$40M Worth Plus-Size Women Apparel Brand Automated Its Model Shoots Using FlixStock Technology

For a brand that designs, manufactures, and sells huge numbers of styles every season, missing out on seasonal sales meant giving away market share to competitors for free. Our client faced the problem of finding plus-size middle-aged models, for which it needed an Immediate solution. And it had heard of FlixStock solving brands’ problem of finding models and conducting AI-Enabled shoots to lengthen products’ life cycle.
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improved time-to-market
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increase in sales conversion rate
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lift in repeat purchase rate
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improved time-to-market
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increase in sales conversion rate
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lift in repeat purchase rate

About Our Client

The client in question has been redefining fashion, especially for mid-aged women, since 1947. Every season, this leading U.S. apparel manufacturer sells a number of styles on its website, O&O stores, and its wholesale partner eCommerce sites, including Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Boscoys.
Our client is a leading fashion brand for mid-aged women, so we can’t divulge its name. Please feel free to contact us for further proof.
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Challenges

The brand operates in a highly-competitive market. Coming up with new styles every season for women in missy and plus size and strategically selling the same helps it gain and retain its market share.

While the brand knew that featuring models of different sizes from different ethnicities would improve its sales conversion rate, its team couldn’t find the models whose physique resembled an average U.S. woman in her mid-40s. The brand ended up featuring two plus-size models on its website to showcase its collection. As a result, the women's plus-size apparel industry leader failed to become an advocate of diversity.

Besides, this fashion retail leader had to wait for products to reach a number decent enough to block a studio for an entire day. It missed the go-live date and, thus, significant seasonal sale opportunities in many instances. Its team considered shooting two models, with one model covering one product batch, i.e., more than twenty different styles. By featuring only two models while operating in a market with intensified competition, the brand successfully failed to hit its seasonal revenue goals.

Working with a standard eCommerce Studio resulted in a dramatic increase in the brand's cost per SKU. As most of its revenue came from its department store websites, including Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Boscoys, the brand couldn’t prevent delays from impacting its overall margins and market share.

The inevitable delay in diversity and inclusion photoshoot made the brand reset its go-to-market strategy. This delay highlighted its need to control and predict its time-to-market and eventually pushed the team to start looking out for an AI-based eCommerce imagery solution, the nature of which had to be speed.

FlixStock in Action

Before the brand got onboarded with us, it had paid the price of being one of the most recognized brands in terms of value, time and time again. Since the brand turned to us to solve its core eCommerce problems, it was our turn to make a difference.

Being an AI-enabled studio serving big fashion players since 2015, we have built a catalog of 100+ models of different ethnicities, sizes, and skin tones. Since this brand’s requirement was a bit different, we created an entirely different catalog of models.

To start with, we scouted for plus-size models based on the brand’s requirements. Our vast network of model casting agents condensed this process dramatically, helping us prepare a catalog of diverse models based on size, color, and ethnicity within four days while following our client’s guidelines.

After preparing the catalog, we took no more than a week to generate on-model eCommerce-ready imagery, evoking the brand's first experience of complete satisfaction.

Besides, our no MOQ requirement allowed the brand to send us garments as they continued to receive them in their central warehouses by TIER 1 suppliers. We increased the brand’s go-to-market time by ~63%. As a result, the brand could predict its time-to market and products’ life cycle and thus, get and sell out its collection while it was still new.

Less obvious but no less crucial was the fact that the quality of their PDP was improved. This influenced customers’ perception of the brand, resulting in a nearly 30% increase in sales conversion rate.

Launching products on time and on-trend has its own advantages. The brand had “sell-out data” early on in the selling season. Thus, the brand team knew which products should be promoted and which products should be put on sale almost 45 days before the end of the season sale. Eventually, the brand saw an approximately 42% lift in repeat purchase rate.

Challenge

The brand operates in a highly-competitive market. Coming up with new styles every season for women in missy and plus size and strategically selling the same helps it gain and retain its market share.

While the brand knew that featuring models of different sizes from different ethnicities would improve its sales conversion rate, its team couldn’t find the models whose physique resembled an average U.S. woman in her mid-40s. The brand ended up featuring two plus-size models on its website to showcase its collection. As a result, the women's plus-size apparel industry leader failed to become an advocate of diversity.

Besides, this fashion retail leader had to wait for products to reach a number decent enough to block a studio for an entire day. It missed the go-live date and, thus, significant seasonal sale opportunities in many instances. Its team considered shooting two models, with one model covering one product batch, i.e., more than twenty different styles. By featuring only two models while operating in a market with intensified competition, the brand successfully failed to hit its seasonal revenue goals.

Working with a standard eCommerce Studio resulted in a dramatic increase in the brand's cost per SKU. As most of its revenue came from its department store websites, including Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Boscoys, the brand couldn’t prevent delays from impacting its overall margins and market share.

The inevitable delay in diversity and inclusion photoshoot made the brand reset its go-to-market strategy. This delay highlighted its need to control and predict its time-to-market and eventually pushed the team to start looking out for an AI-based eCommerce imagery solution, the nature of which had to be speed.

FlixStock in Action

Before the brand got onboarded with us, it had paid the price of being one of the most recognized brands in terms of value, time and time again. Since the brand turned to us to solve its core eCommerce problems, it was our turn to make a difference.

Being an AI-enabled studio serving big fashion players since 2015, we have built a catalog of 100+ models of different ethnicities, sizes, and skin tones. Since this brand’s requirement was a bit different, we created an entirely different catalog of models.

To start with, we scouted for plus-size models based on the brand’s requirements. Our vast network of model casting agents condensed this process dramatically, helping us prepare a catalog of diverse models based on size, color, and ethnicity within four days while following our client’s guidelines.

After preparing the catalog, we took no more than a week to generate on-model eCommerce-ready imagery, evoking the brand's first experience of complete satisfaction.

Besides, our no MOQ requirement allowed the brand to send us garments as they continued to receive them in their central warehouses by TIER 1 suppliers. We increased the brand’s go-to-market time by ~63%. As a result, the brand could predict its time-to market and products’ life cycle and thus, get and sell out its collection while it was still new.

Less obvious but no less crucial was the fact that the quality of their PDP was improved.
This influenced customers’ perception of the brand, resulting in a nearly 30% increase
in sales conversion rate.

Launching products on time and on-trend has its own advantages. The brand had “sell-out data” early on in the selling season. Thus, the brand team knew which products should be promoted and which products should be put on sale almost 45 days before the end of the season sale. Eventually, the brand saw an approximately 42% lift in repeat purchase rate.

AI-generated eCommerce Imagery for Our Client

Innovation at its best
Our client automated its most time-consuming eCommerce asset – on-model imagery – without compromising quality and experiencing restrictions on model poses

Need More Information?

At FlixStock, we aim to become essential to our clients by divesting their most time-consuming eCommerce imagery assets – from photoshoot to post-production – thus enabling them to move towards more responsible business practices, faster.