Allen Stephenson, Founder
Jim Twining, CEO
Booth: 579
How would you define your collection? Describe the Southern Tide man.
Allen: The man who seeks the authentic and classic, unique color combinations, and demands that everything is built with a purpose will continue to see Southern Tide as a self-defining cornerstone and a staple.
Which “must-have” item from your Fall/Winter 2012 collection will instantly update a man’s wardrobe?
Allen: Our Fall 2012 Sportshirt collection is another big step for us – we have doubled the number of patterns since Fall 2011. Our traditional favorites are available in an assortment of new variations. In addition, we have shifted classic yarn dye pattern lines into completely fresh new designs with a wide variety of color combinations and fabrics that satisfy the most discerning tastes.
What are you doing to address the growing importance of social media and how it will impact your business?
Jim: Social media is a key component of our marketing strategy. With Facebook and Twitter, we focus a great deal of attention on keeping content and visual creativity fresh while working hard to communicate in a meaningful way with those that follow us. We aggressively pursue feedback from consumers to give them a voice in our product design and business processes that affect them. We have grown from 12,000 Facebook fans to over 62,000 fans in the last 18 months. We also look for opportunities to drive traffic to our retailer partners by highlighting retailers weekly on our Facebook page, as well as promoting their store events via social media.
What do you think the next major shift in the menswear industry will be?
Allen: We do not really focus on design shifts in the industry. Our collection is classic and for the most part, timeless. We do not chase the latest trends – it is not who we are.
Jim: Regarding business trends, we are concerned at the hyper growth of flash sale and membership web sites. This channel is already making it difficult for some brands to maintain price integrity. Most traditional retailers we talk to recognize that this relatively new channel is already affecting their margins. Off-price selling has been around for decades, but it is becoming pervasive, instant, organized, searchable, and easy for consumers to observe. We hope the industry does not overuse this channel in lieu of better forecasting and sell-through marketing. It becomes too easy to dump inventory if it is not managed well. We all must constantly evaluate the appetite of consumers for our products and adjust our forecasts accordingly. The flash sale channel’s growth is a direct result of over production, overly aggressive sales forecasts, and/or a lack of connection to the consumer. In the long run, the impact will be lower margins for everyone, not just retailers.
What do you consider to be the world’s best fashion city for men and why?
Allen: The inspiration for Southern Tide grew out of the semester spent in Italy during college. Florence and Tuscany are such powerful centers of art and fine design where one is surrounded by powerful imagery in art, textiles, apparel, leather, and even automobiles. Our unyielding dedication to quality and attention to detail is directly related to the time spent there. I’d have to say that I think Florence is one of the best cities in the world for classic men’s fashion.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
Allen: Prior to founding Southern Tide, I was never trained as a designer or a clothing industry professional; I was trained in biology.
