by 
Direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand Quince aims to disrupt traditional supply chain models to provide customers with quality products at a lower price, and has been making a name for itself in the fashion and home furnishings industries since its launch. in 2018.
Quince is based on the model of cutting out the middle man between itself and factories, which chief executive officer and co-founder Sid Gupta said is one of the big reasons brands mark up their products.
More from WWD
“We’ve tried to look at every part of the supply chain and find out how we could improve the outcome for the customer,” he said. “We went straight to the factory. What differentiates us is that we went one step further. We went to the mills that spun the yarn, and then we went a step further. We went to the people who processed the raw yarn, or the raw fiber from the cashmere goats. We have people in Inner Mongolia and other places who literally visit the goat herders and are in touch with every part of the value chain.”
Gupta explained that this process takes out the middleman at various stages of production, which “reduces costs and improves sustainability,” he said.
The executive said the approach is sustainable, and allows Quince to avoid overproduction. Since the company works directly with factories, it can control the quantities produced of each item. Quince is proud to partner with best-in-class factories, many of which already operate on sustainable and ethical standards, Gupta said.
Last year, Quince reportedly generated $300 million in revenue. According to sources familiar with the company, Quince aims to double that amount by 2024.
As for materials, Gupta said about 80 to 90 percent of Quince’s products are created with organic, recycled or natural materials.
“We don’t really push the sustainability angle as the first message for Quince, mainly because I think not all businesses are sustainable,” he said. “We all have so much work to do. We have tried to do it quietly. We have tried to do the right things for the customer. We have tried to make the right choices for the 21st century. Could we be doing more? 100 percent. There’s a lot more that we can continue to do and that’s something that we continue to work on and push forward.”
While sustainability may not be central to Quince’s messaging, its price points are clearly marketed to customers. On each product page, Quince provides a comparison chart listing its prices in relation to competitors such as J.Crew, Banana Republic, Naked Cashmere and Reformation, among others.
For example, Quince’s Mongolian silver crewneck sweater is priced at $50 compared to similar styles from J.Crew (priced at $128) and Everlane (priced at $158).
“A lot of the things we want to do from a sustainability standpoint, from an ESG standpoint,” Gupta said at really high-quality factories already. “We’re not about low quality, low price because people are already doing that. There are already people doing high quality and high price — neither is truly innovative. It’s only innovative when you sell high quality, at a low price and there are no shortcuts to that. You can’t go to a tier three factory and expect high quality at scale. He won’t find you there.”
This strategy is applied in every category the company enters, including recent additions such as furniture, cookware and denim. Quince will continue its expansion this fall with several category launches, according to Gupta.
The CEO explained that patience is key when launching Quince into new categories. For many of its new categories, Gupta said the vetting process for factory partners could take more than a year.
“We would be patient until we get the right quality of product that meets the right specifications to be able to ship a product,” he said. “So, we wouldn’t expand into a category or launch a product just for the sake of it. He has to deliver. It has to be best in class.”
Quince recently revamped its cashmere offerings, which the company is known for. The new collection is said to have improved softness and durability.
“We had to put 20 percent more cashmere fiber into the garment,” Gupta said. “A lot of companies would be like, ‘it’s going to hurt the bottom line.’ But for us, we were again very focused on delivering the best product – high quality and low price. We always wanted to push the quality angle.”
As Quince continues to grow, Gupta said the company has its sights set on international expansion as it sees interest among global customers. After hosting the New York pop-up last year, Quince also plans to host similar in-person activities in other US cities.
Along with its growth, Gupta’s mission is to continue working towards the brand’s sustainability goals while offering top quality products.
“I’m not claiming that Quince is perfect in terms of sustainability or that we have nothing left to do,” he said. “We have so much to do. We can get much better. But, I think we are doing more than people think. I think that’s the most important thing – we’re trying.”
The best of WWD
Sign up for the WWD Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
