FASHION + TECH

FASHION DISRUPTED:

How Tech Is Changing The Way Consumers Shop

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 | The Lounge @ WeWork (NYC)

TechSeri.es' Fashion Panel: How Technology is Changing the Way Consumers Shop brought together executives from some of New York's hottest fashion startups, including Gilt, Bonobos, Snapette, Of a Kind, and Material Wrld.

Moderated by Executive Digital Digital Director of Glamour Magazine, Mike Hofman, the panel brought in over 230 guests representing 80 schools and 21 fashion related brands to WeWork Labs to discuss the role of technology in today's fashion space. In addition to the panel, the event featured Perch, an innovative retail technology which allows consumers to interact with products both digitally and physically.

Highlights of the panel are posted below, including biographies of the featured panelists.

Topics discussed:

• Development of the eCommerce platform
• Emergence of mobile & tablet technologies for shopping
• Intersection points of online & offline in the fashion retail space
• Change in consumer shopping behavior

MODERATOR

Mike Hofman | Executive Digital Director @ Glamour (Condé Nast)

Mike Hofman is the Executive Digital Director of Glamour magazine, responsible for the brand’s website, mobile strategy, social media, and web video. The site's audience stands at 5.6 million monthly unique visitors, with 1.2 million users coming to the site through mobile devices each month. Glamour's social media audience stands at 6 million across all platforms, with 1 million followers on Facebook alone. Glamour also publishes digital editions on the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Nook Color. Mike, who previously served as editor of Inc.com, lives in New York City.

Twitter: @MikeHofman | @GlamourMag

PANELIST

Jyothi Rao | Executive VP of Fashion @ Gilt

Jyothi Rao is the Executive Vice President of Fashion at Gilt, an e-commerce platform to provide instant insider access to today’s top designer labels, at up to 60% off retail. She brings extensive experience in the retail sector, with responsibilities such as overseeing the operations of women's and men's apparel and accessories for the company. Prior to joining Gilt in 2009, Jyothi served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Calvin Klein, where she launched the Specialty Retail division. Before Calvin Klein she spent 16 years at Gap Inc., where she held several leadership positions and was responsible for successfully growing domestic and international businesses for the Gap and Banana Republic brands. Jyothi has resided in Africa, India and Europe.

Twitter: @Gilt_Jyothi | @Gilt

PANELIST

Bryan Wolff | Chief Financial Officer @ Bonobos

Bryan Wolff is the CFO of Bonobos, a menswear brand renowned for exceptional fit, high energy and great customer experience. Wolff was one of the first investors in Bonobos and has been involved with the company since its inception in 2007. Wolff joined the team full-time in January 2012 to focus on finance, accounting, and investment activities of the organization. Prior to joining Bonobos, Wolff worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company and as a hedge fund analyst for AllianceBernstein and Luxor Capital. Wolff has a computer science engineering degree from Princeton University, where he graduated with honors and earned his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Twitter: @BryanWolff01 | @bonobos

PANELIST

Rie Yano | Co-Founder @ Material Wrld

Rie Yano is the co-founder of Material Wrld, a curated online fashion community where you can discover and shop unique finds from stylish closets around the world. After being in beta for 5 months, Material Wrld will be launching officially in Spring 2013. She brings her expertise in digital marketing, content strategy, PR, and luxury e-commerce, having managed digital creative at Coach and led the global PR team at Mitsubishi Corporation. Born in Japan and raised in Mexico, US, Canada, she has broad exposure to diverse cultures and is passionate about connecting people and facilitating commerce across borders. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Twitter: @rieglobe | @MaterialWrld

PANELIST

Claire Mazur | Co-Founder @ Of a Kind

Claire Mazur is the co-founder of Of a Kind, a website that sells the pieces and tells the stories of emerging fashion designers. She holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA from Columbia University. Before launching Of a Kind, she worked as an arts consultant, assisting in the management of arts collections, individual artists, and visual and performing arts organizations. Passionate about helping creative professionals to achieve success and excited about the ways in which the internet could serve as a powerful marketing and distribution tool, she was inspired to launch Of a Kind in 2010 with business partner Erica Cerulo as a way to give emerging fashion designers a platform for exposure and give consumers like themselves a place to discover them.

Twitter: @ClaireMazur | @OfaKind

PANELIST

Sarah Paiji | Co-Founder & CEO @ Snapette

Sarah Paiji is co-founder and CEO of Snapette, the leading mobile platform for local fashion shopping. Snapette helps shoppers find fashion products available in nearby stores, as well as enables retailers to market to nearby shoppers and drive foot traffic into their stores. Sarah graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College, and recently left Harvard Business School (HBS) to pursue her startup full time. Prior to attending business school, Paiji advised top women’s consumer brands and retailers while at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Co. She most recently worked as a private equity investor at Berkshire Partners, which has owned and built leading consumer lifestyle companies like Bare Escentuals and Citizens of Humanity.

Twitter: @SPaiji | @Snapette