At a time when shoppers are fleeing mall chains like J. Crew, Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch, the direct-to-consumer fashion label Everlane is thriving.
Founded in 2010, Everlane follows in the footsteps of e-commerce sites like Warby Parker and Bonobos by selling wardrobe staples like T-shirts, cardigans, pants, and loafers mostly online. An outside firm estimated Everlane's sales at $35 million for 2015, up nearly 200% from 2013.
Michael Preysman, founder and CEO of Everlane, swore for years that his online clothing company would never go into physical retail. But this week, Everlane announced it is opening two brick-and-mortar stores in New York and San Francisco to bring new customers into the fold and connect with existing fans.
We stepped into the Everlane headquarters to find out what one of the most innovative companies in fashion is doing differently during the retail apocalypse.
Everlane would like you to believe this is no ordinary crewneck.
These are no ordinary pants either — they are "versions" of pants. Much like app developers who post frequent software updates, Everlane is constantly iterating on its products.
This model is in stark contrast to how traditional fashion brands operate. Most retailers launch collections based on seasons, so when August rolls around, the stores fill with new sweaters and corduroys in the hope that shoppers scoop them up before Pumpkin Spice Lattés arrive.
But as Quartz pointed out, this approach doesn't reflect how customers shop. Most people don't buy new wardrobes all at once, but rather search out items as they need them.
"Traditional brands launch a ton of stuff, and then they look at what sold and what didn't," Preysman told Business Insider. "We look at it much more on a product-level basis."
Everlane releases small batches of new apparel continually throughout the year.
It gathers feedback from customer surveys, return shipments, and in-person "fit clinics" to make products better. In the past, Everlane has swapped the material in a pair of slim wool trousers to make them less itchy and adjusted a shoe sole so feet wouldn't slip out as easily.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider