Growing a sustainability-focused brand at speed
Brand: Trove
Vertical: Apparel
HQ: USA
Founded: 2012
Pixelz helped with:
Remove backlog
On-time delivery
I think the best thing about working together is reliability and also flexibility from where we started to what we're doing now.Lindsey Di Ruscio
Photo Studio Manager
About
Sustainability is at the heart of Trove, and their aim is to prevent clothes from ending up in a landfill and contributing to the global landfill crisis. Launched in 2012, Trove seeks to give purpose to premium brands and encourage sustainability and quality in what they make.
Trove, originally founded as a California Benefit Corporation, have sustainability at their core. Working with brands such as Levi's, Patagonia, REI, EILEEN FISHER, lululemon, Arc'teryx, Cotopaxi, NEMO, and more, their aim is to develop white-label channels that can not only revitalize the resale marketplace but also do their bit to help the planet by advancing the circular economy. As they are part of an important change in the fashion industry, Trove needed a partner that they could trust to get on with the job while also doing a great job with their images, and that's where the collaboration with Pixelz came to life.
A Big Job to Do
When starting with Trove, Photo Studio Manager Lindsey Di Ruscio had a big job on her hands. Lindsey explains that Trove is "a white glove resale service that partners with premium brands." This means that all of the elements of resale are handled by the team at Trove, but the brand still owns its channels. When working with luxury brands, a higher level of attention to detail is expected; this includes photo retouching.
She explained that "the first major project was to tackle a backlog of items that needed photography." For anyone, this task would seem a little daunting; however, with her experience, Lindsey was confident that she would be able to make it happen. That said, she soon realized that there was an issue – the existing structure when it came to retouching, something vital to the success of Trove.
"When I started at Trove, our current outsource retouching service was unreliable. They couldn't deliver our images before nine am. Usually, when we would send out images at the end of the day, we would have to wait for hours in the morning for them. It was really hard to track."
As a growing business, Trove needed to be able to track what was happening, ensure the deadline was met, and have easy communication with partners. This led to Lindsey looking for an alternative. After working with the Pixelz team in a previous role, Lindsey got in touch, knowing that what she was looking for wasn't a run-of-the-mill request. "One area, that is Trove specific, is the fact that we're selling used gear. We're photographing flaws. This goes against the retoucher's instincts."
Thankfully, after understanding the aims of Trove and the importance of highlighting these flaws, the Pixelz team was fully briefed and ready to support Lindsey and her team. In addition to this, the team ensured that Lindsey always had a point of contact going forward so that she could be as involved as she needed to be in the process, as well as being able to track progress through our platform.
Communication, Speed, and Trust
One of the most important aspects was having consistent and open communication channels so that Lindsey could speak to a human being who could reply quickly, get on a call when needed to talk things through, and be on hand to find the answers to any questions that she may have – particularly in regard to the platform.
When talking about the platform, Lindsey noted that 'it's easy to use and reliable and communication is really easy. I know I can reach out to someone and get an answer right away."
"I know I can reach out to someone and get an answer right away."
Due to the fact that Pixelz uses a combination of AI and the knowledge of expert retouchers, the partnership has enabled Trove to increase the rate at which they can grow by combining our services with the talents of their in-house team.
"Pixelz is doing our clean clip template - background clipping, removing styling tools like hangers and pins, and setting aspect ratio. In terms of growth, it's been great because we are giving Pixelz more of the retouching so our in-house team can continue to scale. We still have lots of work for the in-house retouching team."
"You can actually establish a baseline and see what we were doing before, compared to where we are now."
In addition, Lindsey is always aware of how projects are progressing, which puts her mind at ease. "I've been able to look into the insights tab, see how much work we're doing, see how we're scaling and growing. In terms of the rejection rate, there's just so much more data and information. You can actually establish a baseline and see what we were doing before, compared to where we are now."
Steps Towards a More Sustainable Future and a Fairer World
One of the reasons Trove has set their sights on growth is the fact that they are working towards a future that focuses on sustainability, and they needed a partner that understood their vision while also making their own commitment, such as our dedication to treating employees fairly. Lindsey explained, "our mission is to keep items out of landfills and in use for longer".
By having an external team she can rely on, Lindsey has the confidence that she can push the boundaries of her in-house team and continue to provide excellent results for Trove and, as a result, look to bigger and better things that can help the planet while also providing an excellent service for customers and clients.
Trove X Pizelz
"What's the most appealing thing about Pixelz? I would say the platform, it's easy to use and gives a great level of insight. I think the best thing about working together is reliability and also flexibility from where we started to what we're doing now. Pixelz is doing so much more for us now, but I also have the ability to ask when I can't figure something out, and you'll get back to me. If it's something else, you'll see if you can build it out for me. And the turnaround time is so quick too.”
"I think the best thing about working together is reliability and also flexibility from where we started to what we're doing now."