The In4mation Crew
The lines between retailers and manufacturers have never been more blurred than they are today. Many major apparel manufactures have highly-developed brick-and-mortar empires and robust online sales. On the other hand, savvy specialty and mall-based stores alike have fine-tuned private label programs that offer healthy margins.
In4mation is taking a different approach all together. What started as a small specialty chain in Hawaii is now developing into a full apparel line. TransWorld Business caught up with the label’s founders to find out more about their business model. Here’s what we learned:
How and when did In4mation get started?
In4mation was started in 2002 by Jun Jo, Ryan Arakaki, Todd Shimabuku and Rhand Tambio. We started out as a retail store in a hometown of Mililani, Hawaii.
Seems like a tough time to launch a label, why now?
The label launched as it was one of our goals as a company to grow from a retailer into our own self-proclaimed brand. We started out with wholesaling our T-shirts to friends that own their own stores and it kind of took off from there. That was actually started in 2005-2006 and from selling 6 different T-shirt designs it has grown into a full collection of apparel and accessories.
How was the label able to raise capital given the current economic climate?
Our first season of cut & sew was sold in 2007, which we actually took out a little bank loan to fund and sustain our production and shipping costs. We have then since partnered up with Duke Wu who understood our concepts and vision as a brand. We all have a deep understanding between what we all need to do to survive as a brand in today’s economy. With Duke as our partner we are blessed with having an office in NYC as well as our other base in Hawaii.
What’s the relationship between the retail stores in Hawaii and the apparel label?
We are all involved with the retail stores and the apparel brand. Rhandy heads up as the creative director for In4mation whether it’s the store or brands operations while Jun, Ryan, and Todd are back in Hawaii assisting with running the retail as well as marketing and operations for the apparel brand.
Why did it make sense to launch an apparel label from roots in retail?
We felt that our story is what got us to where we are. The retail stemmed from us doing things that we thought were right for the marketplace in Hawaii. We noticed there were no stores we were interested in buying from and our mission became to open a store that we’d actually shop at—the same goes for our apparel label. As time went on Rhandy moved to LA to work with some private label apparel brands and learned the business of apparel design. Rhandy then moved from LA to NY in 2004, and worked at various brands until we could start to sustain doing things on our own. Our brand stemmed from the same thinking we had developed from our retail experience: we wanted to put things out [in the market] that we would actually want to wear and buy.
Most retail stores have private label product, but it’s rare for a store to offer its product to the broader market. Why offer In4mation to other retail vendors?
We believe that there are others that are like minded and enjoy the same things as we do.
Is the label currently being sold in retail outlets other than In4mation’s stores? If so, where?
Yes, we are currently sold in over 150 accounts/stores in the world. All of our stores that we are selling to are all equally important so it would be such a tough thing to list all of them. We are currently working on our Store Locator on our new website: www.in4mationbrand.com
How is the company structured and who is on board?
The company has not changed much as we all have our part to handle as we embark on this journey. Rhandy Tambio is head of Design or the role Creative Director, Jun Jo is the head of Marketing, Todd Shimabuku and Ryan Arakaki are the Operations Managers for both retail and the brand while we all hold titles as CEO’s alongside Duke Wu of the In4mation name.
How many employees does the company have and where are the offices located?
The New York office, which The NY office works with Design, Production, Credit, Accounting and Sales has 10 employees. The Hawaii office has 18 employee. All of the Hawaii people handle the 3 retail stores.
What tradeshows will you be visiting this season?
We will be at Agenda, Surf Expo, Slate at Magic, and Class at ASR.
What product categories is In4mation offering?
In4mation currently offers: Tees, Knits, Wovens, Denim, Shorts, Pants, Fleece, Outerwear, and Accessories.
What differentiates In4mation from other labels already in the marketplace?
In4mation differs as we are brand that is passionate about the Surf, Skate, Snow, and Street Cultures. Being from Hawaii has had a lot of advantages and disadvantages and that has helped us pioneer certain things we’re involved in. When we do have the meetings about our direction we leave it all on the Creatives of the brand where we all trust and support our brands main initiative which is Design/Aesthetic and Function.
