Archived News

March 21, 2006

Body Shape Expert Joins Alvaproducts' Consulting Division

Ed Gribbin of Intellifit Brings 28 Years of Apparel Industry Experience, Extensive Expertise in Body Shapes to Complement AlvaProducts' Unique Solutions for Apparel Product Development

NEW YORK, NY (March 21, 2006), AlvaProducts, the global leader in technology solutions for apparel product development, sourcing and quality, today announced it has created a new consulting division and appointed apparel fit and sizing expert, Ed Gribbin, to lead the division. Mr. Gribbin has been appointed as Director of Strategic Services for the company's new global consulting division which will provide comprehensive size and fit consulting solutions to the apparel industry.

Mr. Gribbin is the co-inventor of the revolutionary Intellifit System, the first body scanner capable of collecting accurate body measurements from fully clothed people. His industry expertise ranges from technical design, product development, production and sourcing through sales, merchandising and general management.

"With retailers and brands losing billions of dollars each year in markdowns, returns and alterations, our new consulting division is designed to provide C-level expertise and help clients understand that body shape, particularly for woman, has changed and what can be done to adapt and adjust to those changes in order to improve the company's bottom line," said Janice Wang, CEO of AlvaProducts. "There are few individuals in the industry who have more experience than Ed in generating and analyzing body measurement and demographic research. This unique background irresistibly complements AlvaProducts' leadership in streamlining the supply chain through fit. We look forward to working together to provide our clients with high-impact consulting services that can transform commercially available fashion, form, and fit as we know it."

According to research by Kurt Salmon Associates, 62 percent of consumers are more dissatisfied than ever with how clothing fits, and 85 percent buy a specific brand because of the way it fits his or her figure. This wide-spread misconception of body shapes and sizes is making it more difficult for retailers and brands to retain customers and attract new ones.

In response to these issues, the mission of this new consulting division is to help retailers and brands increase apparel sales and lower markdowns and returns through a strategic, high-level approach by:

Analyzing fit, from product development to sourcing to quality, against global best practices and worldwide measurement data
Presenting practical, cost-effective solutions designed to improve fit for a brand's current and target customers
Assisting clients in the testing and implementation of these solutions through their existing technical teams and sourcing partners, or with AlvaProducts' own extensive network of partners

“There is no one better than AlvaProducts at building fit forms that eliminate discrepancies in measurements and provide consistency and compliance for fit throughout the supply chain,” said Mr. Gribbin. “With the addition of our strategic consulting division, we can assist the industry in moving to the next level. I couldn’t be more pleased with the opportunity to back up AlvaProducts’ renowned quality and consistency with new data and insightful analyses. We’ll add real value for clients by first identifying the exact shapes and sizes a client needs to maximize sales and then producing the forms, blocks and related tools to ensure accuracy throughout the global supply chain."

For the past three years, while with Intellifit, Mr. Gribbin has been collecting and analyzing consumer measurement data, conducting product fit assessments and consulting with major retailers and brands to help improve fit.

Prior to the five years Mr. Gribbin worked for the Intellifit Corporation, where he became President, he was Senior Vice President of Angelica Corporation a NYSE-listed leader in the textiles and corporate image apparel. As Senior Vice President for hospitality markets at Angelica, Mr. Gribbin directed corporate design and product development in addition to leading all marketing and sales efforts aimed at the lodging, food service, travel, entertainment, retail and gaming industries. He negotiated long-term contracts and strategic supply relationships with industry leaders ranging from Hilton Hotels to Burger King, United Airlines to Disney.

Mr. Gribbin spent the first ten years of his career in small, entrepreneurial uniform companies where he developed, marketed and sold uniforms to schools, airlines and fast food chains. After that, he co-founded Boathouse Sports, one of the largest speciality outwear manufacturers in the U.S. today.

About AlvaProducts AlvaProducts’ unique technology and customized mannequins are used by major retailers, brands, cataloguers, sourcing offices and apparel manufacturers throughout the world. The company holds several key patents using research in human morphology, 3D garment engineering, as well as information technology. AlvaProducts has collected information from numerous studies about the populations from different geographies, age groups and customer segments to create a database on body shape. The company’s aim is to bring fit standardization to the apparel industry. AlvaProducts fully integrated fit platform enables customers to optimise the product development process, reduce sample marketing budgets, shorten time to market and improve quality control. For more information, please visit www.alvaproducts.com