design:retail - June 2019 - 80

questions for...

Rebecca
Minkoff

E S I G N E R R E B E C C A M I N K O F F launched her eponymous brand in 2001, and has since become
a global lifestyle brand spanning ready-towear, handbags, accessories, shoes and jewelry.
Today, she is looking to energize and empower a
new generation of entrepreneurial women with
her Female Founder Collaborative.

How has the retail industry changed since you
started your company?
We are always thinking about where our
customer is going, what she is looking for and
how to fulfill her everyday needs-whether that be
for work, home and/or anything in between. That
in and of itself is ever evolving.
Similarly, the digital world has changed the
most-over the last few years there has been a major focus toward integrating our wholesale, retail
and e-commerce businesses to create an even more
seamless shopping experience for our customer
and building a more efficient backend technology
for the future of our business.

How is technology being used to enhance
the shopper experience in your brick-andmortar stores?
We are constantly experimenting and
optimizing our technology in-store to make it
more consumer friendly and captivating. Similarly,
we always remain transparent with the customer
and let them in on our learning experience. This
gives us more permission to experiment than traditional brands.
Most recently, the fitting room technology in
our SoHo store was updated to enhance the customer experience even further-providing Near
Field Communication (NFC) compatibilities. This
includes allowing the consumer to fully use their
phone to enhance and personalize their shopping
experience. Whether loading their online wish
list or returning to their online shopping cart, the
updates unify the online and offline experience
through the consumer's mobile device. In the

future, we are looking to initiate tap-to-pay capabilities through the mirror(s).
As we continue to expand and re-create our
store as a full experiential shopping hub, the plans
around technology and in-store events continues
to evolve. Marrying online and offline (or in-store)
is also being leveraged through our store technology. In the near future, select fitting rooms in the
New York SoHo store will feature a mirror where
consumers can FaceTime their contacts in addition
to other interactive capabilities.

You have a larger standalone retail presence
in Asia. How do foreign markets and shoppers differ from U.S. counterparts?
It's about inspiring confidence in women
everywhere-not just the United States, but all over,
including Japan. We are not just a one-lane brand. It
is finding what will make women feel excited and
it is relevant to what is happening in our times. It's
about taking every facet of a woman-who can be
both a businesswoman and a mom, for example-
and creating something that fits with all those parts.

How did you start the Female Founder
Collective (FFC)?
I had been in a meeting with a company
that hosts thousands of companies all over
the world; however, there was no way to filter or

identify the female-founded companies. I left the
meeting thinking that there needed to be a symbol that was both easily identifiable, practical and
useful. I was surprised to find that nothing existed;
that catapulted my drive to make a change.
The Female Founder Collective (FFC) launched
in September 2018. The initial goal was to get the
symbol widely known and recognizable, have femalefounded companies sign up, put it to use and then
work on programming, funding and pitch competition assistance, etc. Fast-forward to March 2019, the
Female Founder Collective houses a database of more
than 4,000 female-founded companies.

How can the FFC help women start a
retail business?
The FFC doesn't have the capabilities for
starting a retail business just yet, but the FFC
continues to grow exponentially and we plan to roll
out new programming and capabilities this year.
[Recently], the first national campaigns for the FFC
were hosted by Emily + Meritt (Los Angeles), Dana
Rebecca Designs (Chicago), and Eberjey (Miami).
This unprecedented portrait series showcased the
strength of this community and the unlimited potential for the FFC. These founders are women of
many backgrounds who all share a common goal-
to raise awareness for female-founded companies.
The FFC also featured prominent female leaders,
including Rachel Zoe, Anine Bing, Tamara Mellon,
The Everygirl Founders, Streicher Sisters, Hillary
Kerr & Katherine Power, among others.

design:retail - June 2019

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