This episode with James Miller of The Collected Group offers a vital perspective on the fashion retail landscape. He argues for the enduring relevance of department stores while stressing the critical need for speed and adaptability. Ecommerce operators can learn from The Collected Group's strategic choices in leveraging email marketing for customer engagement, pioneering gender-fluid clothing, and embedding sustainability across their product lifecycle, from design to labeling.
Key takeaways
The U.S. department store model isn't dead; brands need to understand how to leverage these established channels effectively.
Prioritize speed and adaptability in your business model to avoid stagnation; continuous evolution is crucial in dynamic markets.
Consider shifting marketing focus towards email marketing for direct customer engagement and stronger relationships, rather than solely relying on social media.
Implement sustainable practices across your entire product lifecycle, from design to labeling, as a core business ethos to resonate with contemporary consumer values.
Embrace innovative product development, such as gender-fluid design, to meet evolving consumer demands and differentiate your brand.
Balance adherence to industry-standard timelines (e.g., seasonal deliveries) with agile responses to market shifts.
In a 35-minute conversation, James Miller brought up the concepts of speed and the need to keep up repeatedly.
"If you stand still for too long, then you're just going to fall behind," he said on this week's Glossy Podcast.
Miller would know about those things. He's the CEO of the Collected Group and just took on the added role of chief creative officer last week. That puts him in charge of the design as well as the business side of the clothing company's three brands: Joie, Equipment and Current/Elliott.
Still, the group plays within the industry's established timelines: "We do 12 deliveries a year for each brand, and they're sold in seasons," Miller said. It was late January, and he was fresh from reviewing some of the deliveries that would go out this fall.
Where the Collected Group does innovate is in its gender-fluid clothing, its emphasis on email marketing over social media and its sustainable practices that extend even to the clothes' labelling.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
The U.S. department store model isn't dead; brands need to understand how to leverage these established channels effectively.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Prioritize speed and adaptability in your business model to avoid stagnation; continuous evolution is crucial in dynamic markets.
What does this episode say about email & sms?
Consider shifting marketing focus towards email marketing for direct customer engagement and stronger relationships, rather than solely relying on social media.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Implement sustainable practices across your entire product lifecycle, from design to labeling, as a core business ethos to resonate with contemporary consumer values.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Embrace innovative product development, such as gender-fluid design, to meet evolving consumer demands and differentiate your brand.
