These words were on the Henry J. Kaiser cement trucks when I was a kid in the SF Bay Area. No entrepreneur lived the phrase more than Henry J., who at one time or another applied his business acumen from dams to dishwashers, but is best known for WWII Liberty ships, Kaiser Permanente Medical program (forerunner to modern HMO), and the Henry J. Kaiser automobile (produced as jeeps during the war).
Another equal compelling entrepreneurship story is that of Stitch Fix, which started as a clothing alterations service, now has 83 stores across Canada, and has gone viral. Stitch It Clothing Alterations has been a choice for a trusted, convenient, and professional clothing alteration service since 1989, when it began as Stitch It Canada’s Tailor Inc. Their story starts at a first shop in Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. It was inspired to fill an evident market gap in having tailoring services available where clothes are purchased. While this had long been standard at menswear outlets, there were no similar options for the whole family to seek alterations for any type of clothing. After customers kept coming to Stitch It founder Alain Baird’s clothing store asking for custom stitching, he decided to do something about it.
Although mall developers were originally skeptical about the need for a tailoring service located within the mall, Stitch It’s tagline service, “Pant Hems Done While You Wait,” was immensely popular, and lines of customers formed out the door and into the mall. Stitch It then formed a partnership with a major retail conglomerate to meet demands and maintain such overwhelming success. Over the next decade, Stitch It expanded, acquiring one of its competitors, Needle N’ Thread, and branching into a budget alteration service, known as Sew Right, and a U.S.-based service in Minneapolis, Minnesota, under the name of Can Do Clothing Operations.
Now a popular internet site, it personalizes style to the individual family member, serving men, women, and kids. Customers can fill-out a style and price preference and leave choices to a personal stylist. Shipping is free both ways.
Stitch Fix makes shopping not just convenient, but effortless. Like other online retailers, Stitch Fix saves trips to the store by shipping items directly to you. Their Personal Stylists also save you the time and trouble of selecting clothing and accessories. Many enjoy the ease and convenience of automatically scheduled shipments that arrive at a frequency of their choosing. The dressing room is your home. Stitch Fix has a mobile app to make the ordering more convenient.
Stitch Fix found a niche, provided a needed service, iterated, and scaled their business. Pure, true entrepreneurship at its best! 💡🎯
For more information on Stitch Fix differentiation, go to: https://support.stitchfix.com/hc/en-us/articles/203317264-The-Stitch-Fix-difference