Stitch Fix And Old Navy Scale Back Own Label Inclusive-Size Ranges

First Old Navy, now Stitch FixSFIX
. Inclusive size apparel has been quite the thing over the past year but seems not to have been the perfect fit for two fashion retailers.

And so Stitch Fix had joined Old Navy in first gearing up to manufacture merchandise for a broader base of customers, but then, like the GapGPS
Inc. brand, deciding to scale back.

In doing so, Stitch Fix has announced that it will close its Pennsylvania garment factory and knitting mill, with the expected loss of up to 56 jobs.

The San Francisco, Ca.-headquartered online retailer acquired the Mohnton Mills plant in 2017 in order to produce a sustainable, size-inclusive private label brand called Mohnton Made. However, it is understood that this label will be discontinued.

Mohnton Mills shuttering also forms part of the retailer’s attempts to get a handle on costs during an inflationary period and to address growing losses.

On September 9 Stitch Fix announced that net revenue of $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2022, down 1.4% year-on-year, as net losses rose to $207.1 million from an $8.9 million deficit the previous year. The company also lost 370,000 customers in its most recent quarter, representing 9% of its active client base, and in June shed around 330 jobs, about 15% of its full-time workforce.

Stitch Fix Close Mohnton Mills

A Stitch Fix spokesperson said of the Mohnton Mills closure: “As we focus on the strategies that support our return to profitable growth, notably increasing our number of active clients and optimizing our cost base, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to close our operations at Mohnton Mills.”

The Mohnton Made ranges were available in sizes XS to 3X in womenswear and XS to 3XL in men’s fashions and Stitch Fix had worked with Green Matters Natural Dye Company to produce the clothing more sustainably.

Despite the decision, Stitch Fix insisted that it will not hinder its goal to become more inclusive across its ranges and said 70% of its own label items are size inclusive, including its active and lounge brands, launched recently. The company continues to aspire toward 100% size inclusivity for all its exclusive brands by fiscal year 2025.

Earlier this year the company also launched a size inclusive collaboration in partnership with Amour Vert, marking the first time the sustainable brand became available to women who wear above a size XXL. The collection is exclusive to Stitch Fix.

Old Navy Phases Out Bodequality

The move follows the May 26 earnings call at which Gap Inc. announced its decision to scale back the its inclusive sizes launched to great fanfare by its Old Navy brand in August 2021. It said the move followed a decrease in demand for larger sizes.

Old Navy has continued to carry sizes 0-30 and XS-4X online, but many of its stores have been phasing out the inclusive initiative, called Bodequality, which combined Old Navy’s separate plus line with its core product offering, providing the same styles at the same prices across its size range.

According to then Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal: “While pleased with some of the early indicators, such as the new customer acquisition and increased brand health, we overestimated demand in stores. While we believe that product quality is right for today’s consumer and delivers on Old Navy’s mission to democratize styles, we launched too broadly and too quickly. We over-planned larger sizes with customer demand under-pacing supply, leading to an excessive inventory across stores.”

Syngal was in the Gap Inc. hot set for less than two months after the announcement before she stepped down, concluding two years as CEO.

Despite the setbacks at two important fashion brands, the plus-size apparel market is thriving. According to Statista, plus-size is worth an estimated $24 billion and is growing at a rapid pace.

In announcing the closure of Mohnton Made, Stitch Fix pointed out that many of the brands it sells, including Madewell, Universal Standard, Vince, Adidas, Beyond Yoga, Cosabella, Good American and Under ArmourUAA
, have their own size-inclusive offerings.