KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM WEAR CONFERENCE ......Jules Pieri, Co-Founder and CEO of The Grommet, gave the...
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1 MAY 31, 2016 DEBORAH WEINSWIG, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FUNG GLOBAL RETAIL & TECHNOLOGY [email protected] US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016 Copyright © 2016 The Fung Group. All rights reserved. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM WEAR CONFERENCE 1. Design a wearable that consumers actually want to be seen wearing. Makers of wearables must design products that people actually want to buy; the devices need to provide valuable data, but not feel like technology—because no one wants to look like an android. 2. Data is king, but turning it into relevant, usable insights is still a challenge. No one cares about “step counting” in a vacuum, so there must be a deeper reason for consumers to buy wearable tech, and companies should recognize and take advantage of that information. 3. Technology means different things to different people. Brands should not create a rigid platform that is limited to what they think it should do. More flexible technologies provide more value over time to users as their desires and needs evolve. Source: Cognizant/Fung Global Retail & Technology SESSION SUMMARIES The Fung Global Retail & Technology team attended the WEAR 2016 conference in Boston last week. The event’s organizers describe it as a forum for “cutting-edge commercial and technical presentations from the best and brightest in the wearable tech, smart textiles, healthcare technology, material innovation and consumer experience fields.” Design a wearable that consumers actually want to be seen wearing. Technology means different things to different people.
Transcript of KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM WEAR CONFERENCE ......Jules Pieri, Co-Founder and CEO of The Grommet, gave the...
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
KEYTAKEAWAYSFROMWEARCONFERENCE1. Design a wearable that consumers actually want to be seen
wearing. Makers of wearables must design products thatpeople actually want to buy; the devices need to providevaluable data, but not feel like technology—because no onewantstolooklikeanandroid.
2. Dataisking,butturningitintorelevant,usableinsightsisstilla challenge.Noonecaresabout“stepcounting” inavacuum,so there must be a deeper reason for consumers to buywearable tech, and companies should recognize and takeadvantageofthatinformation.
3. Technologymeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople.Brandsshouldnot createa rigidplatform that is limited towhat theythink it should do. More flexible technologies provide morevalueovertimetousersastheirdesiresandneedsevolve.
Source:Cognizant/FungGlobalRetail&Technology
SESSIONSUMMARIESTheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamattendedtheWEAR2016conferenceinBostonlastweek.Theevent’sorganizersdescribeitasa forum for “cutting-edge commercial and technical presentationsfrom the best and brightest in the wearable tech, smart textiles,healthcare technology, material innovation and consumerexperiencefields.”
Designawearablethatconsumersactuallywanttobeseenwearing.
Technologymeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople.
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
On the first day of the conference, we heard from Theo Forbath,Global VP of Digital Transformation at Cognizant, who gave akeynote speech titled “The Revolution Will Be Digitized.” Forbathsharedhis insightson thechanging techarena,noting thatwearemovingfromaworldof“things”toaworldof“smartprogrammablethings”thatareconstantlymonitoringusandourbehavior.Forbathsaid that the data collected will drive what he calls “radicaltransformation.”
The era of personalization is upon us, Forbath said, andmanufacturers are getting on board, creating all kinds ofopportunitiestocommercializethecomputingexperience,whetherthroughsmartfabrics,computershiddeninbuttonsorpersonalizedcomputer interfaces. Companies such as Under Armour areparticularly aware of this transformation, Forbath noted. Thecompanyemploysover500peoplewhofocusspecificallyondigitalinnovationanddatacollection.
The “connecting tissue” for the new frontier ofwearables, smarttextiles, and connected cities and homes is data, and data isbecoming increasingly personal, Forbath said. Leveraging thispersonal data is going to become a crucial differentiator ascompanies begin to design new wearable experiences. Thus,innovatorsneed to follow threekeyprinciples:delivervalue,giveuserscontrolovertheirdataandeducatethemonwhattodowiththeir data. Finding meaning within the data is what allowsconsumerstoengagefully,andthesubsequenttrustthatisbuiltiswhatwillgivecompaniesacompetitiveadvantage,heconcluded.
Source:TheGrommet/FungGlobalRetail&Technology
Jules Pieri, Co-Founder and CEO of The Grommet, gave the day’ssecondkeynoteaddress.Piericovered21yearsof information inaspeech titled “1995–2016: What Has Changed About ProductLaunch.” She said that when The Grommet started out in the toyindustry, the teamwas frustratedby the systemof launchingnewtoys. So, it innovated the launch process, and, since 2008, the
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
companyhaslaunchedanewproducteverysingleday.Pierinoted,“When we launch a product, we are getting into one out of 50householdsintheUS,so,withinanhouroflaunch,weknowexactlywhatAmericansthinkofapreviouslyunknownproduct.
Overall, almost all aspects of product launch have improved,according to Pieri, including design, research, funding, retail,distributionandpayment.Themostimportantandcomplexpartoflaunching products is now marketing, she noted, due to thenumerous different channels involved, all of which have varyinglevelsofcomplexityandreachdifferentaudiences.
Laterintheday,representativesfromGoogleandLeviStraussgavea presentation on their Project Jacquard partnership, which hasmade itpossible toweave touchandgesture interactivity intoanytextile using standard, industrial looms. For example, a jacket thathas been designed for cyclist commuters can be programmed toprovide specific functionality thatmeets that group’s needs.Uponlaunch, the jacket will be able to do basic things such as controlmusic andprovidenavigationhelp—througheither voiceorhapticfeedback. The jacket will serve as a platform on which Google isplanning to open an API, in order to allow developers to provideadditionalfunctionalityforit.
Thetechnologywovenintothefabricisverydurable,asitneedstosurviveadenim-manufacturingprocessthatincludesstretchingthefabric,burning itundera flameandwashing itmultiple times.Thecollaboration between Google and Levi’s has proven symbiotic—when Levi’s told Google that the denim was burned, the Googleteamaskedwhat typeof fuelwas used, so it could figure out thetemperature the technology needed to withstand. Levi’s, in turn,wasabletoprovideGooglewithtopyarndesignersfromJapan,andtogether,thetwocompaniescreatedanimpressiveproduct.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
Themostimportantandcomplexpartoflaunchingproductsisnowmarketing,shenoted,duetothenumerousdifferentchannelsinvolved,allofwhichhavevaryinglevelsofcomplexityandreachdifferentaudiences.
Uponlaunch,thejacketwillbeabletodobasicthingssuchascontrolmusicandprovidenavigationhelp—througheithervoiceorhapticfeedback.
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Googleplanstoworkwithotherbrandsinthefuturetocreateothertypesofgarmentsolutions.Levi’swillcontinuetosupporttheeffort,with the mind-set that the larger the community around thisplatform,themoresuccessfultheendresultswillbe.
Ontheseconddayoftheconference,weheardfromLizaKindred,Founder of Third Wave Fashion – a company that helps brandsintegratecutting-edgetechnologyintotheirproducts--onhowtomakewearabletechthatisactuallyworthwearing.Kindrednotedthat therearecurrently9billionconnecteddeviceson theplanet(morethanoneforeverypersonliving).So,inordertogetpastallthehypesurroundingwearables, therehas tobesomerealvalueaddedthroughtechnologythatthecustomerwillbewillingtopaymore for. Kindred shared her 11-part formula for buildingwearabletech:
1. Lessnovelty
2. Createutilityorjoy
3. Buildonstandards
4. Beopen5. Makeitfutureproof(upgradeabletech)
6. Don’treleaseaprototypeasaproduct
7. Designforcontext8. Providesecurity
9. Buildforhumans
10. Buildtolast11. Narrowthedigitaldivide
Source:ThirdWaveFashion/FungGlobalRetail&Technology
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Next, we heard from CuteCircuit Creative Director Francesca RosellaandCEORyanGenz,whogaveapresentationtitled“NewExperiencesfor New Markets: How Haute Couture Translates to Ready-to-WearFashion, Sportswear and Workwear.” First and foremost, wearabletech is about connecting people, Rosella said. The presenters notedthat CuteCircuit has been working to create an iTunes economy forfashion,whereuserscandownloadnewpatternsorsmartfunctionalityfor their fashion pieces. The idea is that all garments have the same“brain,”souserscansimultaneouslycontrolallsmartclothing.
Source:CuteCircuit/FungGlobalRetail&Technology
Inapresentationtitled“WeavingTechnologyintoFashion,”StephaneMarceau,Co-FounderandCEOofOMsignal, said thatcustomerspickfashionovertech,sodesignshouldbecreators’primaryconcern.Thechallenge, Marceau said, is being able to affordably manufacturegarmentsthathaveintegratedtechnology.
KenjiHigashi,DirectorandExecutiveOfficerofSpiber, thensharedhis insights on the next generation of industrial materials,particularlyproteins.Spiberistryingtomimicnaturebyengineeringmaterialsfromproteinsthatcanbeusedtocreatefabrics.Theideaisthatthesustainablematerialswillbestrongenoughtobewovenand spun as easily as normalmaterials. There aremany potentialapplications for these fabrics, and the company’s approach isrevolutionizingthesupplychainbybasingitonabiologicalprocessasopposedtoharvestingnaturalresources.
In a later presentation, Joel Furey, Chief Commercial Officer ofNobleBiomaterials,continuedonthesamethemeasHigashi,notingthatwearabletechnologieswillnotbeviableiftheydonotlookandfeelgoodtotheconsumer.NobleBiomaterialsisworkingtocreateaconductivesoftsurfaceinfrastructurethatworkstomanageodor,preventinfectionandmonitortheuser’sbiometrics,Fureysaid.Thiscouldallowusers to rewear clothingup to3.5 times, reducing theneedtowashit,andtherebysavingwaterandresources.
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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
In the final presentation we attended on the second day of theconference, Sabine Seymour, Founder and CEO of Moonlab,emphasized the importance of using technology to provide value,whilemakingsurethatthetechnologyishidden.Technologymeansdifferent things to different people, Seymour said. For example,someconsumersmightuseaUVsensorontheirbabywhileothersmight use it on their elderly parent. Thus, wearable companiesshould create technology that is not limited to what they think itshould do, but that is flexible enough to be able to providemorevalueovertimetotheuser.
Onthelastdayoftheconference,weattendedapresentationfromRosalind Picard, Founder and Director of the Affective ComputingResearch Group at the MIT Media Lab. She posed the question“What can a wristband tell you about brain health?” and thendescribedher attempts to answer thatbyusingwearables tohelppeopleontheautismspectruminteractwiththeworld,andhelptheworld interactwith thoseon the spectrum. She specifically citedawristband that canmeasure electrodermal activity,which helps todetect seizures before they happen, alerting both thewearer andthewearer’scaretakers.Thistypeoftechnologyprovidesreal-time,actionabledatathatdirectlyimprovesthelivesofthosewithautism.
DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:[email protected]
RachaelDimitResearchAssociate
GilDrorDirectorofR&D
HONGKONG:10thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223002470LONDON:242-246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NEWYORK:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017FBICGROUP.COM
Wearablecompaniesshouldcreatetechnologythatisnotlimitedtowhattheythinkitshoulddo,butthatisflexibleenoughtobeabletoprovidemorevalueovertimetotheuser.
