PVH Corp. - Differentiation through innovation

DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH INNOVATION

PROJECT PARTNERS

DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH INNOVATION

Lyudmyla Baron, Head of Marketing Technology at PVH Corp. discusses the fashion company’s innovative approaches to tech, data and redefining customer loyalty programmes.

DIFFERENTIATION

ESTABLISHED IN 1881, PVH CORP. IS A LEADING FASHION COMPANY THAT CONNECTS WITH CUSTOMERS IN OVER 40 COUNTRIES. ITS GLOBAL BRANDS INCLUDE CALVIN KLEIN AND TOMMY HILFIGER AND IT IS COMMITTED TO DRIVING FASHION FORWARD FOR GOOD.

ut what does this look like from a technological and strategic perspective?

Here to tell us more is Lyudmyla Baron, the Head of Marketing Technology at PVH. She originally joined the company’s digital transformation department in its early days, which has since evolved into a digital product department.

Lyudmyla explains how before COVID hit PVH had

already made significant and exciting strides in technology development, positioning it well to pivot towards becoming a techfocused fashion company.

As an established legacy corporation, PVH now has a strong track record of deploying technology as an enabling force in its processes and service provision.

“I see modern technology as the driving force for process innovation and service provision as well

LYUDMYLA IS GRATEFUL TO HER COLLEAGUES JOSEMAR PEREZ (ABOVE) AND CLAIRE ROQUES (BELOW) FOR THEIR HARD WORK SETTING UP VALUABLE COLLABORATIONS WITH CREATIVE FORCE, REAKTOR AND OTHER EXCITING PROJECT PARTNERS.

because traditionally as a corporation with such a rich history, it’s common to have a lot of different technologies that span decades of development, improvement and evolution,” says Lyudmyla. “So by using newer technology while keeping the legacy systems up to date and also improving where we can with what becomes available on the market, we can channel the spirit of continuous improvement both of our technology and processes – it's a really strong combination.

“One example is our photo studios process where we have recently collaborated with Creative Force to update our process management. Our work together has allowed us to save costs by automating a lot of manual labour and introduce new methods of reporting and tracking the status of a process or a season campaign.”

Lyudmyla elaborates, “In a dynamic industry like ours, innovation is a key differentiator in the competitive environment. We have several dedicated

teams for innovation and my journey with PVH began in a Digital Hub at the intersection of digital transformation, technology and digital ventures. As a corporation, we have also incubated some exciting start-ups in the digital showroom and 3D design and selling fields. Those start-ups have now graduated from inside the corporation and have merged into their own entity, serving other brands with the capabilities that have been born inside our corporation.”

PVH Corp. maximises the outputs of its innovation and technology strategies by deploying data-driven decision-making.

“As a company, we strive to be data-driven and make informed decisions. It is one of the leadership behaviours that we promote at every level because we believe that everyone is a leader,” says Lyudmyla. “It is a top priority and we encourage each other to source

“PVH CORP. MAXIMISES THE OUTPUTS OF ITS INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES BY DEPLOYING DATADRIVEN DECISION-MAKING”

relevant data accordingly. From a technology perspective, I'm in a good position to help stakeholders from various business teams to get the relevant data to ensure that our processes work so we have a good overview of what is happening in our systems across all the channels and all the touch points for the consumers but also inside our systems too.

“So from that perspective, for example, I help teams introduce monitoring techniques because it's hard to manage what we don’t know. First, it is about asking the right questions to gain more insights. This allows us to refine our monitoring capabilities to better answer the subsequent questions that we are asking.

Second, it is then a question of processing the relevant data that we collect and we have a dedicated department for data and business analytics that is working on our corporation’s data lake. This entails collaboration between a lot of departments to ensure that data flows throughout the company from consumerfacing touchpoints to the right teams because consumer data is paramount and it's crucial to ensure on every level that we meet security, legal and GDPR requirements for every new tool or software that we introduce. It's important to align the data

and make it accessible to the departments that could use it for data-driven decisions so that we can learn from our consumers and from our audience so we can serve their needs better.”

As she discusses the notion of security and legal requirements, Lyudmyla reinforces the ethical responsibility for business and tech leaders in particular.

in the next few years combined with the amount of automation and reduction of manual work that new tools on the market today already provide – I think these are very important topics to consider.”

But at PVH Corp. data is not only used in decision-making, it also underpins and drives software development as well.

“It's important to stay up to date on emerging trends and keep an eye on the big disruptive technologies because they impact every industry. Fashion is no exception,” says Lyudmyla. “In any business process that supports decision-making with analysis of large amounts of data, the new technology offers unprecedented capabilities for leadership in general. But it's important to know how the new developments are going to affect the workforce broadly speaking. The amount of upskilling that will be needed

Here Lyudmyla highlights the importance of partnerships in the operations at PVH Corp.

"We recently switched to Creative Force for the management of our overall studio processes which provided improvements such as sample tracking, variant asset naming and cropping, outfit creation, contact sheets and reporting – to name a few. Their enhanced reporting and tracking of the process show us all the modifications to data flows. This has enabled our teams to have a

“WE RECENTLY SWITCHED TO CREATIVE FORCE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR OVERALL STUDIO PROCESSES WHICH PROVIDED IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS SAMPLE TRACKING, VARIANT ASSET NAMING AND CROPPING, OUTFIT CREATION, CONTACT SHEETS AND REPORTING – TO NAME A FEW”

comprehensive overview in one place of where the data is shared or modified, the status of those samples/assets, the data on models or crews and the metadata of the assets. So from that perspective the data that is now readily available and can serve us in making further improvements. Now it is possible to look at the entire flow of assets and identify where we could make

possible improvements in the future to streamline operations or increase quality or any other desirable performance metrics."

At its core, PVH is a brand builder and one of its growth drivers as a corporation is excelling with the best consumer engagement. It wields technology and digitally led strategies to innovate the customer

user experience. In particular, PVH prides itself on its innovative approach to loyalty programmes.

“So loyalty is a very important topic for us, and we've had very successful loyalty programmes for decades,” explains Lyudmyla. But the company is always looking to innovate and improve its offering. Lyudmyla draws attention to

exciting new projects underway like the Tommy Together initiative at Tommy Hilfiger in Europe which is currently live in Germany and Italy with other markets to follow soon.

“Tommy Together really focuses on engaging with the customers,” says Lyudmyla. “Classic loyalty programmes are very transactional and reward the higher spenders.

But for us, it's important to connect with consumers based on their values and not necessarily on the size of their wallets. We also see and appreciate that when the economy slows down or there is uncertainty in general, people shop for clothes less. But when they do, they shop with the brands that they feel a personal connection with and that align with their ethics. As a result, we try to reflect this and engage

development teams were able to develop and launch our backend capabilities in five months since they started working with us to the go-live date. For a programme and initiative that spans several departments and has omnichannel capabilities and touch points with the consumer, it's incredibly impressive.”

Beyond their loyalty programmes, PVH also strives to personalise

with our customers based on their values and enhance customer satisfaction through our loyalty programmes. For instance, we need to make sure that there is an ease of use within the products that we serve them. So if it's signing up for a loyalty programme, we also want to enhance the backend capabilities for any new or updated programme. And here we have collaborated with Reaktor whose way of working, speed and quality is a rare combination that you don't find very often. But we are happy that we have found it in our partner Reaktor, whose

their consumer engagement strategies to enhance its service provision for its customers at a grassroots level with the content the company distributes.

“One of the drivers of global growth is the balance in standardisation and personalisation of content, but also for our processes and strategies,” reiterates Lyudmyla.

“One example of that is how different departments or markets can use systems or technologies that work better for them to meet their needs while also better

“REAKTOR WHOSE WAY OF WORKING, SPEED AND QUALITY IS A RARE COMBINATION THAT YOU DON'T FIND VERY OFTEN. BUT WE ARE HAPPY THAT WE HAVE FOUND IT IN OUR PARTNER REAKTOR”

serving the consumers they engage with.

“For instance, we use Bloomreach as one of our preferred content management systems (CMS) to help us deploy our digital assets effectively in a way that resonates with our target audiences. We're making waves in the digital arena thanks to the dedicated work of

our content teams and advanced solutions like the one provided by Bloomreach. Moreover, since the COVID lockdowns ended it has been a pleasure being able to collaborate with strategic partners again face to face, beyond the realms of virtual meetings, sparkling inspiration and toasting to new ideas on Amsterdam’s canals.”

“WE'RE MAKING WAVES IN THE DIGITAL ARENA THANKS TO THE DEDICATED WORK OF OUR CONTENT TEAMS AND ADVANCED SOLUTIONS LIKE THE ONE PROVIDED BY BLOOMREACH”

SO WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD AT PVH?

For Lyudmyla, she emphasises the importance of sustainability and using PVH’s scale as an empowering force for other representatives in the fashion industry.

“So one of the big goals that is close to my heart and fundamentally important at PVH is driving fashion forward for good. I think for the fashion industry in general, there are a lot of improvements to be made in terms of sustainability and equity in all the areas, markets and regions that we operate in throughout our supply chain. The scale and size of our corporation makes it challenging to close those sustainability gaps quickly, but the long-term strategy that we have is very practical and we have already achieved many significant milestones. For example, we hit our interim target of 50 per cent renewable energy usage three years ahead of schedule, after installing the world’s most powerful solar roof at our state-of-the-art warehouse and logistics centre in Venlo, which now powers all of PVH Europe buildings in the Netherlands.”

“But on the other hand, the size of our corporation also allows us to make a tremendous difference and join forces with other organisations in the fashion sector to give a leg up to

much smaller start-ups and help the most innovative companies scale up their operations. One way that PVH is achieving this is with the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge that we hold yearly.

“We open the challenge to startups from around the world that are making a positive impact in either sustainability, inclusion, diversity or any other goals that promote progress in the supply chain of the fashion industry in general. The winners receive a monetary prize, but founders and leaders at the companies are also offered further education opportunities at one of the top business schools in the world. The support network we can provide from a big brand like Tommy Hilfiger brings so much value to a startup that operates in one of the countries where we manufacture our products, such as Bangladesh. The weight that a name like Tommy Hilfiger carries helps boost contestants and winners because they can sign on with new factories or businesses within the market. In traditional working industries and sectors, there must be an incentive to switch over to more progressive approaches and that is where a large brand like Tommy Hilfiger can really empower start-ups around the world.”

For more information about PVH Corp., visit their website pvh.com.

ADDED VALUE

ETHICAL USE OF AI

Lyudmyla is an active and enthusiastic AI ethicist and she encourages professionals in the technology industry to seize opportunities where they can engage in the latest discussions about new AI developments in their fields.

“In general, we have already suffered some consequences from irresponsible technology usage, for example on social media platforms. But I love the current trend for people getting into think tanks and working groups involving regulatory bodies like the European government and other governments around the world. They are creating frameworks to solve and tackle issues that are exacerbated by technology because it makes everything bigger and faster but can also exaggerate human flaws and biases.

“I'm happy to participate in this movement and I'm also part of several organisations that are promoting inclusivity, diversity, morality, knowledge and ethics in AI. I would encourage anybody who is interested in this to participate in those

discussions, find the organisations that are close to them locally or online and tap into the digital innovation era that we are living in. A lot of forums, for example, and economic organisations of European parliament are open to public participation as well. I think these are the issues that we need to tackle together to understand how to enhance our daily life with the new technology that is already here, but do it in a way that is responsible and serves everybody in society. To achieve this we need to know the needs of the people, let the people express themselves, and pay attention because now it's also much more possible to hear and consider perspectives different from our own from around the world.”

EVENTS

Lyudmyla is thrilled to be involved in the opening keynote on day two at the Generative AI for the Creative Industries event on September 12-13, 2023, where she will be presenting on the topic ‘Discover the Path to Responsible AI: Unravelling the Intersection of Consent, Personalisation, & Ethical Consumer Engagement.’