital apps streamline the time-consuming tasks that take place at trade shows. She would like to see them summarize the multitude of new collections and trends at the gargantuan trade events she needs to cover. She currently does much of that work with pen and paper.

She said many of these digital marketplaces and apps are getting close to being excellent trade show assistants. But she doubts if they will replace entrenched computer systems her company already uses, such as RetailPro. She also reports fatigue from being asked to join yet another new digital marketplace. “I have assistants and buyers. I don’t need your help,” she said, referring to being pitched a new digital marketplace.

Office helpers

Sven Almetz, president and co-founder of Los Angeles–based contemporary brand Comune, said he was shopping for systems that will take care of his label’s back-office tasks. He anticipated that he will be able to save more than $8,000 printing lookbooks. He also hoped a new system would save time on order-entry tasks performed by his staff.

But he worried that new systems won’t work with his other computer software. “I hear nightmare stories,” he said of companies that paid $15,000 to $25,000 for a digital-marketplace system only to find it didn’t work with other company software. “It’s like buying that first iPhone. There are a few glitches.”

Liza Stewart, owner of the Los Angeles–based Liza Stewart showroom, tested ThreadSuite and was pleased with it. Her team used the program for business tasks such as process orders and sending emails. “It eliminates all of that,” she said.

“We’re definitely going to utilize the newer tools in the industry,” she said. But she still sees a robust role for physical trade shows. “The bottom line is that nothing will replace the hands on the garment. Every dot-com buyer comes to market to touch and feel the product.” λ

Office helpers

Sven Almetz, president and co-founder of Los Angeles–based contemporary brand Comune, said he was shopping for systems that will take care of his label’s back-office tasks. He anticipated that he will be able to save more than $8,000 printing lookbooks. He also hoped a new system would save time on order-entry tasks performed by his staff.

But he worried that new systems won’t work with his other computer software. “I hear nightmare stories,” he said of companies that paid $15,000 to $25,000 for a digital-marketplace system only to find it didn’t work with other company software. “It’s like buying that first iPhone. There are a few glitches.”

Liza Stewart, owner of the Los Angeles–based Liza Stewart showroom, tested ThreadSuite and was pleased with it. Her team used the program for business tasks such as process orders and sending emails. “It eliminates all of that,” she said.

“We’re definitely going to utilize the newer tools in the industry,” she said. But she still sees a robust role for physical trade shows. “The bottom line is that nothing will replace the hands on the garment. Every dot-com buyer comes to market to touch and feel the product.”