Shoptalk2018

Shoptalk is billed as the world’s largest conference devoted to retail and e-commerce innovation. Conference organizers expect more than 7,500 attendees at the event this year, which runs March 18–21 in Las Vegas. Coresight Research is again partnering with Shoptalk to host the conference’s annual startup pitch competition. On March 20, Coresight Research CEO and Founder Deborah Weinswig will also participate in a Shoptalk session entitled “Overview of Retail and E commerce Innovation in China.” Zia Daniell Wigder, Chief Global Content Officer of Shoptalk, will interview Weinswig and Hans Tung, Managing Partner of GGV Capital, on topics that include technology and business model advancements in areas such as checkout, payments, delivery, logistics, the IoT and robotics.

Startup Competition

On March 18, Weinswig will emcee a startup pitch competition between 15 early-stage companies. Each company will present its business to a panel of judges from the investment community and to the audience. Two winners will be announced, one chosen by the panel of judges and one by audience vote, and each winner will be awarded $25,000. Shoptalk curated the participating startups based on their solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing retailers today. As we highlight in our 18 Retail Trends for ’18: Preparing for Another Year of Change report, the retail industry continues to under go transformation, characterized by five key factors that are either driven by or affecting consumers and retailers:

1. Consumers continue to switch from conventional retail formats to new, alternative formats and channels.
2. Shoppers value life-improving services from retailers and technology providers.
3. Brands, retailers and technology firms are offering new types of interactions, rewards and experiences.
4. Industry changes are compelling closer collaboration among retailers, technology giants (including Amazon), logistics technology vendors and social media influencers.
5. Retailers are leveraging technologies as diverse as block chain and 3D printing to make their supply chains smarter and fitter in an increasingly competitive market.

In response to these trends and opportunities, retailers in all channels are changing to accommodate shoppers’ shifting preferences. Below, we profile Hemster, one of the companies participating in the startup pitch competition at Shoptalk 2018.

Hemster

Company Description

Hemster is a tailoring personalization service. Customers can use the company’s patent-pending ruler sticker to measure off-the-rack clothing and then tap its network of tailors to get the perfect fit. Through a pilot at a West field mall, Hemster processed more than 1,700 garments from more than 900 customers and helped drive $200,000 in additional revenue to retailer tenants. The company is expanding to 11 additional locations by the end of June 2018.

Market Overview

According to business intelligence firm IBIS World, clothing alterations are a $2 billion market that encompasses 70,000 businesses. The market grew by 2.7% annually from 2012 to 2017, according to the firm.

What Problem Is the Company Solving?

Hemster is helping apparel consumers who are seeking the perfect size. The company enables retailers to offer a tailoring solution for off-the-rack inventory.

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Funding Stage

Self-funded

Source: Hemster.co

Business Model

Hemster customers pay per item for customization/tailoring.

Competitive Landscape

The company’s competitors include AirTailor and Worksmith, which also provide tailoring services for retailers, as well as traditional tailors.

Management Team

Allison Lee, Founder and CEO, is an experienced business leader who previously worked in the consumer tech product space and helped grow sales from $20,000 to $15 million within 8 months at her last company.Angela Hung, Head of Retail, gained retail expertise while working for companies ranging from global retailers such as Sears to high-end boutiques.

Company Outlook

Hemster is expanding to more than 20 locations through a mall partnership in 2018 and is also establishing a distribution channel. The company is experimenting with in-home services to gather customer data for creating the perfect fit and is seeking to launch a software product to introduce alterations services for e-commerce.