Customer Success Story
“Through Purolator’s
distribution and
warehouse solutions,
we have grown our
Western sales by
$300,000.”
Victor Levis,
Controller and Member
of Executive Committee,
Freemark Apparel Brands Inc.
Delivering on promises coast to coast
Purolator helps FAB stay fashion-forward with new
distribution model
When your business is fashion, timing is everything. Fashion styles can
come and go and buyers are steadfast on keeping up with what’s on
trend. So when demand for Freemark Apparel Brands (FAB) names like
Bench exploded, the company looked to Purolator to help meet its
growing–and changing–supply chain needs.
Industry
• Fashion apparel
Customer: Freemark
Apparel Brands (FAB)
• Wholesale and retail distribution
• Brands include Bench, Scotch
& Soda, Super Trash, Garcia,
Silvian Heach
• Renowned for customer service
and industry expertise
Challenge
In-demand styles pose logistical challenges
Until 2009, FAB operated exclusively in the wholesale market, servicing its extensive
customer base–independent boutiques, specialty chains, department stores and mass
merchants–out of its home-base Montreal, Quebec distribution centre. Seeing a major
opportunity to grow their brands and their bottom line, the company entered the retail
arena, which it also serviced out of Montreal. While this distribution model met wholesale
needs, it began to pose speed-to-market challenges for the booming retail segment,
specifically on the West coast.
•M
eet growing capacity needs
of multiple distribution channels
Solution
• Purolator warehousing and
distribution
Results
• $300,000/ year sales boost
• $250,000+ profit increase
P u r o l a t o r
|
C u s t o m e r
S u c c e s s
S t o r y
–
Fr e e m a r k
A p p a r e l
B r a n d s
P u r o l a t o r
|
C u s t o m e r
S u c c e s s
S t o r y
–
Fr e e m a r k
A p p a r e l
B r a n d s
By 2012, FAB had opened 11 retail stores in Western Canada and 18 in the East. By
early 2015, that number will have reached 42–a 44% growth in a three-year period.
Since most of FAB’s merchandise is sourced from overseas, shipments destined for
Western customers needed to bypass the West coast to arrive in Montreal, only to be
distributed back to Western retail stores. And in an industry like fashion, that extra
transit time can lead to missed opportunities and lost revenue.
Purolator Logistics™ optimizes Western supply
FAB knew the supply chain needed to be re-examined to better support wholesale
and retail customers cross-country. Purolator had long been FAB’s freight carrier,
but after examining the various business channels’ objectives and challenges
through a consultative approach, Purolator recommended its multi-client warehouse
capabilities to get Western-bound products to market quicker.
Purolator became the third-party logistics provider for Western retail stores,
handling both warehousing and distribution out of a Purolator facility in Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Strong returns and peace of mind
Leveraging Purolator’s warehouse and distribution services out West, FAB eliminated
the need for additional warehousing overhead, transport and labour. Speed to market
in Western retail stores has increased by 10–12 days– which can make all the difference
for an apparel distributor. “Having the capability to stop our products destined for
Western stores in Vancouver, and having (those products) sorted and store orders
processed by Purolator, offers us the ability to reach the market faster than we ever
could from Montreal,” says Victor Levis, Controller and Member of Executive Committee.
By optimizing multiple business areas across the supply chain, FAB calculates that
it is adding over $250,000 annually to the bottom line of its Bench Canada division,
between reduced freight costs and earlier arrival in store of both initial and
replenishment goods.
Joining forces with Purolator for both transportation and logistics, FAB now has peace
of mind that all of its business channels are being handled with professionalism and
care –and can get back to scouring the globe for tomorrow’s biggest trends.
FAB calculates
that it is adding
over $250,000
annually to the
bottom line of its
Bench Canada
division.