🕴️ From pop-up shops to the Garment District: Nora Gardner | D2C Stories

Hey there amazing people of the D2C community who are creating incredible things out there! It's Berkay, your host, coming to you today.

Here is another edition of our D2C Stories series where we showcase successful D2C entrepreneurs for some inspiration!

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🕴️ From pop-up shops to the Garment District: Nora Gardner from Nora Gardner Clothing NY

In the 13th episode we did with successful D2C entrepreneurs, we had a really inspiring conversation with Nora Gardner, founder of the eponymous women's professional attire brand, Nora Gardner NYC!

Nora wasn't your typical fashion guru. She had a degree in economics and spent six years in the world of investment banking. But one day, she found herself fed up with the lack of good workwear options. 

She'd watch her male colleagues get custom suits while she struggled to find something that fit her style. In a country where you should dress to impress, Nora couldn't understand why the fashion industry ignored businesswomen like her.

But luckily, this frustration and curiosity sparked her idea to start Nora Gardner NYC!

You can listen to the episode on Spotify, Google, or Apple Podcast!

And here are some highlights from our chat:

🚀 Leaving the banking career behind and starting the brand. While pursuing an MBA parallel to her investment banking career, Nora noticed an untapped market: women aged 35 to 55 with incomes over $100,000 who were having a hard time reflecting their business positions in their clothing.

💡 Starting. She thought about starting a brand for women's work clothes and designing them herself. Plus, she knew plenty of folks at work who'd totally be into buying these clothes. Seemed like the perfect plan!

💰 The first investment by a colleague. When Nora told about her idea to a colleague, he immediately asked “When are you starting? I want to invest!” He was a big supporter along the way!

🚶‍♀️ Initial steps. After this point, Nora decided to quit her finance job stop with the MBA, and fully focus on her new venture!

👗 Starting with pop-up shops. Against all digital trends, Nora started her business selling her items in pop-up shops with high foot traffic!

Her initial attempt at a pop-up shop in the Lower East Side turned out a mismatch for her target customers and resulted in just one dress sale in three days!

Despite the setback, relocating to 47th and Lex marked a turning point, finally connecting Nora with her target customers!

💸 The second funding round - HBS Angels of NY. After six months of hard work, she secured prizes and capital from various sources, including the Harvard Business School Angels of New York. This support helped her achieve milestones like securing a long-term lease on Madison Avenue and opening a successful store on Newbury Street in Boston.

🌐 The pandemic hit. When physical stores closed temporarily, she faced a pivotal choice: alter the brand image or recreate the in-store experience online. Opting for the latter, she spent a year revamping the website, introducing new brands, and enhancing the online shopping experience.

🔄 Returns and Exchanges. After moving online, obviously, they faced increased returns, sometimes up to 50% from their previous 10%! To stay competitive, they closely monitored expenses like stocking fees and the costs of handling free returns.

Their focus had shifted from a real estate approach to logistics, shipping costs, and managing returns. But their primary goal remained the same: making sure the customer felt great.

📱 LinkedIn. Social media, especially LinkedIn, played a vital role for Nora. So her team focused on creating valuable content there. Even if immediate conversion rates weren't necessarily high, the platform eventually did help to get awareness.

She values customer connection and recently suggested a LinkedIn strategy: engaging customers from diverse industries, conducting attire interviews, and curating endorsed looks for confidence.

They revive their matrix approach, guiding stylists in recommending outfits for various roles.

On Facebook and Instagram, they use #ShearNora and offer a $25 coupon for sharing Nora clothing with #FYI, reducing wardrobe anxiety and building a supportive community.

📦 Tight inventory control. Customer identification leverages years of shopping data, and they keep 6 to 8 weeks of stock, prioritizing core products while introducing new items in smaller quantities.

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