Jodi Gallaer

Jodi Gallaer didn’t follow the traditional design-school path to get into lingerie, rather, she started as a “business dork” and came into lingerie when she realised there was a gap in the market. She didn’t intend to stay on as the lead designer, but found herself loving it so now she wears both hats as the manager and the designer. We love that Jodi’s business saavy is just as creative as her designs, and both will help carry her young label further in its success. You can find Jodi Gallaer’s line at her website.

Your path to the world of lingerie was more entrepreneurial than other designers that chose a fashion degree. Can you describe your undergraduate and business school training?

As a teenager I took my first marketing course, and since then I’ve been somewhat of a self-proclaimed “business dork.” I received my undergraduate degree at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and most recently my MBA at Columbia Business School. While I was in business school I decided that I wanted to start my own lingerie line, so I was able to cater most of my coursework towards retailing and entrepreneurship. This allowed me to hit the ground running once I graduated.

Did you enter Columbia with the lingerie plan in mind, or did you have an inspirational moment that guided your coursework?

I definitely had an “aha” moment when I decided to start my own lingerie line. I was in a boutique trying on lingerie, and there was a really cute bra that I adored. I tried it on in a 34D, but the band was too big, so I needed it in a 32DD. Of course the bra didn’t come in 32DD, and so the sales lady brought five other bras to the dressing room—each more boring than the next. As a 32DD, I didn’t have many choices, and as a girlie girl that was just unacceptable. I love shopping and clothes and I hated that I had to wear this grandma bra underneath it all. That’s when I started researching bras and the full-busted market. I asked all of my friends about their experiences with bra shopping and found that many of them had the same frustrations I did. I knew there was a market for sexy and supportive lingerie in larger sizes, and so I began pursuing my line.

When you analyzed the competitive landscape for lingerie, what were your conclusions? What opportunities did you see?

I knew that there was a market for supportive and fashionable lingerie. There are still only a handful of designers for a very large number of women that are bigger on top.

Did you do a Porter’s Five Forces for school? What did you learn from it?

I don’t remember specifically using Porter’s Five Forces to analyze the lingerie market. (I hope my business school professors don’t cringe when they read that.) I did plenty of analyses to determine if there were women who needed supportive and fashionable lingerie in larger sizes. For the business plan, I tried to gather data such as market size, potential obstacles, potential suppliers, and customers.

How did you pick up the necessary design skills for running a lingerie company? Do you have trusted designers?

While studying at Columbia, I also took courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design. When I enrolled in those design school courses, my aim was to gather a greater understanding of the design process and then hire a designer. But I found that I loved the design so much that I didn’t want to give it up. I do get a lot of help from my sister. She’s great for a second opinion and advice on colors. Most of the patterns I do myself with some help from the factory.

You pursued manufacturing in Mexico. Is this still how you get the lines produced? How did you procure factory services for manufacturing?

I originally sought manufacturing in the United States to bypass a lot of the communication and logistical challenges that accompany overseas manufacturing. It was impossible for me to find someone in the US that had the expertise to produce underwire bras in larger sizes at a reasonable price point. Luckily, a friend of mine had spent time in Mexico and was familiar with several manufacturers down there. We are still currently producing in Latin America, but with a different factory. Fortunately, I speak a bit of Spanish which makes communication easier.

The company caters to larger cup sizes. Do you see this market as underserved? Why do you think the larger cup sizes are not as common from mainstream lingerie manufacturers?

I do think that the larger cup market is underserved, and I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why that would be. Frankly, I just don’t know. There are plenty of us that wear larger cup sizes.

There are a handful of companies targeting larger cup sizes – Bravissimo, Miss Mandalay, The Full Cup, others. Are these
competitors or compatriots helping to widen the market?

I definitely think of these other companies as compatriots. Many women are still wearing the wrong bra size, and they don’t know that they really need to be wearing an E, F, or G-cup for example. These companies help educate women as to what their correct bra size really is and help to make the market larger.

How do you promote the brand?
Right now the brand is in its infancy, so I’ve been relying on word-of-mouth to promote the brand. Bra shopping is so frustrating for women who need larger cup sizes that when they find a brand they like they naturally want to tell their friends.

You sell directly on the web site and through retailers. Do you have channel conflict? Does your demographic find you on the web? Will the Internet allow you to connect with your selected demographic? What strategies are you pursuing?

A large majority of my sales are through retailers. I think women love to see the line in person and try it on. The website is a very small portion of my sales. Its primary purpose is to let people know who I am and make the line available in cities in which I still don’t have retailers.

How long does the process take for you to go from sketch to sale?

That really depends on the garment. If I already have the lace or the pattern complete, it could be in as little as two months. If I am developing an all new product with new lace and a new pattern it could take as long as ten months.

What evolutions of the brand do you see in the next five years? Do you want to continue designing lingerie or will it expand to other goods or even other designers besides yourself?

I am very passionate about designing lingerie, and I definitely have plans for future growth. For the fall, we are going to start producing up to an H cup and from 28 to 40 band sizes. I also have a very special chemise coming out that will have a complete bra in it. A lot of retailers have specially requested this from us, and it sold very well at market. I’m very excited to have that in stores starting in September.

In addition to lingerie, as a long term goal, I would like to design swimwear. It’s really hard to find a cute bathing suit that has underwire support. And a lot of us really need it!

As for other designers, I really only foresee it being me and my sister for the time being.

Do you have investors in the company or are you self sufficient?

For the most part, the business is now self-sufficient. I did have a lot of help from my family to start the initial line.

How many people work at your company? Do you need more help?

For now, the only official employee at Jodi Gallaer LLC is me. I do receive a lot of help from my sister who has fabulous taste and is extraordinarily business savvy. And I will be forever indebted to the women at the Full Cup—a lingerie store by my house. They are always there to give me a second opinion or try bras on so I know that they fit other women and not just me.

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

I let my creativity dictate the materials and colors. I will often flip through travel books and pictures for inspiration. And I love my grandmother’s closet because she has fabulous vintage pieces, and I like to use them as inspiration as well. My customers are great about giving me ideas and advice on what they would like to see in the line. I take their advice very seriously. So if anyone reading this has a great idea, feel free to contact me. I promise that I will listen.

What portions of the business do you run? What portions of the business do you decide to have others assist with?

I am the final say in the business, but I ask a lot of people for assistance and advice. As I said earlier, my sister helps me a lot with the design. The Full Cup also helps me with product development. I have an accountant that helps me with my taxes, but I am still in charge of the day-to-day finances. My family has been great with helping me set-up for the tradeshows. As for production and sales, that’s me again.

How did you find Jeff Edney to do photos?

I thought that a photo shoot was going to be outrageously expensive, so I put off having one for a long time. One of my retailers—the Full Cup kept asking me for catalog photos for their customers. I told them that I wouldn’t even know where to begin, and that’s when they generously offered to help me. The Full Cup found Jeff and all of the models. The models are their customers. I am very grateful to the Full Cup, the models, and Jeff for helping me with my first photo shoot. Images are very important in this business, and they did a fabulous job.

What is your typical day like?

Everyday is different, but this day is fairly representative:

I start my work day after my first cup of coffee. I have a home office down the hall, as well as our “warehouse.” (My husband has been nice enough to ignore that the lingerie takes up half of our house.) I usually start at about 8am. The first thing I do is check my email.

There is usually some sort of information that I have to exchange with the factory. Sometimes we are discussing designs, sometimes deadlines, sometimes pricing. It depends on the current design stage.

At some point during the morning, I take my dog Teddy for a walk. We live really close to a riverfront beach. It’s had a major influence on my fall ’06 collection. You’ll notice some stunning blues as well as a couple of sand colored hues.

During the afternoon, I enter my finances into my accounting software. I often fall behind so it could take a few hours to catch up.

I’m also currently trying to put together a press kit. And unfortunately I am not a PR expert, so this will take some time. My promotional material needs an update, and I do all of the graphic design myself. This keeps me busy for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.

Would you recommend the lingerie business for our younger readers?

I think the lingerie business is filled with a lot of dynamic and creative people. If this is your passion, then you should pursue it. You need to have passion because this business is also very difficult. There are a lot of moving parts that don’t involve design- sales, accounting, finance, production. You have to be able to handle those facets of the business to be successful.

Does the MBA give you clarity or do you find yourself learning all sorts of things that are hard to teach in the classroom? Do you have examples?

The MBA has definitely helped me, but I am still learning everyday. Nobody can teach you how to sell or how to manage an overseas factory. I am constantly learning new things when it comes to design- what women like, what women don’t like. It’s been an amazing learning process for me.

Can you retell the Kenneth Cole story?

While I was in business school, I heard Kenneth Cole speak at one of my classes. He told us a story about how he launched his brand. He wanted to park a 46 foot trailer in front of the shoe tradeshow. Of course this is illegal in New York unless you have the correct permits, and they are very difficult to get. But New York is constantly trying to attract big move productions, so if you are filming a movie then you can park a truck on the street. And so he did, and it worked. Well I said to myself, “If Kenneth Cole could do it, I can do it too.” And so I did. I applied for a movie permit, and I borrowed a 13 foot box truck from my dad, and we bought two tents. And we set them up across the street from the Lingerie Americas tradeshow. I just hoped we wouldn’t get arrested, and luckily we didn’t. It worked out great, and people still remember me as the girl in the truck outside of the tradeshow. Of course we had to film the entire process, so I have some priceless footage.

And I’m happy to report that I found an alternate tradeshow- the Boutique Lingerie Show at the Royalton Hotel. (which is great because I’m sure that I am black-balled from Lingerie Americas) I have met some wonderful designers that have really helped me with the line. And I’ll be splitting a room at the Royalton with two of them, and I highly recommend that you check them out- they are really talented. www.2belles.com www.hotdotgreetingwear.com

Lastly, if anyone would like to contact me regarding starting their own line or new products you would like to see, please contact me. I’m very approachable, and I’m so grateful to all of the people that helped me get started that I would be happy to help anybody else.