Edmonton-based fashion brand EMMYDEVEAUX has launched a new warehouse within the Edmonton International Airport‘s Sustainability Campus to enhance the company’s distribution network as the brand transitions to be a completely online business.
“We are in the process of moving to 100 per cent online,” said Emily Salsbury, owner and founder of EMMYDEVEAUX.
The brand had a showroom by appointment only in Edmonton for the past three years.
“With everything that’s been going on, the store took up 80 per cent of our efforts and only generated 20 per cent of our sales, whereas our fulfillment and shipping space makes up 80 per cent of our revenue and 20 per cent of our efforts because we’ve got such good logistic systems and partners,” she said.
“So when we were looking at the new year in 2022 it’s like are we going to keep this store that is challenging to keep it running, to keep the inventory stocked from the warehouse, when in reality it’s almost like a true showroom where our customers, they try on clothes to figure out what size they are and then they shop online thereafter. We have next day shipping in Edmonton, we have next day shipping in Calgary, we have two day shipping to Toronto.
“The customer confidence is so high with our brand and because of how the products are designed, their size, consistency, the return rate for our products is less than three per cent. In apparel, it’s usually 40 to 50 per cent. We’re sitting so low.”
The retailer’s new warehouse is located between air cargo shipping partners and Canada customs inside the Edmonton International Airport Sustainability Campus.
“We bring everything in on planes and we actually ship out to our customers on planes as well. That is a really unique offering but we’re just in a pilot program with a certain partner to do that and it’s been wildly successful in terms of getting our products on airplanes to Toronto same day and having that delivery last-mile driver getting it out to them the next day,” she said. “It’s really shortened our time as well as when BC was having a variety of issues, it actually completely didn’t affect us because we weren’t dealing with ground shipping. We’re dealing with air providers. We’re flying into all these different places.
“What I love about the industry now is the amount of people and companies that are investing in the logistics space and being a brand like ours with a history, and my history of consulting, helps us to capitalize on those strategic partnerships and helps us to pilot these programs that haven’t even been announced yet.”
The airport warehouse space is just over 4,200 square feet.
Recently, the EMMYDEVEAUX brand also launched into the men’s area with a couple of products to test out if it will resonate with that demographic.
“Are they going to like the fabrics? We’re super new to the men’s industry but if we can do it the way that we’ve done women’s it will be really, really successful with the male customer which I think it will because they’ve never experienced what it’s like to have an extremely well fitting sport coat that’s made from stretch,” said Salsbury.
“I think men every year have less and less places to shop. I’m really going to put my best foot forward and really see what I can create and so far so good. People are loving the products.”
