User:Berkeleywalker/LittleMissMatched

LittleMissMatched™ is a clothing company based in New York, which specializes in colorful, unmatched items. It began with girls' socks in 2004, and has since widened its product range to include other clothes, toys, bedding and furniture.

History

The company began selling colorful, unmatched socks, packaged in odd numbers, since 2004. Marketing materials and the graphics on the packaging target girls between the ages of 8 and 14 and encourage them to express their individuality through “creative mismatching.” Socks are grouped into four categories  Zany, Marvelous, Fabulous, and Kooky  based on their patterns and colors. A label woven into the inside ribbing identifies each sock by its category and a number so that girls can collect them.

Management soon discovered that preteens and younger teenagers were not their only customers. Women were buying socks for themselves and others. The company expanded its product line to include items for infants, toddlers, older teens, and adults. Among the additions were pajamas, flip-flops, school supplies, activity books, change purses, shoelaces, toys, party kits, jewelry, bedding, and furniture. Every item featured non-matching elements in stripes, polka dots, stars, and other patterns. Prices ranged from $4 for hair bands to $1,277 for a storage bed with a book case headboard.

In 2007, LittleMissMatched launched a line for boys and men called Mixter Max that featured socks, flip-flops and, in 2008, tubular steel furniture.

Retail Sales grew from $5 million in 2004 to $32 million in 2008. LittleMissMatched merchandise is sold on line and in Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, FAO Schwarz and J. C. Penney stores; at kiosks in malls and Grand Central Terminal in New York City; and in some 3,000 specialty stores and boutiques across America.

The idea for the company evolved in 2003 when two friends from the San Francisco Bay Area  Jonah Staw, who worked for a marketing and product design firm, and Arielle Eckstut, a literary agent and published author  mused about the mystery of disappearing single socks. They jokingly concluded that they could solve the problem by wearing surviving socks that didn’t match. A business plan and the logo of a little girl in mismatched clothing soon followed. Staw and Eckstut teamed up with Jason Dorf, who had experience in the New York apparel industry, to start LittleMissMatched.

Expansion

In order to move beyond socks, the partners decided to license the LittleMissMatched brand to manufacturers. In 2006, Westpoint Home began producing curtains, valances, and bedding, which include reversible comforters and pillowcases, bed skirts, and sheets with different patterns on the top and bottom halves. A “bed-in-a-bag” set provides up to 192 combinations of patterns and colors.

In the fall, 2007, the company entered a partnership with Powell Company, a furniture importer based in Culver City, CA, to produce girls’ bedroom furniture. The Switcharoo line has spinning headboards and furniture with reversible and rotating elements. The Sketchorama line is finished in dry-erase paint so that girls can write or draw on their furniture and then erase it. The newest line, Artsy Craftsy, features frames that girls can fill with their own artwork or photos. Powell began making the MixterMax line of boys’ beds, desks, and storage units.

In June, 2008, Catterton Partners, a private equity firm in the consumer sector, invested $17.3 million in growth capital in LittleMissMatched. Catterton formerly had stakes in Build-a-Bear Workshop, Odwalla, and P. F. Chang's. Among the firm’s current investments are Outback Steakhouse, Restoration Hardware, and Cheddar’s restaurant chain. LittleMissMatched announced plans to use the financing to build its product lines, increase distribution, and open a stand-alone store in Manhattan.

Miss Matched, Inc., the parent company of the brand, signed an agreement with Macy’s, Inc. in August, 2008, to open dozens of boutiques in Macy’s stores across the country. The LittleMissMatched concessions are in Macy’s kids departments and primarily sell socks and underwear.

A month later, Miss Matched, Inc. announced that it had hired the marketing firm Imerex, Inc. to strengthen its web site and on-line sales.

The garment company opened two so-called pop-up boutiques in Manhattan for the 2008 holiday season that generated enough sales that management extended their leases through February. . A stand-alone store in Manhattan opened August, 2009, on 5th Avenue 46th and 47th Streets, and a 1000 sq.’ store is scheduled to open in Disneyland in September, 2009.

Miss Matched Inc. has also teamed up with IT’SUGAR, a chain of stores that sell candy and candy-related novelties. The apparel company opened a 500 sq. ‘ store adjoining the IT’SUGAR store in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in June, 2009.

For the back-to-school season, 2009, the LittleMissMatched expanded its girls clothing line to include sport wear.

Online

The LittleMissMatched website sells the entire product line and includes interactive sections for kids. Among these are dress-up games, quizzes, craft projects, and a design-your-own section. Customers in Japan can view the site in Japanese.

References

 Company website
 Entrepreneur, Oct., 2005; p. 156
 Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121262743729247071.html?mod=2_135
 Crains New York Business.com, June 26, 2009 (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090625/FREE/906259984)
 Company website
 USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-11-12-entrepreneur-usat_x.htm)
 Entrepreneur, Oct., 2005; p. 156
 Company website 
 Earnshaws, Nov. 7, 2007
 Company website
 Company website
 Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121262743729247071.html?mod=2_135

 Catterton web site, http://www.cpequity.com/
 company website
 Beta News http://www.betanews.com/newswire/pr.php/print/LittleMissMatchedTM_Enlists_Imerex_to_Provide_Advanced_Online_Marketing_Solutions_for_Its_ECommerce_Site/137808
 My Business, June/July, 2009; p. 10
 Crane’s New York business.com, June 25, 2009
 Reuters.com, June 17, 2009   http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS85895+17-Jun-2009+PRN20090617
 Company website