We’re happy to announce the launch of Marissa Collections‘ new digital flagship store!

Marissa Collections began in 1975 with a store front boutique of hand selected items including clothing, jewelry, accessories and shoes which Marissa personally styled for each individual. The instant success among the small community on the Gulf of Mexico has continued over the years, emerging into a 10,000 square foot location in the Third Street South shopping district of Old Naples.

Pod1 has helped to take this brand and develop their digital flagship store. Key to the site’s future success is the innovative My Closet, combined with the world-class design and e-commerce functionality, we are sure this will allow them to continue their success both on and offline for many years to come.

Check out our detailed case study or visit the new site.

Returns have always been a thorny – and expensive – issue for online retailers, especially in the fashion business. And it’s always been a cost that any budding etailer has just had to swallow.

For some, multichannel could be the most obvious answer and, indeed, major changes are predicted for the high street in the coming year. One in four retailers (according to a study by online marketplace Rakuten) is predicting that over the next 12 months we’ll start to see our main street stores transforming into showrooms where shoppers can examine goods before buying online for home delivery; similar to Bodum’s Paris store.

Fair enough; but not all retailers have the benefit of being able to offer a multichannel experience – although as we’ve discussed in the previous few months this itself is changing with online-only retailers looking to take up vacant physical shop space on a short-term basis to connect with their customers.

However, online-only fashion retailer Asos has turned to Swedish company Virtusize and its Fit Visualiser system to bridge this particular gap. Lots of people have played around with virtual fitting room technology, but most of these have remained in the realms of fantasy as they would require far too much investment.

Virtusize’s solution takes a more practical approach, by enabling customers to compare the specific measurements of an item they already own with one they are considering buying. By displaying and overlaying silhouettes of the two items, customers can compare sizes and choose which one would fit them best.

It sounds simple, but it’s working. Asos has already seen fit-related returns drop by 30% after a six-month trial of the system. The option will see an initial roll out on more than 2,000 own-brand Asos products.

Further highlighting the growing shift towards this type of technology, Fits.me has just announced it has won a £5m investment, which it plans to use to underpin expansion into Europe and the US, while also scaling up existing operations.

The company, whose clients include Adidas, Hugo Boss, Superdry and Boden, offers a sophisticated software-as-a-service solution that uses male and female robotic mannequins with artificial muscles that enable it to mimic any size or shape of body. Mannequins are dressed in representative items from the retailer’s range, in each available size. Each permutation of garment/size is then photographed while the robotic mannequin morphs through thousands of body shapes, whether for a dress or a shirt. The end results enables customers to view how they might look in different sizes of clothing.

Great news for online retailers as they may finally have something that, while it doesn’t bridge the touch feel gap, certainly tackles the issues of sizing. Not so many unhappy returns, then?

We’re delighted to announce that 3 Pod1 created sites have been selected as Official 2013 Webby Honorees:

DVF Rendez-Vous – Interactive Advertising & Media (Retail)

Beauty.com – Web (Fashion & Beauty)

Erno Laszlo – Web (Fashion & Beauty)

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pod1, a creative digital agency with a focus on enterprise e–commerce, today announced the expansion of its New York team with two new hires. Douglas Brown will be the firm’s new Vice President of Operations and Erika Fazio joins as Director of Client Services. Both will be based at Pod1’s headquarters in New York City. Pod1 is part of Group FMG – a multi–channel content and commerce solutions company – and is the group’s latest acquisition.

“It’s a time of growth for us here at Pod1. We welcome Erika and Douglas to the team and know that they will provide immense value not only for our clients but also for our expanding family of creative digital experts.”

Fadi Shuman, CEO and founder of Pod1, said, “It’s a time of growth for us here at Pod1. We welcome Erika and Douglas to the team and know that they will provide immense value not only for our clients but also for our expanding family of creative digital experts.”

Douglas joins Pod1 from Huge, Inc. where he was responsible for Fortune 100 clients including American Express. At Huge, Inc., Douglas grew the initial $800K for American Express into $10M in only 16 months. Prior to Huge, Inc., Douglas worked for companies such as Atmosphere/BBDO and Tommy Hilfiger, where he launched their first ever ecommerce venture.

A veteran program, project and product manager for digital product operations, Douglas brings over 15 years of industry experience to Pod1. In his new role, he will oversee the building and managing of Pod1’s delivery practice, which includes all facets of project and resource management.

Erika comes to Pod1 as a former account director at iCrossing, a leading digital marketing agency. After starting her career in production at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Erika joined Serious USA, where she managed accounts including Manchester United, Aston Villa and the Twilight series.

She has helped develop some of the world’s largest brands, including MTV, The New York Times, and the Hearst Corporation. In her new role as Director of Client services at Pod1, Erika will be responsible for ensuring client satisfaction as well as growing Pod1’s existing client relationships.

About Pod1, a Group FMG Company
Based in New York, Pod1 has been creating engaging e–commerce experiences to help brands and retailers sell more online since 2001. Their unique approach to website design and build, founded on planning and insight development means that the agency is consistently breaking new ground in the world of luxury and fashion e–commerce. Clients include: TAG Heuer, The Limited, Stuart Weitzman, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nanette Lepore, Net–a–Porter, DvF, Kenneth Cole, Matthew Williamson and LK Bennett.

About Group FMG
Group FMG is a multi–channel content and commerce solutions company. Group FMG provides award–winning marketing & media solutions for print, mobile, tablet, interactive magazines, e–books, catalogues, websites, digital shop fronts and more. The firm creates rich media content across all major channels – digital, social, mobile, advertising, packaging & POS, gaming, and broadcast – and integrates consulting, content and e–commerce services for its global roster of agencies and Global 1000 clients. Select Group FMG clients include: Sears, Staples, Pepsi, Boots, Harrods, Boden, Disney, Penguin, Harper Collins, BBC, AMI, IBM, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Sony, Lord & Taylor, Uniqlo, and Sandals. Group FMG is funded by India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA), a leading private equity fund, and Zodius Advisors, a growth capital and build–out company. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Bangalore and Chennai.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with the awesome team at Baby Cottons to deliver their latest ‘baby‘ for them:

The brand was originally born in 1999, when Maria Paz de la Piedra developed the concept of ‘dressing babies as babies’ in a successful venture. The quality of the products coupled with classic designs and soft pima cotton, made babycottons a globally recognized brand.

Available in both English and Spanish, the site is the hub for all their online activities.

Pod1 acts as the AOR for this brand and we are excited about helping them grow their business across all channels.

Read more about it in our work section.