Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3 - 110

retail soft surroundings
www.softsurroundings.com / Headquarters: St. Louis / Specialty: Women's retailer / Michele L. Dando, director of sourcing, technical design and compliance: "We are
really charting our own territory and doing what's right for us, not just looking at what traditional retail does and how they grow."

Timeless Quality
Soft Surroundings' strong partnerships with suppliers around the
world support its relationships with consumers. By Staci Davidson
Soft Surroundings'
promise is that its brand
"gives women a way to a take
a moment in their busy lives
and be good to themselves."
That is an attractive propoMICHELE L.
sition to consumers in this
DANDO
director of
day, and Soft Surroundings
sourcing, technical
delivers on that by paying
design and
compliance
close attention to the quality
and details in its apparel, beauty, gift
and home lines, while also ensuring
its service levels match the quality of
its goods. Soft Surroundings wants
to help its customers live inspired
lives, and it is supported in these
goals with a strong sourcing and
supply chain operation.
"We offer superior product that
is timeless," explains Michele
L. Dando, director of sourcing,
technical design and compliance.
"We are known for providing a high
level of service because the group
of women we serve often can be
bypassed or under-served in the
marketplace. We always go back to
our brand promise, understanding
that the Soft Surroundings woman
needs more time, but this is a place
where she comes to be good to
herself because it is all inclusive of
great service and quality solutions."
Based in St. Louis, Soft Surroundings is an omni-channel
retailer with catalog, e-commerce
and physical retail operations.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary
this year, Dando notes "there is
no case study to follow," because
110

Supply Chain World VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

while most of retail is transitioning
from brick-and-mortar operations
to online, Soft Surroundings is
growing fast in every channel and
continues to expand with more
brick-and-mortar locations. To
keep pace with this, the company's sourcing operations has to
be transparent with suppliers,
communicate with them about any
potential issues and understand
supply chain timelines.
"We are always trying to find the
next best thing in fabrics and keep
up with demand," Dando says. "The
word 'soft' is in our name, so that is
what our fabrics need to be. Every
fabric is touched before we even
consider it, and we keep our finger
on the pulse of what is happening in
fabric and what is happening at the
yarn level. Some consumers can get
bored of styles so we always want to
show what is new with fabric."

Soft Surroundings takes pride in
providing high-quality goods and
service to customers of its catalog,
website and retail locations.

'Happy to Adapt'
Soft Surroundings began as a
small operation, but around 2010,
the company decided it needed
a sourcing vision. As a result,
the company started expanding its reach around the globe,
looking for places and partners
that understand its dedication
to quality and brand goals. Soft
Surroundings always has had a
strong partnership with producers in Turkey, often going there to
find fabrics and items it doesn't
see elsewhere. Now, the company also is interested in India as a
result of the infrastructure the
government is adding to improve
its response to international
customers, and Peru because of
its Pima cotton.
"We are really charting our own
territory and doing what's right
for us, not just looking at what tra-

Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3