Systematic Innovation in the Textile Industry

How to turn textile innovations into a real growth engine

Published in The Textile and Fashion Industry Journal,
The Israel Textile and Fashion Association, February 2008
By Ari Manor, CEO, ZOOZ

Does innovation in the textile industry have its own unique characteristics? How can one excel in this industry and surprise customers and competitors in the long term? In this article, I will share insights and conclusions that we have gathered on these topics during our work with several companies and product lines in the textile industry..

ZOOZ, the company I run, has provided consultation and marketing assistance for over a decade. In this time, we have helped manage systematic innovation processes at dozens of companies and organizations. We have helped several leading textile companies, such as the innovation enthusiasts at Bagir (tailored suits), Gibor-Sabrina (underwear), Shilav (fashion for infants and toddlers), Ofertex (cloths and rugs), Beryl-Davis (work clothes), Polysack (shade netting), and even Mishkan Hatchelet (innovation in talits!).

We have helped these and other clients define desired innovation directions, identify hundreds of ideas for significant innovations, screen leading ideas and incorporate them in innovative product lines that have led to a significant growth in revenues. This article explains what we have learned in the process. I hope that it will also help you renew, year after year.

Seasonal Innovation

Numerous textile products are fashion items - shirts, pants, suits, hats, purses, etc. These products are sold in seasonal collections that change according to the season (fabric type, thickness and properties) and short term trends (cuts, colors, patterns, textures, material combinations, accessories, etc.). Also textile product manufacturers that are not from the clothing category tend to make their products seasonal and sell them in collections to increase consumption. For example - curtains, carpets, sheets, bedcovers, tablecloths, towels, etc. Developing two to four collections each year indeed tempts customers to buy more products - for the holidays, for the season, and out of a desire to stay current and be trendy. On the other hand, the large turnover of textile product collections requires that the manufacturer excel in operations, anticipate demand, get rid of old stock quickly and at low profitability (and sometimes even at cost or at a loss), and in general sends the entire textile industry into a frenzy.

Long Term Innovation

I am no fashion expert so I will not write about short term fashion-related innovation here. So what innovation will we cover here then? A different type of innovation. Innovation that is independent of fashion or short term trends. Innovation that can attract customers and create long term demand. Innovation that gives birth to new fabrics, new product categories, and a variety of functional innovations - which we can use to sell a line of textile products for 5 years or more.

By the way, new fabrics, categories and functions will naturally get their own trendy collections over time, at the same frenzied pace as the entire textile industry. However, long term innovation manages to transcend seasons and years, and contributes a great deal to revenues. This is the type of innovation we will focus on in this article.

Examples of Long Term Innovation

Here are several examples of long term innovation in textile products:

• New products (when they were invented): the bra, jeans, stockings, etc.
• New fabrics: Microfiber, Gore-Tex, Lycra, etc.
• Innovative designs: the toga (in ancient Greece), strapless tops and dresses, low cut jeans, etc.
• New processing methods: pre-washed, stain resistant fabric, etc.
• Functional adaptations: Push-up bra, moisture-wicking fabric, etc.
  
  

As you will see, the manufacturers that originally invented these ideas, or those that were smart enough to originally market them to the masses successfully (a matter of timing), were handsomely compensated for many long years to come. For example, Levi Strauss & Co. has benefitted from Mr. Levi Strauss's invention of the original denim pants (jeans) in 1873 for more than a century. Another example - the first bra as we know it today was invented by Mary Phelps Jacob in 1913 but only became a standard garment in the mid 20th century, when Triumph and other companies started selling bras to masses of women, and subsequently grew thanks to the innovative product.

Systematic Innovation Processes That Lead to Long Term Innovation

Can such ideas be developed systematically? Apparently, yes. To do so, you have to establish and implement an ongoing innovation process in the following manner:

• Decide you are committed to innovation: Long term innovation requires significant investment. You need financial resources (to test ideas, implement them, and for successful launching) and significant time and manpower resources. In all the organizations we have assisted, the CEO was directly involved in the innovative process. Without a commitment, there's no point in starting.
• Convene thinking teams: A designer, as talented as he may be, is not enough. You need a broad multidisciplinary panel to obtain a wide enough variety of interesting ideas. The optimal number is 8-12 people that come from different departments in the organization (marketing, design, production, operations, fabric development, etc.).
• Use thinking tools: There is a wide variety of thinking tools - and it's important to use them. These include SCAMPER tools, inventive thinking tools, and de Bono's tools. Detailed articles on these tools appear on our website (www.zooz.co.il) and in the LaZOOZ newsletter, which you can subscribe to at no charge on the website.
    - A particularly productive tool that has led to dozens of practical ideas is called Adjustment to the Environment, and it improves the quality of the interaction between the product and elements of its immediate surroundings.
    - Using this tool, for example, Bagir developed an inner nylon    lining for the pocket where you keep a pen (to prevent embarrassing ink stains) and stitching that glows in UV light (for businessmen that go out to night clubs straight after work).
    - A detailed article about Adjustment to the Environment can be found here.
• Screen the ideas you developed: Screen ideas using an innovation committee - a smaller interdisciplinary team comprised of approx. 5 managers. Define criteria for a successful idea (applicability, anticipated revenues and profits, compatibility with strategy, and more) and screen all ideas accordingly. The ideas you've raised must also be tested vis-à-vis the market. This will save you a lot of grief and superfluous expenditures later. Do this using a survey called Concept Testing. Remember that this is not a seasonal idea, and so it's important to test customer response carefully before you are going to invest in it, develop, and launch it.
• Launch only a few innovative ideas: Instead of showing buyers dozens of ideas for innovations, like you would for seasonal collections, it's better to fully support one or two good ideas at a time. Regulation is the name of the game. It's a pity to "burn" all the top ideas that you have bothered to develop at once. Release them at a trickle. Invest a lot in commercializing and marketing only a few good ideas. This way you will be able to concentrate your efforts and reap the fruits for many years to come.
• Protect your copyrights: Even if you are subcontractors for a global brand or developing a private brand for an international chain, the innovation can still be ascribed to you. Give trademarks to a new fabric or solution that you developed. Demand that these trademarks appear on the product label. Lycra belongs to DuPont and is branded everywhere - including on labels on Lee Cooper jeans and La Perla underwear. Bagir's inventions are branded even when they are part of a line developed for Marks & Spencer or Target. For example - their flexible breathable suits are registered as AeriFlex™ FLEXGIR®. Get a good lawyer to help you with this, or better yet, keep one employed at your organization.
• Make innovation a regular habit: An idea bank needs to be managed and promoted on an ongoing basis. The innovation committee needs to meet at least once a month. Moreover, encourage employees to come up with additional ideas and reward them for it. Innovation is not a slogan on a wall - it requires constant effort. Even if you succeeded in coming up with an innovation, your competitors will quickly copy you. So, instead of resting on your laurels, you need to move forward, all the time.
  
  

A Little Help Won't Hurt

There is a government program called Nitsos, which subsidizes innovation consultation processes. All the clients that I mentioned at the beginning of the article benefitted from this program, with our assistance. Typical consultation and assistance with Nitsos lasts seven days, takes place once a fortnight and includes developing an idea bank by a thinking team, and screening and promoting the ideas that were obtained by the innovation committee. Such a process usually covers innovation for two different product lines (for example: body sculpting garments and active clothing at Gibor-Sabrina).

The two processes described above are government subsidized as part of the Nitsos program. This amounts to a subsidy of approx. 70% for companies with 10-100 employees, and approx. 50% for companies with 100-500 employees. We would be happy to advise you regarding the Nitsos program. For more information, please send me an email to ari@zooz.co.il, or call our office: +972-9-958-5085.

Please note that if you are a self-employed textile designer, the Nitsos program is not applicable to you (since it is designed for companies with at least 10 employees). You are, however, eligible for subsidies for innovation, marketing and managing your business, as part of the Business Circle that we organize and the Textile Association subsidizes. For information contact our office or the Textile Association.

To sum up, I hope that you will all take a break from the daily grind, from the burning need to come up with a new seasonal collection, and that you take the path toward long term innovation. This will enable you to create a clear competitive advantage - for many long years, and not just for the next season.

Systematic Innovation

Interested in systematic innovation processes for your organization?

Contact us: crm@zooz.co.il, +972-9-958-5085

Information on ZOOZ's Systematic Innovation workshops appears here.