BY PETER BRADLEY, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
specialreport
A seamless
expansion
When intimate
apparel maker
Wacoal America
took the plunge
into e-commerce,
support from its
WMS supplier
provided the
foundation for
a successful
transition.
Wacoal America has a well-estab- lished reputation for its high- quality women’s intimate
apparel—bras, panties, and shapewear. Its
products have been a staple at many of the
nation’s leading retailers, including Dillard’s,
Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as specialty boutiques.
But as e-commerce began to capture a bigger share of retail sales, Wacoal, like many other
companies, grew increasingly interested in the direct-to-consumer channel. Last year, the
company took the plunge into the online business arena by establishing Wacoal Direct.
“We considered getting into the e-commerce business for a while,” says Cathryn
Hondros, vice president of information systems for the company, an affiliate of Japan-based Wacoal Holdings Corp. “It offered us a number of benefits. We can represent the
brand and tell the entire story about Wacoal’s fit and comfort.
“The second benefit is the opportunity to increase our margins,” she says. Hondros
adds that opening an e-commerce channel also benefits customers by giving them access
to the company’s full line of styles, colors, and sizes—something they’re unlikely to find
in a single retail store.
SMOOTH TRANSITION
Starting an online store meant that Wacoal would have to make some adjustments to
operations at its U.S. distribution center in Lyndhurst, N.J. It would also require some
