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Modern Fashion: Tami Fujii of KINONA On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

An intimate knowledge of your target market — By intimate, I mean who are they? How old? What kind of car do they drive? Where do they like to vacation? What brands do they have an affinity for? Getting very clear and specific about your target audience is critically important in regards to who you are designing for, what your marketing campaigns look like, and what your messaging is. Personify your customer by giving him/her/them a name.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tami Fujii, KINONA’s Co-Founder.

Tami is a mother, wife, and daughter. Her career can be characterized as a fashion and tech sandwich having started (and hopefully ending) her career in fashion with consumer and tech product marketing in the middle. She calls herself the oldest living entrepreneur.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up picking strawberries at our family strawberry farm in Troutdale Oregon and on the weekends (for fun), I got to drive with my mom to visit her family who were bedding plant growers…the smell of dirt and fertilizer were part of my childhood. My mom was a working mom and both of my parents had an incredible work ethic. I am third generation Japanese — American and I think they felt I would bring shame upon our family if I didn’t keep busy.

One summer, fearful I would be relegated back to the berry fields, I got a job working the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. From there, I knew I wanted a career in fashion.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

My career has been a bit of a windy road but the “image” of being in the fashion industry is what fueled me. I was addicted to reading Seventeen Magazine, followed by Mademoiselle, Vogue, Bazaar, and InStyle. The lifestyle looked very glamorous. The irony is that my first “real” job after graduating from college was being an assistant buyer in the “hosiery” department at a department store in Seattle. The glamor in this job was sorting pantyhose by size and by color.

The one constant in my career has been a fascination with the consumer. Really trying to understand their wants and needs has always been a constant drumbeat for me, as well as trying to identify trends and build products that would meet their needs.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

While I started in fashion, I left for several decades to pursue interests in consumer products and tech. My business partner today is a longtime friend and colleague who I worked with over 30 years ago when we were both product managers for Eddie Bauer. We traveled the world together sourcing and developing products and taking golf vacations. We always talked about starting our own women’s golf apparel company because of the frustration with not finding products that fit our sense of style. I knew that we had a small window of opportunity to turn this dream into a reality before we both started steering ourselves towards retirement. I am happy to say that we have been successfully working together for five years and looking forward to many more.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

  1. Grit — My interpretation of this leadership trait is that it is hard to have empathy and understand your team if you personally haven’t dug into some of the work yourself. There are challenges to this in senior leadership roles, but it goes a long way to understanding the situation, especially when you have lived it yourself. My example of this is that I personally touch every single product SKU in our assortment. I have loaded them in both our retail system and online store and understand the workarounds. I can now coach and train others to do this work. Yes, it is monotonous, but at least I can feel confident in understanding the systems and technology to help coach and train others.
  2. Scrappiness — I define scrappiness as the direct opposite of throwing money at the problem. Whether you are in a startup or Fortune 100 company, having the ability to find alternative solutions is part of being a great leader. I have mostly worked for “challenger” brands with tight budgets. I think when you have these parameters you can be so much more creative. I was about to launch a new consumer product brand at The Housewares Show in Chicago. We did not have the budget or the brand recognition to attract buyers to the booth to set up appointments, so instead we sent out a clever invite to everyone on our mailing list and had them bring their invite to the booth and we would give them a free sample. It was so successful that it even caught the attention of the Target stores’ buyer.
  3. Customer Empathy — A slightly overused term I know, but it’s so important. If you don’t have passion or empathy for the problem that you are trying to solve, then what is the point? I have always had a personal connection to the brands and businesses I have built. Because of this, I feel like I have a more authentic point of view and can literally put myself in the shoes of the customer or consumer. It helps to see all parts of their journey, from discovering you as a brand, to making the first purchase.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes KINONA stand out is our product and approach. When we started the brand, we wanted to have a different look and feel from other women’s golf brands. Instead of hiring a designer who had worked in the golf industry, we hired a former colleague, Jarlath Mellett, who came from the fashion industry and has been the head of design for brands such as Brooks Brothers, Theory, and Ministry of Supply. Jarlath is inspired by vintage, interiors, and nature and this is very much reflected in KINONA’s “look.” Dianne and I layer in the product requirements to ensure that dress and skort lengths are golf course appropriate and that the features we build in (i.e., zippered pockets, taping around the legs of our undershorts to prevent them from riding up) are ready for play. We are a women’s golf brand that does not look “golf-y”.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Live a life that you have designed” — Instead of having life happen to you, how can you design a life and career where you have a bit more of a roadmap? I tell my 25-year-old son to always run towards (instead of running from) something. When you are thinking of leaving a job or career, instead of complaining about it and running away from it, use it as an opportunity to run towards something new. This phrase is also relevant in managing relationships as well. Be in the moment. My biggest regrets are when I DIDN’T do something versus regretting something that I did.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

  1. Sustainability — As you know, apparel is the biggest culprit in our landfills. 85% of our clothes end up there. 60% of apparel is not recyclable. The industry is trying to take an active role in this, but we are far from where we need to be.
  2. Emerging out of our cocoon — As the world slowly emerges from the pandemic, I think there will be a transition from the cozy athleisure wear we have all been consuming and a cross over into more street and evening looks that possess the same level of comfort, but done in a high fashion way.
  3. Embracing Technology as part of the shopping experience — The use of virtual reality/gamification to help consumers engage with your brand. Consumers who are engaged with your brand stay on site longer (thus increasing loyalty and conversion) and can use gamification to shop for discounts, learn more about how your product is made, and have a more authentic experience with your brand.
  4. Every Size Counts — We look forward to seeing more representation across sizes. Not just XXXS. We love that brands are embracing models of different sizes and shapes as that is reality.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Our goal is to empower women golfers to feel like they belong on the golf course. Golf is a very male dominated sport and industry (28% of all golfers are women). There are still men’s only country clubs and men’s only dining rooms in the US. At KINONA, we want women to feel welcomed into the sport and to stay engaged through participation. Part of this starts with what they are wearing. KINONA, which means “shape” in Hawaiian, incorporates shape-flattering details into all of our products so that women can feel confident on the course and off.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

KINONA develops apparel with meticulous intention and is committed to adhering to earth-friendly practices. KINONA selects suppliers that adhere to rigorous sustainability standards including OEKO-TEX, Marks & Spencer, and Global Recycled Standard. The company also uses Econyl recycled-nylon yarns in products.

Our Italian fabric is our core differentiator, and we are also proud to partner with a women-owned and operated fabric mill outside of Milan.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Our clothes are built for women who are busy and don’t have time to be replacing their golf clothes season after season. Because we use high quality Italian fabrics, our products are built to last season after season and can be worn from the golf course to a meeting, or dinner. The ability to look appropriate for “Apres golf” is very important and helps women transition through their day much easier. Our motto would be less is more. Fewer, higher quality pieces that can be worn throughout the day.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

  1. A Plan — What are you trying to achieve? What does success look like? How much money do you need to invest to make it grow? What is your plan once the money runs out? Having a plan and a roadmap that can lead and guide your team is essential so that everyone is clear. When I started KINONA with Dianne, we spent an entire weekend mapping out our business plan and how the two of us would engage. We were clear that our friendship was more important and needed to ensure that we were clear on our roles and responsibilities.
  2. An intimate knowledge of your target market — By intimate, I mean who are they? How old? What kind of car do they drive? Where do they like to vacation? What brands do they have an affinity for? Getting very clear and specific about your target audience is critically important in regards to who you are designing for, what your marketing campaigns look like, and what your messaging is. Personify your customer by giving him/her/them a name.
  3. Cash Flow — While this is tied into #1, understanding how you are funding your business and how you will continue to fund it as you scale is important to building a fashion brand or any business. Dianne and I bootstrapped KINONA on our own for the first year. In order for us to scale, we quickly had to pivot to fundraising mode by building decks and asking friends and family to invest in our company. At the end of the day, every brand needs to have a sense of what you are “going for”. We knew that we did not want to give up all of our equity in the business in order to grow. At times, we opted to slow down growth in order for us to preserve more of the business than giving away equity. These are very difficult decisions to make.
  4. Supply Chain expertise — The design is only a part of fashion. Being able to actually build it and deliver it is a long road. Especially in today’s market with all of the long delays, if you don’t have great supply chain partners that you trust, the design is all for not. Because of our backgrounds and solid reputation, we have built a great supply chain at KINONA. We used relationships that were established long ago and tapped these suppliers in helping us build KINONA. Because of these relationships, we have been able to maneuver through the supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic with very little impact.
  5. The Ability to Listen — Listen to your customer, listen to your sales team, listen in on your customer service calls. You will never be 100% right so understanding the pain points and where the friction is in the selling process is critical to execute your brand.

Dianne and I continue to be on the front line selling the brand to our customers, as well as consumers. We still are very hands-on in this process, as it keeps us connected to our end consumer. We still do trunk shows as a way to get feedback, witness first-hand how the product is fitting, and to listen to what our customer has to say.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Solving the issue around sustainability and waste.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Closing the circle and repurposing your products to build something new. (Not a new idea, but something that our industry needs to pay more attention to!)

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Please visit www.kinonasport.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamifujii/

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Modern Fashion: Tami Fujii of KINONA On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.