Retailer Feature: Wear Else
Date: 10/22/2009
This week, we caught up with Zahra Mamdani, owner of Wear Else, as she prepared for the big Wear Else/Flare Magazine fashion show and Fall '09 trend presentation. Zahra gave us the inside scoop on rebranding the Vancouver clothing chain, what labels she's carrying and what's in store for the next year.
Q: Tell us how you got into the business.
ZM: I actually don't have much of a retail or fashion background at all -- I'm much more of a business person, but [fashion] is my passion. If you look at my background, I have a master's degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard.
Q: Oh, wow!
ZM: It has nothing to do with what I'm doing today, but that's what I started out with. I worked for the World Health Organization in Geneva, and then I went into management consulting for McKinsey & Company in New York City. And this is where I learned that you can figure out that basic business principles apply across all industries. I would have to learn a new industry in a few weeks because I would be consulting for them, and you realize there are just some generic principles that you can apply anywhere. So I did that for a couple of years, came back to Vancouver -- which is where I'm from -- and went into venture capital for a few years. I was working with my family running our nursing homes and hotels, and then decided it wasn't really my passion, and I wanted to do something I was much more passionate about. So I decided to buy Wear Else with my family, and they were really supportive of it. My brother runs our other businesses -- the hotels and retirement homes -- so they were supportive of me taking this one on.
Q: That's great. How long have you had Wear Else for now?
ZM: It's going to be two years on October 1.
Q: I remember, when I was growing up, Wear Else was more for the conservative, older woman. In the past few years, I've noticed the company reach out to a younger demographic by bringing in more hip labels. Tell us about Wear Else and where you see it going.
ZM: One of the reasons I ended up buying Wear Else, in particular, was that when I was at UBC, I thought, oh my goodness, this is the coolest store. They have all these great brands, but [at the time] it was too expensive for me because I was a student. And when I moved back from Europe and from living in New York, when I could afford to shop [at Wear Else], I realized it was not my style anymore. It had become a bit too conservative and staid for me. That was why I thought there was a huge opportunity [with the store], because I look around at my demographic, women who are between 25 and 50-years-old, and [recognized] there really are not a lot of options for that demographic. I see a lot of stores that target the older woman and a lot that target the very young, but there was no one servicing this market really well. We don't like to put an age on our demographic, because I think style is a state of mind, but this is for someone who wants contemporary fashion, someone who doesn't necessarily want the mass market brands because they want their stuff to be a bit more unique than that. We're mid to upper-end -- we're not in the Leone or Boboli field, but more at the contemporary price point. It is higher-end, though -- it's more than a Banana Republic or a Zara. We are going into the contemporary luxury market.
Q: And what brands are you carrying now?
ZM: A few of the new ones we picked up are Nanette Lepore, Milly, Rebecca Taylor and Tracy Reese. We're getting in some great new brands for spring, as well, that I can talk a little bit about, like Red Valentino, Philosophy, Kate Spade and M Missoni, among others. I think we keep getting better, and we have a lot of denim lines, like Paige, Degaine, True Religion and Joes Jeans, which are fabulous. We're really getting into the great fashion jeans. We try to look at people's lifestyles, and we [like to say] we "work, play and party", and denim is a big part of the "play" and "party" markets. So that's become more of an emphasis for us. We are also making a conscious decision to try to carry and promote some homegrown Canadian talent. We already carry Line, Pink Tartan, La Canadienne, Lemon Drop and Rita D, which are all Canadian. This fall, we will introduce Jacqueline Connoir and Joeffer Caoc, two other fabulous Canadian lines. And more will come!
Q: You've been in the fashion business for two years now. What have you learned about the industry that surprises you?
ZM: It's a lot tougher than I ever thought it was going to be. I was always either a management consultant or a venture capitalist, so I was always the person sitting around a board room telling entrepreneurs what they should be doing. Execution is probably the hardest part, and now I really relate to the entrepreneur. I have great respect for my family, who are entrepreneurs and grew their business from nothing, and [now] I know how hard is must've been and how hard you have to work. Really, the big lesson is how hard it is. The second thing I'm learning a lot about is inventory management, and this business really is about inventory management. [Apparel] is kind of like groceries -- it ages, and if you're selling the new "milk" all the time without selling the one that came in first, it'll be an issue for you. So I'm learning about that and how to address it.
Q: What are you seeing your customers gravitating toward in the last couple of seasons?
ZM: I think we have a lot of surprised customers, people who say, oh my god, I haven't been here for ten years and had no idea you had all this fabulous stuff! I find people are like kids in a candy store. But it's hard to pick one thing that people are gravitating toward, except I would say that denim has been a huge growth area for us. It doesn't seem to go away, and customers just keep wanting more and more denim. The other thing, to go along with that, is the novelty top. I think that's become the new uniform; just throw on a pair of jeans and a great top, and you're good to go. Dresses have also been very big. People have discovered it's really easy way to get dressed, so we're doing well with that. Also, we offer more variety in styles with less depth in sizing -- we know women want their dresses to be special. To this end, we aren't buying too many units of any single "fashion" items, often only a few units (as little as three) for the whole city. For our customers, this gives them a reason to buy at the beginning of the season and to feel confident that they aren't going to see their dress on a ton of other people.
Q: You do extensive traveling for your buying, I assume. What are you favorite cities in terms of style?
ZM: A lot of European cities are big on fashion-forwardness. We do our buying in New York. New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas are the key markets I go to. It's funny, the Internet has made fashion accessible to so many markets. Dallas has growing shows and Chicago has growing shows, but New York will always be on the pulse of fashion. It is the centre of the world for [North American fashion], and vendors from other places will come to New York. In L.A., you get a very relaxed vibe with the buying, which is kind of nice for us here in Vancouver, because we get [to have] our "look", which is kind of similar to Los Angeles. That's why much of our denim comes from there, because it's more about relaxed dressing.
Q: Any plans for expansion?
ZM: Right now, I want to run what I have and do it well. I'm planning more renovations; I've renovated the Park Royal store already and plan on bringing the rest of them up to par. I'd like to focus on getting what I have right. But, you know what? If a great opportunity comes along, you never know.
Q: And how many stores do you have?
ZM: We have four. The locations are Park Royal, West 4th, Oakridge and Richmond. With Wear Else, it's one of those things where you don't want to be too out there, because you want to keep your product unique. If I end up on every street corner, then it's going to be mass market, and people won't trust that what they're getting is special.
Q: Will you be attending any more tradeshows?
ZM: I've been at the Vancouver Show Show recently, and I'll be going to Coterie. That's what I have in the works right now!
Q: Can you share anything upcoming at Wear Else with our readers?
ZM: We're getting in those great lines, and you can expect another renovation soon. We also have a new lifestyle concept; we have established a great partnership with 18 Karat. This September, expect to see some lifestyle products from 18 Karat at our Fourth Avenue location -- there will be candles, room fragrance, decor items and even furniture. We are so excited about this!
Q: And we have to ask, as we always do: what music is playing in the stores these days?
ZM: We have a company called Music Direction that does our music for us. I have to admit, I'm working away in the office upstairs all the time, so I don't even know what's playing! But Music Direction always has a great selection, that's why use them. They're way more on top of it than I am!
- May Globus
Wear Else Locations
Kits - 2306 West 4th Ave
Oakridge - Oakridge Mail - West 41st Ave
West Vancouver - 2015 Park Royal Mall South
Richmond - Richmond Centre - 6551 No 3 Road
www.wearelse.com
Wear Else - Park Royal
Wear Else - Park Royal
Wear Else - Park Royal
