Nilit, the largest supplier of premium Nylon 6.6, has come out with Sensil, presenting an example of yarn producers, mills and brands working together to meet customers’ demands. Sensil is nylon at its best. It is softer, stronger and more durable, and provides odour, temperature and moisture management, providing maximum comfort and performance.
The new breed of shopper wants everything—style, value, sustainability, innovation and speed—at once. These so-called Next Gen shoppers reward brands that can deliver all of the hallmarks of both exclusive and mainstream retailers. Thanks to Amazon Prime, they also want it fast. Further, signs show that this new consumer is not just a passing fad but in fact the new normal.
In response, apparel companies are racing to overhaul their supply chains in an effort to bring down prices and cut days out of calendars. However, they can’t do it alone. Bringing forth change on the scale the industry needs requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, with greater communication and collaboration among everyone along the supply chain. Only by working together can the industry come up with solutions that protect margins and deliver on customer demands.
What truly makes Sensil different though is the degree to which Nilit is working with brands to help them and the factories and mills that can make their product using Nilit yarns. The company had never worked directly with brands before but it saw the need for greater transparency and trust.
“Nilit is well-positioned in the market globally to make a substantial impact on the way supply chains work in partnership to meet the demands in today’s marketplace. Nilit is actively putting innovation, technology and marketing into developing key strategic partnerships with the entire supply chain to ensure that premium brands are getting exactly what the end consumer demands,” said Kirsten K Harris, a former Amazon and Nike active apparel executive whom Nilit tapped to lead the Sensil initiative as Director of Marketing for North America.
Nilit is already in the market helping brands overcome supply chain challenges. “An example of this is our Sensil collaboration with the amazing yoga brand, Avocado. By combining Avocado’s unique designs and Sensil’s innovative yarns and fabrics, we are strategically partnering together to elevate both brands and to present an exciting product for the end customer,” she said.
By matchmaking in this way, Nilit helps brands that may have been priced out of premium fibres in the past and partners that are willing to help them and cost-effective means for bringing their collections to life. “With a Sensil collaboration, it isn’t a sales pitch, it is a partnership. We work closely with brands to ensure they have the right partners across the supply chain, from the garment suppliers to the mills and beyond. We are looking at our collaborations as long-term partnerships and are building on them as such,” Harris said.
The company has created a robust marketing programme that allows brands to connect to the customer through educational, marketing, and event experiences. Sensil’s goal is to create a relationship between all supply chain participants and a feedback pipeline from the retailer and consumer upstream. “We are connecting not only with brands and buyers but also end consumers, so they understand what their purchase options are and why they matter,” Harris said. “We are able to do this through Sensil-sponsored events, webinars and insights from social media in a uencers.” The result is premium products that check all of the boxes for end consumers while helping retailers drive sales and margins.
