Made-to-measure menswear online retailer Indochino has named web entrepreneur Drew Green as its new CEO, replacing Indochino co-founder and outgoing CEO Kyle Vucko, who will continue as a strategic adviser.
“Drew is a rare blend of entrepreneur and passionate operator, and is unquestionably one of the top e-commerce and retail executives in North America,” says Scott Jacobson, Indochino’s chairman and managing director at Madrona Venture Group. “Drew brings a proven ability to create and grow shareholder value, and we are confident in his bold vision for building Indochino into a global brand.”
Green joins Indochino from Shop.ca, a Canadian online marketplace he founded in 2009 and led as CEO and chairman. Green remains a director and majority shareholder of Shop.ca. Previously, he was with Flonetwork, which was acquired by DoubleClick, then DoubleClick, which was acquired by Google, and Shop.com, acquired by Market America.
Green says he see “tremendous global potentional” for Indochino, and he credited Vucko with laying a solid foundation. “Kyle is an outstanding entrepreneur who has fundamentally changed the way men buy suits,” Green says. “He has grown the business from an idea sketched on a napkin at university to a global brand, with distribution to 106 countries.”
Indochino, which began selling as a web-only retailer in 2007, says it has surpassed 2014 annual sales already this year, on track for 40% year-over-year sales growth. In 2011, it began testing physical storefronts and now consumers can order made-to-measure clothing online or through showrooms in Toronto, Vancouver, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Beverly Hills and Boston. November sales were especially high, with a 47% increase in suits sold compared with the same time last year, and a 39% jump in new customers, Indochino says.
The retailer, with $17 million in venture capital funding, is adding to its seven showrooms with plans to open 150 in the next five years, including in the United Kingdom and Asia.
Opening physical stores, even if you’re a buzzy e-retailer, is crucial to attract customers and show them how your service works, says Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research. “Customer acquisition is really tough,” she said. “Once you get the customer in, they have your measurements, and then you can migrate them to the web.”
Bloomberg News contributed to this story.