With a career that spans more than 30 years, and includes tenures at namesake brands such as Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Coach and Donna Karen’s Urban Zen brand, Catherine Sadler now has joined Fashion Digital as its Fashion Chair & Executive Director.
Over the course of her vast career, Sadler has consistently focused on three goals: Telling great stories, connecting with customers in meaningful ways and building iconic brands. But after spending so many years inside of the C-Suite — she most recently served as Global CMO at Banana Republic — she is breaking beyond the internal organizational structure to help bring the retail industry as a whole forward.
“I want to add value as a change agent,” Sadler said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “I want to use my 30-year history of enduring relationships across media and sectors to help other brands and the overall industry create break-through connections.”
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Now, as CEO of SADLER+BRAND, she is doing just that. Working with Fashion Digital and a number of clients, Sadler is striving to be a “positive igniter to create additive and disruptive connections that create a high level of engagement.”
Sadler has broken through the competitive clutter and created a series of immersive brand experiences over the course of her career. She points to Banana Republic’s capsule collection with AMC and Mad Men as one of her most monumental projects. In fact, she characterized it a “win, win, win” for the brand, Mad Men and consumers alike. With this initiative, Mad Men was able to break into the media zeitgeist and create an iconic image, while Banana Republic was able to boost customer awareness and acquisition. But perhaps most importantly, consumers acquired access to “proprietary products that couldn’t be found anywhere else,” she noted. “We created a positive charge, a level of relevancy and engagement, and ultimately, incremental sales.”
Sadler can draw on this and many other experiences as she helps Fashion Digital’s founder Sandy Hussain grow the brand.
A Brand Evolution
Fashion Digital’s mission is to educate fashion retailers and brands about new trends and technologies that will help them drive sales, according to the company’s web site. Established in 2011, Fashion Digital offers a variety of networking events and conferences that touch on e-Commerce, digital marketing, mobility and other pertinent topics. Born in New York, the business and its corresponding events has since expanded to Los Angeles and London.
When Sadler initially met with Hussain, “we talked about Fashion Digital and what it could be in the future,” Sadler explained. “I truly think it’s a manifestation of what my new company is about and my philosophy in general.”
As Fashion Chair and Executive Director, Sadler will help foster the community and connectivity that is already building within the Fashion Digital realm.
“We’re interested in creating a Fashion Digital community that connects both the fashion and technology sectors,” Sadler said. “We want them to lean in together and learn from each other, brainstorm and collaborate to ultimately create meaningful experiences.”
Fashion Digital also aims to position itself as a safe haven where both brands and tech providers can cut through the clutter and hone in on the topics, strategies and best practices that matter most to them. Consider retail’s evolution over the last six years as the catalyst for this lofty goal.
Over this period of time, retailers have had to “adjust to changes in consumer behaviors, as well as evolution in technology,” Sadler said. “I have experience in trying, as part of the C-Suite, to internalize that. You’re met with tremendous challenges — even if there’s a willingness to change — whether it’s due to the size of the operation or simply not knowing where to turn next.”
Because consumers have evolved so substantially, “we get caught up and brands, ultimately, have lost the narrative,” according to Sadler. “Many brands have lost their unique point of view because they’re simply trying to figure out how to speak and interact with this new consumer.”
By providing a series of annual events focused on this new digital realm, Fashion Digital is aiming to “bring the fashion and tech sectors together to evolve and create a foundation that great brands can build upon,” Sadler said. “We all need to work together, collaborate, brainstorm, share wins and failures together to create a new retail world order.”
Once this foundation is laid, Sadler noted that “we can get back to the business of building great greats that have unique DNA and points of view.”
