“J. Jill Arrives Fashionably Light”
A new put-to-light system lets women’s clothing retailer J. Jill keep up with growing volume in style
Amanda Loudin, Inbound Logistics April, 2007
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Women age 35 and older frequently have a difficult time shopping for stylish, age-appropriate clothing. Too often, this group of women has to choose between clothes that are too matronly or too young. Enter J.Jill. The specialty retailer fills the void for women in the over-35 crowd with clothing that suits a sophisticated, casual lifestyle. From professional to stay-at-home moms, J. Jill’s customers include active, upscale women who value comfort, individuality, and simplicity.
Founded in 1987 as a trio of catalog companies, the retailer consolidated under the J. Jill brand in 1999. At that time, it expanded with its first two retail stores and launched an e-commerce site. Now a multi-channel retailer with a catalog, website, and retail store presence, J.Jill was recently acquired by Talbot’s Inc., which operates more than 1,300 stores throughout the United States.
Though J.Jill is headquartered in Quincy, Mass., its distribution and call center is located in Tilton, N.H. The 573,000-square-foot facility opened in 1998 and dedicates 465,000 square feet to distribution operations. At the DC, nearly 300 employees process orders for both direct-to-consumer sales and J.Jill’s 231 stores around the country. The company typically has 12 design “seasons” each year and carries approximately 12,000 SKUs. The DC ships orders within 48 hours or less.
Turning Up the Volume
Since the DC began operations in 1998, it has deftly handled J.Jill’s volume. It became clear, however, that new warehouse technology was in order to keep up with the company’s growing volume, reports Glenn Broderick, J.Jill’s director of retail distribution.
“We knew we would eventually need a put-to-light system, but decided to start with a simple radio frequency (RF) system”, he explains. “By 2005, it was time to upgrade to put-to-light.”
The company’s search for the right system and vendor began at industry trade show ProMat in 2005. After narrowing the list to three vendors, J.Jill selected a put-to-light system from AL Systems, Rockaway, N.J.
“AL works with a number of retail clothing clients, including Talbot’s, that utilize put-to-light”, says Broderick. “We felt the vendor had the track record to help us accomplish our goals.”
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