While traveling across Europe in the early aughts, LA native Jeff Abrams had a crafty idea: create a clothing brand that fused the effortless, casual style of Southern California with European design sensibilities. But with no background in fashion, it took the entrepreneur a couple of years to get the ball rolling. Fast forward to 2008, and Rails was born.

Abrams, now Rails’s CEO, told Forbes he initially invested $5,000 to kick off the biz, but today, Rails sells its clothes online and in other retailers across 30 countries. The brand offers everything from shirts and dresses, to knitwear and denim. Beyond California, Rails now has eight stores across the US, UK, France, and the Netherlands. But how did it all happen?

Abrams initially made a small run of shirts, hats, and hoodies (30–50 units at a time) and sold them to stores like Fred Segal. The arbitrage game in full effect. “I would make a hat for $5, sell it to boutiques for $12, and they would retail it for $25,” he explained. “I would make shirts for $7, sell them to boutiques for $16, and they would retail them for $38.”

He added that not having a team or an office were also instrumental in not having a ton of overhead. “I was doing everything myself,” he said. “I was able to house inventory at my apartment that I was sharing with my roommate. My bedroom acted as my warehouse.”

Made to order

However, Abrams realized he still needed a differentiator for his brand, which came in the form of custom fabrics that were both soft and durable. The original formula blended 10-cell rayon yarn and “another yarn” that Abrams didn’t specify, which eventually created “this silky, drapey fabric, and that really put us on the map,” he explained.

Abrams incorporated the formula into the brand’s button-down shirts, which helped them get stocked on the shelves of Intermix, Shopbop, and Neiman Marcus, among other retailers. Sixteen years later, the custom fabric remains a core part of the brand’s DNA.

Keep reading here.—JS

It may be hard to believe given the number of OOO auto-replies in your inbox, but not everyone was on vacation in August—plenty of retail leaders across the C-suite were making major moves:

• Former Ulta CEO Mary Dillon is taking the helm as president and CEO of Foot Locker starting today, replacing Richard Johnson, who will remain as executive chairman until January 31. Dillon’s expertise in off-mall retail will be a particular asset to the company, Johnson told analysts.
• Adidas said CEO Kasper Rorsted will step down next year after leading the sporting-goods company since 2016. The move will “pave the way for a restart” for the company after “three challenging years,” supervisory board chairman Thomas Rabe said.
• Trish Donnelly, CEO of PVH Americas and Calvin Klein Global, has exited the company, with PVH planning to divide the position into two roles.
• Kellogg named Gary Pilnick, its vice chairman of corporate development and chief legal officer, as CEO of its cereal biz, following the food giant’s split into three separate companies in June.
• After ~40 years leading the brand, designer Eileen Fisher is handing over the CEO role to Patagonia chief product officer Lisa Williams.
• Bath & Body Works COO Chris Cramer resigned from his role, and the company said it doesn’t plan to fill it after cutting 130 positions in August.
• After its own round of layoffs from April to July, Gopuff tapped Panera CFO Ted Stedem as its new CFO.

New merch: Retailers also built out their merchandising teams in August. Tommy Hilfiger added Nadia Azria, former VP of merchandising at Nike, as its first chief merchandising officer.

Meanwhile, Sephora is boosting its global presence with a number of merchandising promotions. The beauty retailer said EVP and global chief merchandising officer Artemis Patrick will drop her North American responsibilities to focus on the global biz.

• Other promotions include Rauvan Dulay, SVP of global merchandising, business development, and strategy (who spoke to us about Sephora’s Accelerate program earlier this year), who will also transition to a global focus.—EC

Today’s top retail reads.

Shining bright: On the heels of L’Oréal opening its Los Angeles headquarters, US CEO David Greenberg dishes on the beauty category’s strength, inflation, and the future of the brand. (Glossy)

Fashion forward: Famed tailor Peter Do is now moving into menswear and wants to also offer a wider range of options for different body types. “The wardrobe is really meant to be shared,” he said. (Financial Times)

All that glitters: Shein is one of the most popular fast-fashion brands, but that success has come with a lot of questions about the company’s business practices. (the New York Times)

The numbers you need to know.

The work-from-home wave born out of the pandemic meant more people could live wherever they wanted, but it turns out that it has not come without some struggles.

More than a third (34%) of Americans who sought out a less-expensive living situation now say that a higher cost of living is their biggest challenge, according to a 1,500-person survey conducted by Gravy Analytics.

Consumers are now on the hunt for less-expensive options in their new locations:

• About a third (32%) of respondents said low prices were the biggest factor in selecting a grocery store in their new location.
• Nearly two-thirds (61%) of consumers said they changed their shopping habits after moving, with 34% saying they now mostly shop at mom-and-pop stores as opposed to national retail chains.
• But 27% of shoppers now say they purchase from those chains.

“As the post-pandemic consumer landscape continues to evolve and inflation impacts every factor of American life, organizations must be armed with data to know how to respond and plan,” Jeff White, founder and CEO of Gravy Analytics, said in a statement.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Tender is the might: Why New York and other cities are mandating that stores accept cash
• A new bill could change California’s fast food landscape
• Four supply chain experts on the challenges of manufacturing in the US—and the tactics to turn to instead