Dive Brief:

• The omnichannel rollout of its made-to-measure women’s suit collection helped drive DTC apparel brand Indochino to a 35% year-over-year increase in EBITDA in Q1 2023, per a company press release.
• The privately held, Canadian-based apparel brand also credited a diversified partnerships strategy and strong shop-in-shop execution for driving customer acquisition and increased brand awareness.
• The brand also saw “record-setting quarterly revenue,” per the announcement. Across Indochino’s 27 shop-in-shops with Nordstrom, the company reported a 15% increase in net revenue and 16% increase in gross margin year over year.

Dive Insight:

During the quarter Indochino bolstered its women’s suit collection by rolling it out both online and at its 56 company-owned showrooms. The increased visibility led to a sales increase of 130% when the first four weeks of the quarter, January 30 through February 26, were compared with the recent four weeks of April 17 through May 14, according to the company.

“Our goal for FY23 is to have womenswear represent 4% of our net sales,” said Drew Green, CEO and president of Indochino in an email to Retail Dive. “We are on track to meet that goal by the middle of this year.”

In a statement Green added: "After the exceptional success we saw in 2022, it was essential that we carry that momentum into Q1 with initiatives, programs, and partnerships that both improve our customer experience and fuel profitable, sustainable growth for the business.”  

In addition to its expanded women’s collection, Indochino in February announced a partnership with Resorts World Las Vegas to outfit the staff of its hotel properties, which include the Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas.

Founded in 2007 as a pure-play e-commerce made-to-measure men’s suiting brand, Indochino has grown through online and showroom selling platforms that marry a tailored product at a moderate price point, which can be made and delivered in three weeks or less. The brand also has 27 shop-in-shops through a wholesale partnership with Nordstrom.

On a national level, sales of both men’s and women’s suits were strong during the period. Sales of women’s suit separates in the first quarter were up 27% year over year to $266.3 million, while women’s jackets and blazers were up 17% to reach $503 million, according to the Circana/Consumer Tracking Service. Men’s suits sales during the period were up 31% to $647 million, while men’s suit separates increased 6% to $339.5 million.

“For men’s tailored clothing, sales revenue year to date is the highest its been since even before the pandemic,” Maria Rugolo, apparel industry analyst at Circana, said in an email. “On the flipside, women’s tailored clothing is up thanks to blazers and suit separates, as dressier trends have women mixing and matching how they are wearing their blazers – whether it be with active bottoms, jeans, or dress pants. Styles are being mixed and matched together in non-traditional ways, from blazers with shorts, to active pants with dressier tops.”