Indi is the newest
spin-off of Archetype Solutions, a company known to many insiders in the field
of customized apparel as a premier enabler of mass customization for large
fashion brands. Archetype Solutions has spent years studying human bodies and
fit to develop an innovative technology that enables the company to determine
an individual’s body shape and create a unique pattern to fit their shape. Previously,
they used this capability in a BtoB environment to enable fashion brands to
create an own mass customization offering.
In a first
business-to-consumer venture, Zafu.com, Archetype then utilized their knowledge
to provide an innovative matching service for jeans (see my earlier posting on
Zafu, one of the most innovative companies in the customization &
personalization domain).
Now they went one step
further by founding a custom apparel company, indi, based in Emeryville,
California, just across the Bay from San Francisco.
indi enables customers
to create apparel which reflects their individual style and preferences. In the
moment, indi markets and sells its custom apparel under two brands addressing
two of the most common customized products in the apparel segment: indiDenim provides custom jeans for women and men, and
indiTailored custom dress shirts for
men. All apparel is made using Archteype's proprietary fit technology. Both
customization offers went live during the last week.
Configurator and
co-design process
Both the jeans and the shirt offering are based on a good, state-of-the
art configurator. However, nothing new and noteworthy here, both toolkits are
designed to make their job simple and with less complexity for the consumer.
What differentiates the two offerings from their competition is the scope of
customization offerings, and, hopefully, the better fit due to Archetype's long
experience in the field.
Shirts begin at an
affordable $79, custom jeans are starting at $130, so the price point of mass
customization is truly met. What I liked is the strong focus on customer
satisfaction: indi guarantees each and every order. Customers not completely
satisfied can return garments for a full refund.
Denims are produced in a dedicated
high-tech factory in Mexico, and shirts in Honduras.
Closing the learning cycle of mass customization
The company also offers
an innovative reorder option that allows a customer of shirt to refine the fit
of their garment by making adjustments to the neck, sleeve, arm, cuff and body
length. These adjustments are used to alter the customer’s unique pattern which
indiTailored keeps on file, so the customer can always find a new customized
fit in more fabrics and styles (the selection of fabrics for the shirts is very
limited in the moment):
"One thing that is
quite innovative about our technology is the ability for a customer to make fit
adjustments to a garment that they have received.", CEO Marybeth Luber
explains. "We recognize that fit is a very personal thing and sometimes we
do not nail it on the first attempt. Our
“re-order” process allows a customer to tweak the fit of their pattern – say
take the waist in an inch or lengthen the inseam.
We, then, make the
garment and store that pattern on the customer’s file for future orders. With indi Wholesale, we are looking to
partner with boutiques to carry standard size indi garments while also offering
the custom ordering process. So many
people try things on and wish they could change one or two things about the
garment. This model enables this. "
This is an old, but very powerful idea of mass customization finally in
place!
indi CEO Marybeth Luber on what's coming next
I met indi CEO Marybeth
Luber on the MCPC 2007 conference where she already mentioned the start-up. She
is a former banker turned apparel executive, and joined Archetype Solutions in
2004 and took the helm in 2007. She has since been steering the company toward
its vision of introducing a portfolio of brands leveraging the company’s custom
technology.
In an e-mail
conversation, I asked her what's next to expect from Archetype and indi. She
told me that the company intends to expand the portfolio of products available
for customers. Next for indiTailored will be a fashion style with more
contemporary fabrics and expanded customization options. And there will be even
more, as Marybeth explains.
"Next up for us is a low rise
jean for men to add to the men’s Potrero Classic and Relaxed fits we currently
offer. We have design-your-own denim
jackets in the works for women where women will get to choose details such as
pockets, finishing, embroidery and screen-printing. Additionally, we absolutely
need to expand our size range to cover Plus and Big&Tall. This is important to us, because we want to
offer garments for all consumers. These
sizes require different fit blocks so it is also in the pipeline of future
product rollout."
One further idea will be a wholesale
business for indi that the company considers to be quite compelling for
bringing mass customization for apparel to retail (http://www.indidenim.com/wholesale/).
The wholesale program enables a retail
partner to choose the fabrics, styles and sizes that are best suited for their store's
clientele. And if customers still can't find what they're looking for, retailers
can place custom orders for them. What I found very innovative is the option
for retailers to create their own designs, choosing from the hundreds of custom
style options. This utilizes the customization options of indi even further,
offering retailers the opportunity to create their own assortment.
Marybeth Luber: "Of course, our B2B business [with
Archtetype] continues to be very important to us. We have positioned indi in a slightly more
premium space and offer an expanded selection of styles and options with higher
price points so we are not in direct competition with our B2B business. Many consumers still do not know the option
for affordable custom clothing exists so we think anything we do to further
develop this market is good for all of us.
We also hope to pursue the B2B model with indi by partnering with 3rd
party distribution channels. We
currently have one such partnership in the works."
I also asked here how indi relates
to Zafu. Are there any connections internally between Zafu und indiDenim?
"We spun off the zafu business
last year," Marybeth Luber told me, "and
the two companies now run autonomously.
We do, however, have indi jeans featured on zafu, and indi is definitely
a good option for zafu users when zafu is unable to recommend many brands that
are available in the marketplace."
Cooperation between indiDemin and Intellifit
indiDenim also will cooperate with
Intellifit to gather body measurements in a high-tech store environment. Tests
are in its way in the moment.
Intellifit
currently markets a patented 3D full body scanner that accurately takes over
200 body measurements of a fully clothed person in under 15 seconds (see my
earlier posting). At a Custom Jeans Center, the customer enters a see-through
Intellifit Virtual Fitting Room measuring 8 feet high and 7 feet wide. Low-power radio waves collect numerous, accurate
body measurements of the customer over a period of 20 seconds. Customers don't
have to undress for this technology.
The
customer then designs their pair of jeans online at the indiDenim site,
choosing from a selection of styles and washes, and specifying details such as
pocket shape and design, stitching and personalization options.
The two
initial centers are located at each company’s respective locations, just
outside of Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Using Intellifit’s and indi’s technologies, the centers enable consumers
to design their own custom-made jeans in-person with a guarantee of a precise
fit.
The marketplace
In a study by consumer
research group Mintel, quoted in a press release by archetype, the overwhelming
demand for custom jeans is confirmed. The 2007 jeans market reached $16.7
billion, a 5.4% growth over the previous year. Prior to that, in 2006, the
jeans market experienced a 7.9% growth. This wardrobe staple is often the most
challenging clothing item to find, and fit remains the primary concern for
jeans buyers. In the Mintel study, more than half of respondents (56%) reported
“it is very difficult to find a pair that fits properly,” while a third of
jeans buyers (33%) said that “sizes vary too much.”
indiDenim’s customization
eliminates the fit issue, as each jean is custom tailored to each customer’s
size and shape. indiDenim’s innovative technology enables size and style
combinations that would otherwise require millions of SKUs and be impossible
for a traditional retailer to offer, Marybeth explains. "Our ability to customize the fit while offering
extensive style variations such as fabric, rise and leg style cannot be
replicated by a traditional retailer given constraints on inventory that
typically limit the style and size selection.
Previously, consumers could spend days shopping for their perfect pair
of jeans, which they can now create in minutes at a Custom Jeans
Center." Or today on the internet.
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