PARIS — November 7, 2011 — Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to
industries using soft materials — textiles, leather, industrial fabrics, and composite materials —
is pleased to announce the successful implementation of Lectra Fashion PLM at La Jolla Group.
Headquartered in Irvine, CA, La Jolla Group, Inc. (LJG) is one of the world’s biggest producers of
surf, skate, motocross, and youth lifestyle apparel, whose portfolio includes iconic brands such as
O’Neill Clothing USA, Rusty Clothing and Metal Mulisha Clothing.
“After an extensive amount of PLM market research and a seamless integration, La Jolla Group
has finally found and deployed the solution that will take the process of product development and
lifecycle management to the next level,” said Josh Wellington, Chief Operating Officer, LJG. “An
apparel-centric PLM that understands and compliments the nuances of our industry has finally
arrived.”
Before adopting Lectra Fashion PLM, La Jolla Group used a system of spreadsheets that
required manual data entry and updating, and left some departments such as design and merchandising
feeling disconnected from the development process. Recognizing these frustrations, La Jolla Group
sought a solution and chose Lectra for its mastery of the fashion-specific development process,
including Lectra’s understanding of the art of design.
“The apparel-centric user interface addresses issues experienced in other PLM offerings by
being more of a design environment, rather than having a rigid ‘engineering’ feel,” added
Wellington. “It allows for the design cycle to have a single consolidated dataset and has helped
LJG move away from disparate data and manual processes.
Lectra Fashion PLM fits seamlessly into La Jolla Group’s Macintosh-based design environment.
A visual user setting with image libraries and a hassle-free bill of materials facilitated adoption
by all teams,including design. Designers now easily communicate styles and trends but also have
total control over pre-costing, helping to ensure that budgets and production constraints are
respected. By aligning the entire team globally and giving members lifecycle control over design,
pattern making, merchandising, sourcing, production, and printables, deadlines are no longer simply
a suggestion, but are now an achievable reality.
“Given their emphasis on design and quality and the challenges that the outdoor lifestyle
market presents,we were confident that Lectra Fashion PLM could bring La Jolla Group benefits such
as greater control over delivery and cost, two fundamental components to being competitive in the
surf and sportswear markets,” said Roy Shurling, President of Lectra North America. “After more
than 35 years in the fashion business, we understand how challenging it can be to pull teams
together and focus on business fundamentals, while also respecting creativity.”
The La Jolla Group team was particularly impressed with Lectra’s Professional Service team
and their ability to implement quickly, while staying focused on important details. Scott
Fitzpatrick, La Jolla Group’s Director of Business Intelligence who supported the project added,
“Lectra’s multi-disciplinary team was always on top of making sure we continued to push towards the
next steps in the project scope to ensure we wouldn’t miss deadlines and get the project going.
This was key.”
The initial project was implemented ahead of schedule. La Jolla Group was so pleased with the
results that the scope was recently expanded to include their entire portfolio of brands and
supplier base.
To learn more about La Jolla or this project, please contact Melissa Vidakovic at +1
770-422-8050, ext.182.
Posted on November 14, 2011
Source: Lectra
