PULSECHALLENGE

P R AT T U N I T E D L E G W E A RS O C K E X P E R I M E N T

UNITED LEGWEAR & APPAREL CO.Established in 1998 by Isaac E. Ash, United Legwear & Apparel Co. (ULAC) is a global manufacturer of legwear, underwear, loungewear, apparel and accessories for adults and kids.

Licensed brands include PUMA, Skechers, Happy Socks, Bread & Boxers (with NY Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist), Weatherproof, C&C California, and Adrienne Vittadini.

We have a large portfolio of private label brands, including collections for Neiman Marcus, DSW, Kohl’s, Fred Meyer, Journeys, and more .

ULAC is majority owner of the heritage sport/lifestyle brand PRO PLAYER, relaunched in 2016.

Headquartered in NYC’s garment district, ULAC is home to 40,000 square feet of showrooms, meeting rooms, offices, and work stations.

East and West Coast warehouses and logistics centers ship goods worldwide and have a state-of-the-art e-commerce fullfulment operation for direct-to-consumer sales.

Offices in Hong Kong and Canada plus partnerships with other global distributors make ULAC a best-in-class apparel and accessories resource.

2

The Silent Giant By Ben Pickel, SSI Research

The Sock category for many retailers has often been referred to as the silent giant - quietly driving apparel sales and providing a stable source of revenue for retailers.

Despite a 14 percent drop in unit sales year-to-date (YTD) according to analysis of retail point-of-sale data compiled by SSI Data• powered by SportsOneSource, the Sock category was the third largest in unit sales and the fifth largest in the Apparel category in dollar sales.

Sock sales accounted for 9 percent of total Apparel dollar sales and 18 percent of unit sales in 2015, and accounts for roughly IO percent of Apparel dollar sales within Chain Specialty and Athletic Specialty/Sporting Goods stores.

In 2015 the Crew sock consumer slowly gravitated toward Over-The-Calf socks. The trend picked up significant momentum in 2016 as Crew socks dipped 7 percent in unit share while Over-The-Calf socks gained an additional 5 percent of the market.

Sock Unit Share by Sub-Category

2013 2014 2015 YTD 2016

Quarter 9% 9% 9% 9%

Crew 49% 50% 48% 41%

Over-the Calf 12% 12% 13% 18%

Low Cut 11% 10% 10% 10%

No Show 18% 19% 21% 22%

3

According to NPD data, here’s the market size of Total Socks, meaning all styles and sizes for the full year 2015:

4

Class by Wearer Total Dollars (000) Dollar Share

Grand Total $5,705,455 100.0

Men’s Socks $2,838,814 49.8

Women’s Socks $1,778,292 31.2

Boys’ Socks $ 461,927 8.1

Girls’ Socks $ 283,215 5.0

Infant/Toddler Socks $ 343,207 6.0

DESIGN & MERCHANDISINGMA R K E T R E S E A R C HGreat design drives sales, but retailers’ requirements must be met. Designers and merchandisers do the following during the discovery process:

Store Research Store visits help the team identify the competition, note what brands/products shoppers are buying; recognize trends, and study price points.

Web Research Look at other markets (Europe, Asia) for inspiration and trend; visit online retailers; pore through sites like Pinterest.

Trend Forecasting Services Services like WGSN predict future trends, allowing manufacturers to capitalize on trends despite lead times.

Fashion Shows and Magazines Important for inspiration and to see how all categories interpret the seasonal trends.

S E A S O N A L T R E N D B O A R D S Mood, inspiration, and market research boards are created to show key color, patterns, and silhouettes. ULAC designers interpret and apply apparel trends to legwear in a way that is both functional and cost effective.

I N I T I A L C A D S As with any commercial item, all of the customer’s needs must be addressed. As initial CADs are presented, ULAC works with retail buyers to: determine the total skus needed; identify best-sellers; create a core line; identify key items and new trends based on research.

I N T E R N A L A P P R O V A L P R O C E S S Obtain approval from retailer and/or licensor

Review initial costing, retailer IMU and manufacturer’s final margin. These are critical to a program’s success.

Confirm the factory’s minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirements, which are often quoted per color, per size.

Finalize a sourcing plan for the proposed product assortment.5

P R O D U C T I O N P R O C E S SKnit downs, labdips and proto samples are requested from factories.

Technical packages are created and sent to factories with detailed instructions on fabrication/construction/color/pattern.

After internal approval of protos, full color samples/packaging is requested for submission to retailers/licensors and final approval.

L O G I S T I C S The logistics team handles customs, duties, freight forwarding, transport from factory to ULAC warehouse, retailer, or distribution center as needed.

M A R K E T P R E S E N T A T I O NFinal adjustments are made to the product assortment based on customer’s feedback.

O R D E R P L A C E M E N T The sales team will submit the final order to the planning department for final review. Then the production team places the orders with factories that are selected based on order quantities, lead times, or particular fabrications.

M A R K E T I N G The marketing team creates collateral as needed for sales efforts. In the case of licensed international brands, these efforts will be b-to-b, because licensors control b-to-c efforts to ensure global consistency). For ULAC-owned brands, marketing team is responsible for brand image, photo shoots, social media, e-commerce aesthetics, and more.

6

PRODUCTION & MARKETING

TIMELINE FOR PULSE CHALLENGEDate

ULAC visits Pratt to speak with students, present info, take questions 1/17/17

All submissions due to jury 1/24/17

Five finalists announced 1/27/17

Finalists begin design and development with ULAC guidance 1/30/17

CADS due at ULAC for first review and comments; CADS returned to finalists for revisions 2/6/17

Revised cads due at ULAC; these will be sent to factory for sampling 2/10/17

Break for Chinese New Year ; all factories are closed 1/28/17 – 2/2/17

Samples arrive at ULAC from factory 3/10/17

Finalists and ULAC review samples together 3/15/17

Jury selects and announces winning style 3/27/17

Order placed for limited run of winning style; all changes to be implemented in production 3/29/17

Goods shipped from factory via air ; received in ULAC’s New Jersey warehouse TBD

NYC x Design week kick-off 5/3/177

PULSE – THE CONTEST Interested students will submit entries to a jury comprised of five professionals within the design and legwear fields:

Students earning a spot in the final round will work directly with a United Legwear & Apparel Co. (ULAC) designer, who can help transition their idea to a CAD design and submit a tech pack to a factory for sampling.

When the five sample socks are received at ULAC, the jury will select a final winner, whose sock will be made in a limited quantity of approximately 800 pairs.

The PULSE Challenge story will be pitched to WWD and other outlets to get the word out, and the winning sock will be displayed during various Pratt year-end events.

8

PULSE Challenge: The Jury

Anita Cooney Dean, School of Design, PRATT Institute

Isaac E. Ash Founder, President & CEO, United Legwear & Apparel Co.

Francine Monaco Architect; Principal, D’Aquino Monaco

Rita Polidori O’Brien VP Marketing & Licensing, United Legwear & Apparel Co.

Crystal Kiteveles Creative Director of Fashion Brands, United Legwear & Apparel Co.

Ketta Ioannidou Senior Designer, United Legwear & Apparel Co.

CREW SOCK TEMPLATE

9

CREW SOCK SPECS

10

CONTACTS & INFORMATIONUnited Legwear & Apparel Co.

Isaac Ash, Founder, President & CEO

48 West 38th Street; 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10018

212-391-4143

www.unitedlegwear.com

Rita Polidori O’Brien, VP Marketing & Licensing

rita@unitedlegwear.com

Ketta Ioannidou, Senior Designer

Ketta@unitedlegwear.com

To download this presentation along with a blank sock template, visit https://www.pratt.edu/academics/school-of-design/

11