In addition, it sells its products through online at aritzia.com. . Thanks, and good afternoon, everyone. Okay. Over time, the company kept investing in the backbone technology and upgrading the online experience, improving the layout, photography, fit information, packaging and many other facets that kept the online experience consistent with the store experience, says CIBCs Petrie. I have a love for my job. But generally speaking, we changed the size of the stores that we're actually communicating to the landlords that we're after. Wong says what she values in life isnt that complicated or luxurious, its actually kind of simplebut not lacking for quality. Jennifer Wong is the Pres, COO, Corp. Sec. In Q1, we formed our Environmental and Social Board Committee to oversee how we can continue to accelerate the positive impact we are making through our operations, policies, programs and initiatives. As such, we finished the quarter with more clients than ever before. So we're balancing that. And so what we're seeing in, for instance, with our product expansion is we have a wide offering that has a fantastic appeal to our customer, and they're responding well to what we're offering. But in the scheme of our growth, it's really going to come down to The United States. [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Mark Petrie with CIBC. We have a lot of Canadians with American citizenship working at the SoHo location, says Wong. If industry standards have a 50 percent failure rate, why would I want to follow those same standards? says Wong, We go about things in a different way. Aritzia today also released fourth-quarter andfiscal 2022 financial data,for the period that ended February 27. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. jennifer wong aritzia husbandhomeware store manchester jennifer wong aritzia husband. She grows animated while relating the episode. Thank you, Todd. Our business model continues to enable us to provide our clients with beautiful products for all aspects of their life. A Vancouver native, she had planned to pursue finance upon graduating, but Aritzias CEO, Brian Hill, had other ideas. Today, Aritzia is hitting all the right notes, a testament to the power of selling a trendy product at an attainable price, in elevated yet always inviting store environments. In terms of pricing and what we're seeing out there with inflation, we're getting this question a lot. In Q1, we launched our first-ever swim collection, and we extended our footwear offering through our first partnership with Vans. Ms. Wong embodies Aritzia's culture, championing the business and leadership philosophies. Meet Jennifer Wong, Aritzia President and COO, and here's how she proves that impact and innovation leads to retail success:. Sophie Grgoire Trudeau, Hailey Bieber and the supermodel Hadid sisters are other famous figures who gave Aritzia a social media boost. Just trying to sort of unpack that for people that might be concerned about it. Aritzia Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. There's a Louis Vuitton flagship store in there.". This improvement was achieved primarily from leverage on occupancy and warehousing costs that was amplified as we lapped the boutique closures from last year. Struggling to demonstrate your value as a board member? This leverage more than offset approximately 500 basis points of erosion from the use of expedited freight as well as inflationary pressures. Good afternoon. While Todd will provide you with our detailed financial results, I am pleased to share that we delivered net revenue of $408 million in Q1, an increase of 65% from last year, led by our business in the U.S., which continued to accelerate at a phenomenal pace, increasing 81% from last year. "I feel my best after a really good cardio workout. unlock your potential with a degroote mba emba blended learning part-time mba Please. Hi Irene, it's, Jennifer. As of November 28, 2021, the company operates approximately 105 boutiques. Aritzia forecast revenue for the current quarter to be as much as C$600 million, surpassing analysts' projections of C$525.9 million. The U.S. led that growth where traffic increased by almost 50% from last year. To ensure this doesnt happen in the future, please enable Javascript and cookies in your browser. Corporate Secretary, and Director of Aritzia, the total compensation of Jennifer Wong at Aritzia is CAD$1,224,000. Good evening, good afternoon. This past quarter, we began offering jack.org mental health support and resources to all of our people in Canada and The U.S. We also made a donation to support jack.org's mission of providing these resources to young people across Canada. & Non-Independent Director of Aritzia, the total compensation of Ms Wong at Aritzia is CAD$1,096,831. I noticed you mentioned it was sort of proven sellers, but how much of that is new category extensions? Wallmine is a radically better financial terminal. And we're very much aware of what other people are reporting. And then that will begin to ease in Q3. From there, she moved through human resources, legal, finance, marketing and technology, and was named COO in 2007. Vancouver fashion retailer Aritzia Inc. (TSX:ARTZ) has appointed Jennifer Wong as CEO, while current CEO, Brian Hill, becomes executive chair. We've done such a good job to extend all other product expansion initiatives. And while I know Todd has spoken about what our outlook is for gross margin for the rest of the fiscal year, we do see these being what we're calling transitory cost effects. We analyzed everything left to right, top to bottom, Wong says. As a followup to this capsule collection, Aritzia released a limited-edition collection, Cause Mom, in time for Mothers Day. Wong dropped off her two school-aged boys at ski school and drove to the office to meet with Hill and Aritzias COVID-19 task force. The Joshua Tree won a Grammy for best album, the movie Get 20 FREE Email lookups. Track performance, allocation, dividends, and risks . So that's why we're planning on seeing the most pressure in Q2. Over time, the collection grew to more than a dozen brands, some featured in standalone boutiques. It also partnered with Good360, the global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving, to gift Aritzia Community Relief Packages to those battling on the virus frontlines. Hill, who is in his late 50s,said that he remains as dedicated to Aritzia as he did when he founded the venture in 1984, with a first store in Oakridge Centre, and then a second one in Metropolis at Metrotown. Stay connected and sign up for our PREVIEW newsletter! In Q1, we made progress on our path to getting famous in the U.S. Our client acquisition continued to accelerate, and this growth was on top of what we saw in Q4. Jennifer Wong, COO and president at Aritzia, Photo Credit: Evaan - https://evaan.com. To boost sales, Aritzia invested in an Instagram campaign with Kendall Jenner, who reportedly gets north of US$500,000 per post. So obviously, sometimes real estate and the opportunities don't necessarily present the opportunity for a bigger store. Aritzia has a ten-year lease on the iconic former Dean & DeLuca space. Five years ago, she also became president. But we're pretty confident that we're going to end up in a pretty good place here. It's a hip, sexy industry.". So we've seen some of the product that during COVID was not really registering with clients. "Those are really intelligent locations," Patterson said. Wong oversaw the engineering of new processes at the distribution centre to allow it to continue supplying online orders, with health personnel on-site and employees working in pods so if someone became ill, only that group was affected. Yes, I'll take that again. And nine Canadian apparel retailers have filed for bankruptcy protection so far this year, along with the Canadian operations of seven foreign-owned chains, according to industry research firm Trendex. This enabled us to capitalize on the vast majority of our client demand, grow wallet share and deliver exceptional results. Selling in our professional and fashion assortment increased as our clients begin to return to the office, social events and travel, all while maintaining our momentum in lifestyle apparel. I'm Leeza (she/her). After the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Aritzia started by investing $1 million to expand and strengthen its Diversity and Inclusion Program and established an Executive Diversity and Inclusion Committee led by Wong. It does so through three pillars of impact: poverty alleviation, mentorship and job readiness. Last updated: 1 January 2023 at 11:00am EST. The continued momentum in the United States drove net revenue of $207 million in the quarter, an increase of 81% from last year. Overall, adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter was $70 million, an increase of 70% from last year. })(). This flexibility is further assisted by the fact that Aritzia buys its own materials, designs its own lines and even shoots its own ads, giving it greater control over pricing and quality, and enabling faster adaptation to trends. She is really nice , sweet and funny. In Canada, there are currently 70 storefront locations, including standalone storefronts for Babaton, TNA, and Wilfred, and the company launched its first concept caf, A-OK, at Torontos Bloor-Yonge flagship location in February. So we did not layoff or furlough anyone as it related to COVID-19. (Aritzia currently has approximately 4,000 team members.). While the pandemic halted a run of 22 consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth, the Vancouver-based retailer registered a smaller revenue drop than many rivals, thanks to its nimble pivot to e-commerce. The company was formerly known as Aritzia Capital Corporation and changed its name to Aritzia Inc. in August 2016. At first glance it seems the boutique, which spans 10,000 square feet over two stories, resembles nothing of its originsthe small nook tucked inside the Hills of Kerrisdale department store in Vancouverbut there are two key components that havent changed since its humble beginnings: its distinctly Canadian vibe and the involvement of Jennifer Wong. Working as Aritzias first buyer and retail manager, Wong sharpened her skills in inventory, with a flair for fashion market trends. And I think that we're in it for the long game, as Jen mentioned. Jennifer Wong has 3 current jobs including CEO at Aritzia, President & Chief Operating Officer at Aritzia, and COO at Aritzia. Please go ahead. Our inventory buys are focused on our proven sellers, and we are confident we are on track to have the product to meet demand through the fall/winter season. He estimates about half its stock is proven sellers, accounting for about 80% of sales and keeping revenues stable year to year. Wondering if it's jennifer@aritzia.com, jennifer.wong@aritzia.com, wong@aritzia.com, or jwong@aritzia.com? For the year, we are expecting between 250 and 300 basis points of pressure from expedited freight. So we're seeing it as an opportunity. We are cautiously optimistic about our outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2023. Ms. Wong was 18 years old at the time and studying commerce at the University of British Columbia. Yet Hill, then CEO, and Wong, then president, led Aritzia to record profits in 2022 of $157 million. Meaghen, I'll take that one. Jennifer Wong joined Aritzia in 1987. Her plan was to make some extra cash while she studied economics at the University of British Columbia. Wong has been president and COO at Aritzia. The only thing we've seen changing is the product they're purchasing based on the sort of changing face in realities of COVID and opening things up and travel and things. There are 2 executives at Aritzia getting paid more, with Jed Paulson having the highest compensation of $2,449,610 . Join us in celebrating our newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Wong.. Aritzia is a woman-powered business, with 80% of our leadership positions being held by women. Expertise shouldn't be at all times apparent. Our store in SoHo is half the size it should be at 20,000 feet. Please note that remarks on this call may include our expectations, future plans and intentions that may constitute forward-looking statements. How much relates to the closures last year expedited freight? This increase includes higher in-transit inventory due to the strategic decision to order and ship our fall product earlier. window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { Our marketing department cringes when I say this, but fundamentally, Aritzia sells clothes, he says. These are all our store footprint increases. Thanks for that color too Brian. 784 following. Is the consumer acting any differently around going out and where to work? Numerous studies show that having stores in a market drives significant e-commerce activity. When the pandemic hit, the company couriered clothes to models to photograph at home and moved stock from stores to the distribution centre. I guess there's two, now Manhattan and now Chicago and they're substantially larger than the stores that you typically build. Wong has been an integral part of the companys growth, spearheading the implementation of Aritzias resource planning system and overseeing the companys U.S. expansion, including the June 2011 opening of the New York City store, Aritzias ninth American location. Prior to her current role, Ms. Wong was named our chief operating officer in 2007 where she created and led our executive committee as its chair. The latest Super Puffs, now also available for men, are the stars of fall window displays in Aritzias flagship stores, and the company recently opened Super Puff pop-ups in New York and L.A. Stores continue to be the companys primary marketing vehicle. Find other Emails now. Aritzias digital concierge platform helps staff serve as personal stylists, giving them access to records of customers' preferences and enabling marketing personalization. There were many firsts: our first-ever capsule collection,featuringfor the first time our remarkable Aritzia people,and with 100% of proceeds going to our Aritzia Community partner organizations.. And then we also have, in the second quarter, COVID relief subsidies and rent abatements that we received last year that are -- that obviously we're not going to get this year. We continue to grow our team with world-class talent. This is a beautifully structured coat with a wrap silhouette and a cozy collar that can be worn up or down. I wanted to ask, I guess, just on the sort of price and promotional environment and sort of competitive environment. The enviable position we are in today is a result of our proven long-term view of the business. I just wanted to ask on the state of the consumer. We filled a multitude of key positions across all areas and levels of our business. Hi, Lorraine, that's a good question because we've had lots of internal dialogue about that. ), Architectural and interior photography of Aritzia Super World NYC. And then we're obviously monitoring our usage as well. The house-of-brands approach also enables the company to shift focus and inventory with fashions ebbs and flows. I mean, our eCommerce channel, where we're doing more business in eCommerce now than we were at Aritzia when we went public five years ago. And I think that's proven. And I'm just curious like how much visibility do you have into those movements? 1,039 followers. 2022 Women of Influence.All rights reserved. SIGN UP FOR OUR THURSDAY NEWSLETTER. Analysts had expected the company to generate about $135.4 million in net revenue. With an engaged Instagram community of over 1.1 million fans and a robust e-commerce infrastructure, the brand managed to stay top of mind during the pandemic and its e-commerce site saw significant growth. "Wongknows the companyinside and out, and upside down at this point. Aritzia Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.. (To date in fiscal year 2021, which started March 2, 2020, Aritzia has opened two new boutiques and expanded or repositioned two existing boutiques in Canada, and opened five new boutiques and expanded an existing one in the United States. Propelling our business forward has not come without its challenges. As retail director Georgina McMichen leads the way around the flagship store on Torontos posh Bloor Street West, she also points out the expanded selection of sweats and denim. Wong was 18 years old when she started working as a part-time sales associate at Aritzia in 1987. } I thought I would do this until I got a real job in finance after I graduated, says the Vancouver native. For example, when she led her team in implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning system, she opted not to follow industry standards. "It's really nice working with a well-received brand," she adds. We see extraordinary growth opportunities ahead, and we're excited to be sharing our multiyear strategic growth plan at Aritzia's Investor Day, the week of October 24. And what scenarios would have to play out to see some of those programs return or gross margins go back to prior levels? Is this happening to you frequently? Given current market conditions, we have increased our pace of planned repurchases. ProductEmail Finder API Accuracy Pricing Company Email Directory Compare. Have a 50 percent failure rate, why would I want to follow industry standards have a 50 percent rate. 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