Hemster

Hemster operates a technology-enabled tailoring service that connects apparel retailers and shoppers to a managed network of local tailors. Shoppers are measured either in a partner store's dressing room or at home using the company's patent-pending "RulerSticker" markers, which allow store associates or consumers without tailoring experience to take alteration measurements quickly. Garments are then routed to a tailor selected on the basis of machinery, skill set and available capacity, with the company citing a 48-hour turnaround at the time of its post-seed round and a 1-3 day turnaround with a 99.4 percent accuracy claim on its current site.

The consumer-facing product saves a shopper's measurements as reusable "Patterns" generated by a Fit Profile algorithm, which can subsequently be matched to new or existing garments so that alterations can be repeated without re-fitting. Hemster markets free tailoring when consumers shop from its brand partners, provides pre-paid shipping for garments sent in, and manages orders through a customer portal. The company also offers (re)vive, a service positioned to help brands convert returned and deadstock inventory into revenue.

Hemster positions itself against the fashion industry's standard small/medium/large sizing, which its founder states does not fit roughly 90 percent of shoppers, and frames its service as reducing fit-related returns for retailers while modernizing tailoring through technology.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Allison Lee grew up in South Korea, where shoppers typically select size by weight and tailoring is expected even on budget garments. She contrasted this with the US small/medium/large system, which she said does not fit almost 90 percent of people, and founded Hemster to make solving fit simple, convenient and cost-effective for consumers while giving brands a scalable service offering.

Business model

Hemster sells tailoring and alteration services to both retailers and end shoppers, operating an outsourced network of local tailors rather than employing tailors directly. Services are delivered in partner stores, at residential properties and through mail-in/home pickup, and the company also offers a (re)vive product aimed at monetizing brand returns and deadstock.

The company has described its model as an arbitrage between what it charges customers (retailers and shoppers) and what it pays tailors, with revenue from tailoring services at retail locations and residential properties. It cited an average order value above $60 with tailoring and transportation costs at less than half of that, plus an additional $15-25 fitting fee for in-home services, and low marketing and user-acquisition costs due to retailer, residential property and mall partnerships.

Traction

At the time of its Regulation CF offering, Hemster reported over 230 percent quarter-over-quarter growth since launching in 2017, average order value more than doubling within six months, a 99 percent accuracy rate, expansion from one pilot mall partnership to three live locations in ten months, an average 15 percent increase in monthly retailer sales, and a launch waitlist of 400 grade-A shopping centers via Westfield, Simon, Macerich and GGP. Named customers and partners have included Zara, Michael Kors, Club Monaco, Outdoor Voices, Reformation and Bonobos, plus residential groups Greystar, Crescent Heights and Maximus. The company later added brand partnerships with Diane von Furstenberg, Outdoor Voices and Alo Yoga. Consumer reviews aggregated on Yelp give Hemster a 3.9 average across 100 reviews and four US locations, with multiple recent reviews citing delays, non-returned garments and poor communication.

Latest developments

Hemster currently markets (re)vive, a service for turning returns and deadstock into revenue, alongside its Pattern-based fit product that promises 1-3 day tailoring turnaround with 99.4 percent accuracy and free adjustments.