By 2020, Indochino plans to have 150 showrooms where customers can get measured and place their orders. (Indochino)
Indochino’s recently-installed CEO has big ambitions for the menswear retailer, and now he’s stitched up a partnership to help him realize them. The Vancouver-based company today announced a $42 million (US$30 million) investment from the Dayang Group, a Shanghai-based global apparel manufacturer and one of Indochino’s existing production partners.
The deal—one of the largest single rounds of financing in Canadian e-commerce history—will give Indochino a “head-and-shoulders lead” over its competition says Drew Green, who took over from founder Kyle Vucko late last year. And Green has another audacious goal to add to the 150-showrooms-by-2020 target (up from seven currently) the company announced alongside his appointment. “By 2020, we’ll sell one million made-to-measure suits a year,” he forecasts. “I want to create a multi-billion dollar company by 2020.”
To learn how Indochino plans to measure up to these formidable tasks, check out the forthcoming April issue of Canadian Business when it hits newsstands, Texture and our app on Thursday, March 17. Until then, here’s a sneak preview from our feature on the made-to-measure retailer:
Dayang is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ready-to-wear suits, producing garments for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, and J-Crew, giving Indochino access to a wealth of expertise and enabling a huge upgrade to Indochino’s product catalogue. As of July 1, the company will offer customers a choice of three different suit silhouettes, up from the single, slim-fit style it currently offers. Customization options will increase from some 45 to 190. And the number of fabric variations (a particular material, in a particular colour, print and texture) will jump from 90 to 300. Such a significant array of choices will add complexity to the company’s model, Green admits. But Indochino has proven adept at managing complexity. “If you unveil the curtain, it’s an extremely complex business. There’s thousands of moving pieces,” he says. “Our job is to make the complicated very, very simple for the customer.”
MORE ON INDOCHINO AND MEN’S FASHION:
- Made-to-measure tailor Indochino focuses on scale with a new CEO
- Indochino CEO Kyle Vucko on taking digital retail to main street
- Tim Gunn on never settling for “good enough”
- How to get great fit from a web tailor
- Four questions for the founder of a subscription pocket square service
- How Spier & Mackay is bringing Indian tailoring to Canada’s closets
