When Lindsay Shumlas became chief executive of Cypress-based swimwear manufacturer Manhattan Beachwear Inc. in September, she fashioned a plan to focus strictly on swimsuits.
The company, which last year ranked No. 7 among Orange County-based apparel firms by employee count with about 250 jobs here, moved quickly to shed ancillary divisions like activewear, reversing the strategy of predecessor Kevin Mahoney.
The next step in the reinvention of Manhattan is who implements the new moves.
In the last two months, Shumlas filled her previous post as chief financial officer, and added a chief merchandising officer, director of brand marketing and vice president of human resources.
The new hires to-date have all been women and make a note to add one more member to the roster: Shumlas wrapped an interview with a director of e-commerce candidate before sitting down with the Business Journal in March.
“I was focused on hiring a team that first and foremost thought about the customers,” Shumlas said.
As a garment is stitched together from pieces, new hires have worked in banking, a vintage-inspired retailer, and for a pump equipment maker, among others. The team seeks to better target Manhattan Beachwear clientele, using data and analytics to learn what customers want in future collections; the company already plans to include an expanded sizing range.
“When you keep your eye on the customer and ensure you deliver the best product, the other pieces fall into place,” Shumlas said.
“You understand [the ways] fit is important to her, [along with] fabric, performance, and quality.”
The company’s retail sales are an estimated $700 million. It designs, manufactures and markets swimsuits and resort wear and has five proprietary brands in its portfolio, including the best-selling La Blanca line, and about 15 private-label and licensed swimwear lines for companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole and BCBG Max Azria and its BCBG Generation brand.
Its swimsuits are sold at more than 7,000 specialty and department stores including Nordstrom, Macy’s and Diane’s Beachwear, and internationally in 23 countries.
Lane Change
Manhattan will launch its Cruise 2020 collection this summer and newly minted CMO Nicole Haase said she’s been working to establish “personas” for each brand, which clients and customers will begin to see this summer.
“We have such an amazing house” of swimwear brands, said Haase, referring to its lengthy list of products.
“So as we start to think about our muse—the woman who is wearing the garment—how are we delineating” the company’s brands.
Haase recalls purchasing Manhattan Beachwear’s lines when previously serving as vice president of merchandising and retail at the Downtown L.A. office of ModCloth, a San Francisco-based online retailer of quirky indie and vintage-inspired women’s clothing owned by Walmart.
“I would always have a bunch of questions after meeting with the sales reps … talking about how the line was built,” she said.
Cross-pollination of styles between Manhattan Beachwear brands was also a concern for Haase. For example, the swimwear maker licenses Kenneth Cole and its more casual line Kenneth Cole Reaction. Haase found some styles or color palettes that performed well for Kenneth Cole appear in the Reaction line the following season.
“I noticed several seasons it would flip-flop,” she said. “We’d love the assortment from Reaction and we wouldn’t buy as much from Kenneth Cole and [vice versa]. When you’re trying to build a stable business you can’t flip-flop every season.”
She also pointed out many of Manhattan’s lines are merchandised together on the sales floor, making it difficult for customers to discern style differences among brands.
Enter the need to create brand personas.
Haase described the Kenneth Cole customer, for example, as a confident, sophisticated woman who prefers moody, or darker, colors and is looking to escape with her husband or partner to a resort. When the same woman is with her children she’d look at Reaction, where she can tone down the sexiness and feel comfortable corralling her kids.
Think psychographics and other strategies applied to women’s swimwear.
Haase said, “It’s the same woman but for different [needs]. We’re defining the lane so she’ll buy both brands instead of choosing one over the other.”
Taking Control
Shumlas has built a path for the company to deepen wholesale relationships while placing a customer’s needs first with the support of her all-new, and all-female, executive team.
“Lindsay’s vision of where she’s taking this company is really what connected me to Manhattan Beachwear,” said new CFO Joy Banducci. “You have got to have the operational skills … identify the partnerships you need between finance and operations, and think holistically.”
The former vice president of finance and global controller at Seal Beach firm BakerCorp Inc., who’s also had stints at Quiksilver and Skullcandy, wants to bring deeper insight via data and analytics to bear on product development and organizational efficiency.
Director of Brand Marketing Carrie Helferich returned to the company last month after working with Santa Ana-based silicone jewelry maker QALO. She had been with Manhattan Beachwear for 11 years before leaving in 2015.
She said being away allowed her to pick up new skills, especially at a young online brand like QALO, whose fans include Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and MMA fighter Chris Weidman.
“When you’re on the wholesale side of things you get into the groove of marketing,” she said. “Going to a brand where the priorities are completely different—brand awareness, influencer marketing—it really gave me insight into areas we aren’t tapping into with swimwear.”
Helferich was less than a week on the job when she spoke with the Business Journal and said customers can expect to see new “energy and direction” to its marketing program that will begin with this summer’s Cruise 2020.
“We’re back to what we’ve always excelled at,” Helferich said. “That’s the exciting part.”
