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The decision to close all its stores in 2020 could have been seen as a rare failure for beloved childrenswear brand Hanna Andersson<\/strong>. But instead, the 40<\/strong>-year-old company turned its new digital-first status into an opportunity to enhance the customer experience by:<\/p>\n The woman behind the curtain of much of this effort is CEO Aim\u00e9e Lapic, who joined the company in 2022. Her unique combination of experience at traditional apparel retailers \u2014 she previously ran ecommerce for Banana Republic<\/strong> while serving as Chief Marketing Officer of that brand \u2014 and digital-first tech brands including GoPro<\/strong> and Pandora<\/strong>, has made Lapic uniquely suited to steer this heritage apparel brand toward digital success.<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies that put customers at the forefront of everything they do tend to thrive in ecommerce,\u201d said Lapic in an interview with Retail TouchPoints<\/em>. \u201cHanna Andersson is this beautiful, 40-year-old heritage brand, and the customers come back routinely year on year \u2014 it\u2019s a very loyal customer base. So I got to come to this incredible brand and help it marry what ecommerce can do to drive loyalty with a brand that already had this inherently loyal customer base. I think we have a real magic sauce now of taking the efficiencies, effectiveness and scalability of digital<\/strong> and making it feel very personalized and connected to our actual customers, which is the only thing that really matters.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the brand has done it.<\/p>\n The first initiative, which actually predates Lapic, is the brand\u2019s digital personal shopper program. When Hanna Andersson closed its stores, the company retained a number of store managers who drew on their former client base and community connections to build the program, which is offered free of charge<\/strong> to all customers.<\/p>\n Hanna Andersson personal shoppers gather client details and then create tailored closets for guests to peruse and shop virtually.<\/strong> They\u2019ll even send out coloring pages for kids to enjoy while mom or dad shop. Parents can text, chat, talk on the phone and\/or email<\/strong> with their personal shopper, making it easy to get shopping done despite busy schedules.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should see some of the conversations that our personal shoppers have with their clients,\u201d said Lapic. \u201cIt\u2019s like pictures of \u2018Hey, my daughter loves this swimsuit. Can you find me a cover up that would match?\u2019 Or, \u2018My son is outgrowing these pants. Can you find me pants that will match back to what he likes with that softness or durability?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Offering such a high-touch service for free could seem like a risky proposition financially speaking, but Lapic said the personal shopper program more than pays for itself by driving incremental sales. In fact, there are some personal shoppers who bring in as much revenue as an individual store once did<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In the last three<\/strong> years, Hanna Andersson\u2019s personal shopper program has quadrupled<\/strong> in size, and it\u2019s now an integral \u201cpart of our magic sauce,\u201d said Lapic. \u201cWe\u2019ve got an easy-to-shop experience on our website; it\u2019s easy to find what you want, but some moms are super busy, and they don\u2019t have time to shop the site. Working one on one with a personal shopper is even faster, even easier and definitely more tailored<\/strong>, because that shopper knows the sizes they\u2019re looking for, the gender, the colors the children love, all of that. It\u2019s very personalized.\u201d<\/p>\n The next step was the debut of the Hanna-Me-Down resale program in 2023, which reinforces the brand\u2019s commitment to high-quality fabrications, durability and sustainability. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur mission is to be champions of childhood,\u201d said Lapic. \u201cWe literally put everything through the lens of, is it the right thing for children at this time of childhood? These clothes are durable<\/strong> \u2014 you can easily hand them down to your next child or your friend\u2019s child or your cousin. The second thing is, they are made for play.<\/strong> We have little girls running around in tulle dresses, getting dirty and having a great time, and mom throws that dress in the washing machine and it\u2019s good as new. And the third thing is, they\u2019re made responsibly<\/strong> so mom doesn\u2019t have to feel guilty. The quality is so good and it\u2019s so responsibly made that people feel proud to give it to the next child.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Through the online Hanna-Me-Down marketplace, parents can do just that, earning money or credit toward new purchases in the process. Since launching the program, Hanna Andersson has become the number one resold children\u2019s brand in America, according to Lapic, who proudly points out that 80% of sellers choose store credit over cash<\/strong> \u2014 and then typically end up spending 2.2X<\/strong> more than they earned buying new products.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really is a circular marketplace, taking what\u2019s best for our customers in a digital environment and putting it front and center,\u201d Lapic said.<\/p>\n The final piece of the puzzle was a loyalty program, which launched in September 2023 and has already gathered a half million<\/strong> members. Like most rewards programs, members earn points that they can use toward credit on future purchases. Hanna Rewards members also have a dedicated personal shopper line, but the real advantage of the program is the early access sales<\/strong>, said Lapic.<\/p>\n Hanna Andersson has been leaning into exclusive collections and collaborations<\/strong>. In the last year, the brand launched a limited-edition collaboration with Gen Z-favorite sustainable bag brand Baggu<\/strong>, as well as limited-edition collections featuring preschooler favorite brand Bluey<\/strong> and holiday mainstay The Grinch<\/strong>, to name just a few. \u201cThis is really exclusive product that [rewards members] get to shop first, and many times we run out of the product while they\u2019re shopping it before we open it to the general public<\/strong>,\u201d said Lapic.<\/p>\n\n
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Creating a White-Glove Experience Online<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Leaning into Hanna\u2019s Reputation for Durability with Resale<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Loyalty Program Rewards Members with Early Access to Exclusive Products<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Continuing to Build the Hanna Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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