This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
self-serve


The Right Fit I


engineers and has locations at Boston’s South Station, a busy commuter train hub, and Boston Athletic Club, a large gym. Additional locations are set to open at Boston Logan International Airport and an area hospital.


How it works While self-service kiosks are popping up everywhere in malls, airports and other high-traffic locations, shoes and clothing aren’t what one would typically expect to see in a vending machine. The Automatic Apparel machine sells


basic apparel and accessories including T-shirts, tank tops, socks, ballet flats, underwear, headphones, toiletry kits, umbrel las and other accessories. Everything is priced less than $15 and the products are tailored to the location; people at a gym might not necessari ly need bal let f lats, but they of ten forget items like socks and headphones, for example. “The machine has been doing really well at South Station,”


Moro says. “Electronics are very big there, and the basic tees and ballet flats are great for the commuter [who might need a quick change out of work attire]. It’s very high need; it’s raining and you need to change your wet clothes, or you forgot an umbrella.” The Automatic Apparel machine is similar to a traditional


vending machine, as it has a glass front so you can see everything inside, but instead of typing in “E3” on a traditional keypad to get your product, you use a touch screen to order. “You browse through products on a screen similar in size to an iPad, and it’s like shopping online,” Moro says. “There are images of the items


44 Specialty Retail Report n Fall 2011 A self-serve machine dispenses essential clothes


and accessories when needed most. Kristin Larson Contino


t was at Harvard Business School, as part of a class project, that Gina Moro created a business plan for a vending machine that dispensed clothing and


accessories. At the time she didn’t think the concept would morph into a viable business. But after receiving positive feedback from professors and fellow students, Moro set out to make the concept a reality and launched her company, Automatic Apparel, when she graduated in 2010. The Boston-based company consists of Moro and several


on models, size charts and product information, as well as our return policy. You select a product, size and color, then hit pay and swipe your card.” Cash is not accepted at the machines. The products, which are all housed in clear tubes, are picked up by a robotic arm and dropped down for the customer to retrieve. Moro says the company knew it was important to make


returns as easy as possible. Assuming that customers would be hesitant to try Automatic Apparel if they couldn’t return the products, the packaging was created with this in mind. “The clear tubes that house the products actually serve as a mailing tube. You open the tube and there’s a label inside along with the item; all you have to do is stick the label on the outside of the tube, [add] postage and drop it in the mail,” Moro says.


Automatic branding The machine dispenses only Automatic Apparel’s private-label merchandise; no other brands are carried. “We’re the only ones [on the self-service apparel market] doing a new brand. You see other players selling big brands, and they’re just an operating company selling the products. Since we’re doing our own brand for basic clothes, we’re able to offer really high quality products at accessible price points. We have a lot


of savings in our overhead because of the self-serve model,” Moro says. As for expansion, Moro is targeting high-traffic locations such


as airports, gyms, hospitals and malls for Automatic Apparel’s growth, and is planning a national rollout. The company does not sell machines to third parties.


For more information, please visit


automaticapparel.com.


Kristin Larson Contino is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She writes for a variety of print and online publications and also covers women’s fiction for Examiner.com.


SpecialtyRetail.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140