Cheryl Kaplan, M. Gemi: Predicting Trends in Real Time – Well Made E51

“We’re focused on using data and mixing that with our supply chain to be able to cater to what the customer wants.”

M.Gemi is reinventing the shoe drop in forward-thinking fashion. The luxury footwear brand releases new styles every Monday, teasing a sandal, loafer, or heel online and immediately selling out hours later. It’s a new kind of retail model they’re able to execute because of a strategic supply chain set up in Italy. Even with rising demand, each shoe is handmade in generations-old family factories.

President, Cheryl Kaplan says that working with this timeline helps keep the brand agile. They can turn around a customized inventory of styles and sizes based on instant data from across their channels. Setting a new standard for a responsive, data-driven shoe company, M.Gemi seem to have their hands (and feet) full.

On this episode, Cheryl talks about the flexibility and direct-response relationship they have (7:11). She gives examples of how they collect, use, and act on data (10:08). She talks about building authentic partnerships with influencers (15:47). She shares insights from her twenty-plus career in the retail industry (22:36) and lessons in working at startups (23:40). Cheryl details the logistical challenges of their weekly drop, and how it affects their different retail channels (32:54). Lastly, she explains how they’re building an engaged audience (34:57) and managing changing customer expectations around shipping (41:30).

Follow M.Gemi on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with their weekly shoe release.

Also mentioned on the show:

Header photo by via Huffington Post.

You can find this and all future episodes on iTunes, Google Play, and here on the Lumi blog. This episode was edited by Evan Goodchild.