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Lectra > Case Studies > Baroque Japan Limited: Connecting the Dots with Lectra Fashion PLM

Baroque Japan Limited: Connecting the Dots with Lectra Fashion PLM

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Functional Applications - Product Lifecycle Management Systems (PLM)

Applicable Industries

Apparel
Retail

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration
Training

The Challenge

With 18 fashion brands to its name, Baroque Japan is a rising star in Japan’s fashion landscape. First launched as “MOUSSY” in 2000, the company’s edgy streetwear look, straight from the streets of Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya neighborhood, captured the imagination of young Japanese consumers and catapulted the brand to success. Seventeen years later, Baroque now boasts 375 stores in Japan, 231 stores overseas, and recorded $636.8m in sales for the year ending January 2017. But as Baroque’s business expanded, so too did its infrastructure and overseas network. Sharing information between head office, suppliers and production sites in foreign countries posed unexpected challenges, while unstandardized working processes, protocols, and IT systems made collaboration between different divisions difficult. It became clear Baroque would need a more robust solution to keep up with the company’s growth.

About The Customer

Specialty store retailer of private-label apparel, Baroque Japan Limited owns and operates 18 brands, including MOUSSY, SLY, rienda, Rodeo Crowns, Azul by moussy and ENFÖLD. Its clothing can be found in stores across Japan, China, Hong Kong and the US, and business has grown by leaps and bounds since the company’s launch, with sales reaching ¥69.4bn ($636.8m) in the year ending January 2017. But as Baroque’s infrastructure grew, so too did its need for a solution that would allow its many divisions, scattered across different countries, to work together as one solid unit.

The Solution

Baroque wanted to connect its design, product development and production teams on one platform. After researching more than 10 product lifecycle management (PLM) vendors, the company chose Lectra. “Lectra Fashion PLM stood out because it is designed for fashion. The software didn’t require extensive customization to get started and it is priced within reason,” explains Hirofumi Yamazaki, Senior Managing Director at Baroque. “Lectra presented us with many successful international case studies, so we knew the platform could be adapted to our global network.” Lectra’s PLM solution allowed Baroque to standardize workflow and gave them better visibility over their process, so they could troubleshoot problems, distribute workload evenly, and eliminate redundant and menial tasks. With product information centralized in a single database, teams in different countries could collaborate more easily. Overall work efficiency improved by 10%, shortening time to market by a month and supporting sales growth.

Operational Impact

Lectra’s PLM solution allowed Baroque to standardize workflow and gave them better visibility over their process, so they could troubleshoot problems, distribute workload evenly, and eliminate redundant and menial tasks.
With product information centralized in a single database, teams in different countries could collaborate more easily.
Overall work efficiency improved by 10%, shortening time to market by a month and supporting sales growth.

Quantitative Benefit

Overall efficiency has increased by 10%.
MOUSSY brand was able to cut its time to market from six to five months.
Baroque now boasts 375 stores in Japan, 231 stores overseas, and recorded $636.8m in sales for the year ending January 2017.