To see how the fashion industry is faring regarding sustainability, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studios, sat down with Peter Sadera, editor-in-chief, Sourcing Journal, to discuss the positives pushing things forward, as well as the obstacles blocking more progress.

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In this fireside chat for business hub Retail Rx, Tim Anderson, senior business leader and executive vice president, Hilco Valuation Services, explains to Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio, how retailers and brands must evaluate their respective brick-and-mortar and digital channels—individually and collectively—to ensure overall omnichannel success.

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In this episode, Alex Harrell, Sourcing Journal staff reporter, discusses the gains and obstacles in the exciting world of alt materials.

Download the Material Innovation Report to learn:

• What’s next for Renewcell, rebranded Circulose under its new private equity owner
• How Under Armour is pushing the envelope with its new Neolast fiber
• What Ganni’s playbook, “How to Get Started Creating a Sustainable Business,” can teach startups and existing businesses alike
• How textile-to-textile recycler Ambercycle is scaling up and exploring new relationships to bring its signature creation, Cycora, to the masses
• How next-gen materials developer Polybion has brought its bacteria cellulose leather alternative, Celium, to the global market
• Why the global market for biopolymers is set to grow by 17 percent over the next five years, according to a report by the nova-Institute

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In this episode, Lizzie Kroeze, director of product development and marketing for the EU and UK at AGI Denim, chats with Angela Velasquez, executive editor at Rivet about its upgraded operations.

The vertically integrated B Corp manages the entire production process, from yarn spinning and fabric weaving to garment sewing and finishing. In addition, earlier this year AGI Denim launched The Agency, an in-house creative service offering a range of tools to clients, including trend decks, fit catalogs, wash stacks, specialized insights and rapid prototyping in both digital formats (such as 3D designs and AI-generated visuals) and physical formats.

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Far from some distant sci-fi fantasy, artificial intelligence has made its way into all aspects of our lives, and the fashion industry is no exception.

In this podcast, Sourcing Journal business reporter and tech editor Meghan Hall joins Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, to discuss the SJ x WWD Tech Report: The Artificial Intelligence Issue.

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Since synthetic materials came on the scene almost a century ago, they have grown to become the most popular choice for apparel. But the prevalence of polyester and other polymer-based fibers has come with a tiny yet pervasive problem: microplastics.

Textiles are a key contributor to microplastic pollution, as tiny plastic particles break off and enter the air and water, posing harms to humans and other living things. Polyester and other synthetics are also persistent in the environment, since microplastics and garments themselves are not readily biodegradable. 

“What do we do about this plastic and where this plastic ends up? And what does it even mean to the environment as well as to our own health?” said Dr. Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer and vice president, sustainability at the not-for-profit research and promotion organization Cotton Incorporated. “The world and consumers are sort of waking up to the fact that this is an issue.”

In this episode, Daystar and Yvonne Johnson, senior director, product development at Cotton Incorporated, speak with Jasmin Malik Chua, sourcing and labor editor at Sourcing Journal, about Why natural fibers are a better, more sustainable choice and what will finally move the industry away from polymer-based fibers.

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In this special “Chat Box” episode, part of a series of executive spotlights for RetailRx community hub, Danielle Schmelkin, chief information officer of J.Crew Group joins Fairchild Studio Director Lauren Parker.

Schmelkin discusses the shifting role of the CIO, J.Crew and Madewell’s digital transformation strategies, and sheds light on how retailers should use AI and other technologies to set themselves up for digital success.

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In 2021, Pakistan-based manufacturer Interloop had a vision: to expand beyond the hosiery category and become a “full-family” producer. As the company grew its verticals, it established separate teams for each product type, and cross-category customers had multiple points of contact.

Over the last six months, Interloop has undergone a transformation to restructure its teams by job function instead of business units. This has improved collaboration in areas like product development and boosted customer service, giving buyers a single account lead at Interloop.

Feroze Ahmed, chief strategy and transformation officer at Interloop, spoke with Sourcing Journal editor-in-chief Peter Sadera about this strategy and the next action items on Interloop’s agenda.

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In real estate, the mantra is often location, location, location. But when it comes to truly effective real estate asset management, there is so much more to it, like knowing when to play the long game, when to make a quick decision and why "time kills deals"

In this Sku View fireside chat for Retail Rx, Laren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, interviews two seasoned real estate experts, Alan Shaw and Larry Finger. Both are executive vice presidents of Hilco Real Estate, a division of Hilco Global, and co-CEOs of Hilco Real Estate’s Asset Management division. Both have spent the majority of their careers managing some of the largest and most complex retail real estate properties in the world. They have also "lived through three real estate cycles" and emerged with decades of wisdom to pass along to those still struggling to understand brick-and-mortar's positioning in an omnichannel world.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

• How Hilco Real Estate and Hilco Asset Management advise and manage real estate for business owners and investors such as private equity firms and the benefits of using a third-party business to do so
• How commercial real estate has evolved over the past decade
• Specific strategies that can maximize the value and performance of real estate assets
• Examples of adapting to significant market fluctuations and economic downturns
• Successful retail turnarounds and tales from the trenches
• The most significant risks facing commercial real estate assets today and how companies can identify their vulnerabilities and address them effectively

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Coach remains one of the world's most recognizable brands, which is no small feat after 80 plus years. It's not easy for legacy brands to stay relevant, yet reinvention with the younger consumer can be even harder. Coach has done both by realizing that product-centric isn’t enough; handbags and other fashion items can also be a stand in for self-expression and purpose.

In this fireside chat, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, interviews Sandeep Seth, chief marketing officer and president of Coach North America, on how the global brand has courted Gen Z with the approach that product can boost self expression and purpose, and how the brand's creative advertising is driving this home. 

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·     What Sandeep Seth’s 24 years at P&G and international career brings to Coach 

·     Why Coach has emerged as Tapestry’s strongest brand, bringing in $1.5 billion in revenue, a 6% increase, and besting sister brands like Kate Spade & Stuart Weitzman 

·     How Coach uses its handbags and other products to forge an emotional connection with consumers 

·     How Coach is courting Gen Z with a more purpose-driven approach including themes of courage, empowerment, identity and self-expression

·     Which celebrities resonate as authentic and courageous Coach brand ambassadors

·     How Coach’s sustainable (re)loved trade-in program segued into Coachtopia, and what’s next for Coach leather scraps

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Despite some bright spots, retail has had a bumpy road lately, with shifts from malls to online, store closings, bankruptcies, restructurings, liquidations and the like. Yet as Tolstoy might have put it, “Successful retailers are all alike; each distressed retailer is distressed in its own way.”

In this fireside chat, Rob Gorin, managing director at Getzler Henrich & Associates, interviews Max Frumes, the global head of distress and restructuring news at 9Fin, in search of lessons learned for the industry at large and what we might expect going forward. A highly regarded senior journalist, Frumes has been reporting on distress, credit, M & A, leveraged financing, turnarounds and special situations for more than 12 years.

"My prediction is that you're going to see larger retail restructurings happen with very different stakeholders that don't just include credit funds," said Frumes. "They're going to be these multifaceted companies with lots of different arms that could could wind up having a meaningful influence on these large retail restructurings or refinancings going forward."

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

• What’s different about the distressed retail category now in 2024, both from a company and creditor vantage point
• Some common mistakes that all distressed companies seem to make, and what lessons can be learned
• Retail companies that are good models for generating better returns to right the ship
• The implications of private Amazon aggregators that are restructuring
• What the fashion industry can learn from the Red Lobster loss driver that some say drove the company into bankruptcy.
• Future predictions for the distressed retail industry

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