{"id":36449,"date":"2023-10-20T14:44:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-alton-lane-set-out-to-disrupt-mens-fashion-five-lessons-for-your-business-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:44:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:44:08","slug":"how-alton-lane-set-out-to-disrupt-mens-fashion-five-lessons-for-your-business-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-alton-lane-set-out-to-disrupt-mens-fashion-five-lessons-for-your-business-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How Alton Lane set out to disrupt men\u2019s fashion: Five lessons for your business – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lessons in entrepreneurial thinking from the US business using 3D scanners to shake up men\u2019s fashion. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Shoppers at Alton Lane first sip on a scotch or a beer while relaxing on a leather couch. It\u2019s all part of the experience, which combines old fashioned service with cutting edge technology, as the business uses 3D scanners to make suits that really are made to measure.<\/p>\n

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Like Australia\u2019s own Shoes of Prey<\/a>, Alton Lane is one of a growing cohort of businesses using tech to deliver a new take on an industry that has been around for centuries. Made to measure clothing is not new in the rag trade, but using a 3D scanner to deliver it is, and technology is just one of the differences in Alton Lane\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

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The business was founded by college best friends Peyton Jenkins and Colin Hunter. While there are only six Alton Lane stores so far, Jenkins and Hunter have big ambitions for their business. At the recent Netsuite SuiteWorld conference in San Jose<\/a> they shared their tips for shaking up an industry.<\/p>\n

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1. Question everything<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hunter says the Alton Lane team is \u201ctrying to rethink the fashion industry from every angle\u201d. For Alton Lane that started with looking at the product then going to the supply chain and asking how to have a more unique individualised supply chain. Next Alton Lane looked at the shopping experience and how to rethink that experience.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe menswear industry is this massive multi-billion dollar industry but most men hate to shop,\u201d Hunter says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are trying to redefine shopping. Our experience of doing that is one on one for every single customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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2. Look to trends: in fashion, it\u2019s hyper personalisation <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe future of fashion is hyper personalisation,\u201d Hunter says. \u201cTo be hyper personalised you have to have a dramatically different experience for the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alton Lane does this by setting out its stores to look like \u201cyour buddy\u2019s bachelor pad\u201d but using \u201camazing technology\u201d to deliver a more personalised experience and better fit.<\/p>\n

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When training staff, Jenkins says success in service is when customers are on their way home and \u201cwant to go in and get a drink\u201d at Alton Lane with no expectation of purchase.<\/p>\n

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3D scanners are used to determine customers’ precise measurements.<\/h6>\n

3. Take advantage of being small <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jenkins says small businesses have advantages over big business as they can move quickly on trends such as that of hyper personalisation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAll the big brands know it but they can\u2019t adapt,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re too big. Their cruise boat can turn around but it takes a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jenkins says Alton Lane wants to focus on the individual every single time and in order to meet that aim the business has to scale in a manner that allows this.<\/p>\n

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4. Learn from your mistakes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cGood service is hard and excellent service every time is nearly impossible,\u201d Jenkins says. \u201cBut that\u2019s what we strive for and we\u2019re not perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jenkins says when they make mistakes at Alton Lane, they try to look at it as an opportunity rather than a roadblock to success.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible learning experience to say \u2018I\u2019m sorry\u2019 and then to deepen that relationship,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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5. Stay nimble<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important is that we are always able to stay nimble and adapt to our consumer,\u201d Hunter says. \u201cWhen we looked at the actual industry, we thought that it was all about the ego of the designer not the needs of the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hunter says the needs of the consumer are constantly changing, and so as technology changes and customer expectations change, businesses need to change with it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFrom an experience standpoint, we are working on some really cool channels for customers to engage with our product and to get measured and get the experience,\u201d Hunter says.<\/p>\n

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To improve its products Alton Lane is asking its customers \u2018What are the products that you want?\u2019, \u2018What are your pain points?\u2019 and \u2018What do you need?\u2019   \u201cIt no longer becomes about us but it becomes about delivering for our customer in a new way,\u201d Hunter says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe need to stay nimble enough to adapt very quickly to this ever adapting world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This was originally published on SmartCompany<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lessons in entrepreneurial thinking from the US business using 3D scanners to shake up men\u2019s fashion. \u00a0 Shoppers at Alton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}