INDOCHINO was one of the first online companies to disrupt the retail and retail technology sector by delivering mass one-to-one apparel garments to its customers. INDOCHINO is in a highly competitive space, with competitors such as Bonobos (owned by Walmart), Suit Supply, Frank & Oak, UNTUCKit and Stitch Fix, a women’s brand that is pivoting to men. INDOCHINO has set a goal of delivering one million made-to-measure suits by 2020.
INDOCHINO was founded in 2007 by Heikal Gani and Kyle Vucko during their time at the University of Victoria. These two entrepreneurial students created the idea out of necessity and fostered it into an international phenomenon. The company successfully transitioned from digital to brick-and-mortar and has opened 43 showrooms since 2015, with up to 13 more slated for 2019. Australia is INDOCHINO’s first official launch outside of North America.
“We are really re-creating the way a generation shops for apparel,” said Drew Green, CEO and President, INDOCHINO. “In the last four years we transitioned from an online-only brand to an omnichannel brand with 45 showrooms across North America. We really wanted to focus on an experience-based model versus just a transaction model. We wanted to re-create the traditional store. We are appointment based, with pre-booked appointments before we open the door. Every garment we make is made to order, as we have no inventory in the store.”
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Green, who was born and educated in Canada, started his career in Toronto at FloNetwork and then headed off to New York. Positions at DoubleClick (now owned by Google) and Shop.com followed. He returned to Canada after nearly a decade in New York and has had many executive, advisory and board roles at Shop.ca, Yourika, Apollo Exchange, Unata, Riverdale, Paymi and Influicity.
In 2015 Green accepted the job at Vancouver-based INDOCHINO. The Canadian company was in need of reinvention, which Green addressed, aided by his background in digital, branding, marketing and leadership.
Green credits his success to his focus on people, product, profits, partnership and price. “We look for people who are customer service oriented and have good people skills,” he said. “Next, we source our product from high quality materials using our highly developed supply chain, turning the product around for fast delivery to our clients.
“As the CEO, I and our board are focused on profits, and through our unique process, which we should add to the five P’s, we are able to scale and deliver on the promise of customization,” Green added.
“We make one of kind, made to measure garments,” said Green. “We have developed a platform and process that allow for 350,000 to 500,000 appointments which are typically one hour in duration.” With a team of 750 in Canada and 1,500 in China, managing 250 fabrics over five seasons, INDOCHINO is able to deliver suits in under two weeks.
Drew Green is a keynote speaker at the Future Stores Conference, which will be held in Seattle June 4-7, 2019.