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Konover gets rights to body-scanning technology

Reprinted from Value Retail News

Using a tape measure to take body measurements is not a foolproof system, especially if the person doing the measuring is not doing it correctly.

But what if getting measurements was as easy as waving a magic wand?

While there's no magic wand involved, body-scanning technology is now becoming available as a more precise method of taking measurements.

Many in the apparel industry are hoping that the new technology will revolutionize brick-and-mortar, Internet and catalog sales of clothing by simplifying and fine-tuning measurement taking — at the stores and in the home. The theory is that customers will then be happier and there will be fewer merchandise returns. Buyers will even be able to order items from factories for exact fits.

Konover Property Trust's fledgling Truefinds.com Internet sales program recently acquired exclusive rights to license Truefit from Cary, N.C.-based Textile Clothing Technology, a product based on the new technology and geared to clothing manufacturers, retailers, shopping center developers and other companies in the apparel industry.

Konover, which operates 36 outlet centers and 129 other shopping centers totaling 20 million square feet, says it expects, at least initially, to offer Truefit at no charge to other companies in the apparel business in an effort to help create an industry standard.

"We don't intend to hoard Truefit," said C. Cammack Morton, CEO and president of Cary, N.C.-based Konover. "We are looking for both retail and manufacturer partners to participate.

"Our focus will be on making Truefit a standard for taking measurements for ready-to-wear and custom-made apparel. We will grant licenses to anyone who can benefit from it and help establish that standard.

"This is all about the consumer. It's just another way to market to the consumer," Morton said. "Five years from now, people will wonder how anyone bought clothes any other way."

Truefinds.com has signed an agreement with Textile Clothing Technology, or TC2, for exclusive licensing rights to the body-scanning technology TC2 developed to determine correct apparel sizes for people.

TC2 is a not-for-profit textile and apparel-industry association, explained company president Pete Butenhoff. Its 200 members include apparel retailers and manufacturers, textile and fiber makers, and shopping center developers.

The technology uses "white light" to scan a person's body to develop a 3-D representation. These measurements can then be used for picking proper-size clothing off the rack, or having garments tailored to fit. For even more precise fits, customers can order from the factory, where computer-controlled cutting and sewing machinery can customize the clothing to fit.

The measurements can also be used to order apparel online as well as from catalogs.

"I believe e-commerce is about standards and sharing software, not about individual islands," Morton said. "The more people use this Truefit technology, the more benefit it will be to clothing manufacturers and retailers, as well as consumers."

Other body-measuring systems are available, but none translate scanner readings into measurements for apparel, Morton said, giving TC2 "a big leg up." Besides, he added, most of the other systems, instead of using white light, use lasers, which seem to make many consumers nervous.

Truefinds.com is still in a test period, selling a limited number of products online, but a full-scale launch of the program is expected to begin this spring. In early February, brand-name manufacturers and retailers listed on the Web site included Capacity, Kitchen Collection, Mikasa, SoFun and Totes.

Morton said Truefinds.com has seven Truefit units on order from TC2, but expects to have 25 to 50 units in place by the end of the year. Ultimately, he said, he expects to have 700 to 1,000 units in place that would be available to at least 90% of the U.S. population. Eventually, units may also go overseas.

Two of the initial seven units are planned for department stores, and the rest will go to apparel manufacturers who operate outlet stores, Morton said. He declined to identify any of the potential licensees.

"We will be placing the units where the manufacturers or retailers want them, and not necessarily in Konover shopping centers," Morton said. In most cases, he said he expects Truefit units to be installed in stores.

Licensees will be able to special order the exterior appearance of Truefit units to fit their store decor.

TC2 President Butenhoff said the Truefit units, including hardware and software, now sell for $75,000 to $100,000 each, but in time the unit prices are expected to drop as production economies are realized.

Morton said Truefinds.com is paying almost that much for its Truefit units, but that "When you look at the value to the retailer and the manufacturer, it's a good value."

"Early adopters [licensees] of Truefit will not pay for the hardware and software and will not be charged any fees for use of the technology," said Charlotte Ellis, vice president of marketing for Konover. "As we gain more data and experience, we will evaluate how the financial arrangements will be established for the next group of adopters."

It's up to the users to decide if they want to charge customers for getting body scans. She suggests that retailers rebate any scanning fees if customers make purchases.

To get ready for a body scan, a customer goes into a dressing room and puts on tight-fitting, athletic-type clothing supplied by the store. Then the customer stands in a booth to be scanned from different angles by white light from two or three towers. There is no physical danger from the white light, Ellis said.

In less than three minutes, a representation of the body is produced from more than 100,000 data points. Customers then receive the results on a personal data card that can be used for shopping in stores, online or by catalog.

"The benefit to the customer is that time is saved, try-ons are minimized and satisfaction is heightened," Ellis said.

"The benefit to the retailer is that customer loyalty is fostered through accurate fit and fewer returns. There's less time spent in dressing rooms, and less space is given for inventory. Further, retailers gain new insight about their customer base," Ellis said.

Truefinds.com and its retail partners get more data about their customers that can be used in marketing and merchandising efforts, she said.

TC2 has sold units to several other organizations, including Levi Strauss & Co., North Carolina State University and the U.S. Navy.

Konover's Morton said the Truefit technology "is a huge development in the apparel industry, especially for customers who have unusual body builds. This is especially true for women, who tend to have more complex body geometry."

Looking down the road a few years, Morton said he foresees customers being able to "try on" clothing on the Internet the way they do in a store dressing room. That can be accomplished by taking a visual representation of their bodies and putting correctly sized clothing on them.