A Multifaceted Leader

The bamboo tree is known for its resilience, strength, and flexibility, often associated with effective leadership. A bamboo tree emphasizes the importance of collaboration, innovation, and adaptability in a rapidly changing environment. Leadership is just like the bamboo tree. With strong foundations, a leader will have the people he needs around him, who will believe in him and support his actions and decisions.

Romain Liot, COO of Adore Me, has always aimed to foster a solid and supportive community within the company where everyone feels empowered, trusted, and supported. He drew inspiration from the resilience and adaptability of a bamboo ecosystem, recognizing that the community could weather challenges and flourish in the face of change. In the organization, people were encouraged to look up to and be inspired by their peers, cultivating a nurturing environment for personal and professional growth. This emphasis on skill-building and continuous self-improvement promoted resilience and adaptability and contributed to the company's long-term growth.

Bamboo has multiple utilities, including food use, construction, cookware creation, and more. It is fascinating how a plant can be used for so many functions. In modern-day leadership, leaders are expected to assume multiple roles and responsibilities. Leading teams, managing customers and stakeholders, solving complex challenges, creating strategies for growth, and ensuring those are implemented seamlessly. The growth of an organization hinges on the quality of its leadership. Leadership quality hinges on the leaders covering all aspects of their roles and responsibilities seamlessly. Romain has proved himself by creating an extraordinary company and working towards unwavering commitment to enhance the company, employees, and customers.

Drawing from his time at McKinsey, Romain has implemented a strategic approach and key learnings that have proven instrumental in Adore Me’s operational success. The McKinsey approach, which places a premium on data-driven decision-making, effective problem-solving, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, has become an integral part of Adore Me’s culture. “By embedding these principles within our organization, we fostered a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. I believe that in order to find success, we need to reinvent ourselves every day,” explains Romain. “We must constantly rethink our processes and adapt to the changing generations and evolving landscapes.”

Adore Me takes on seemingly impossible challenges. In 2011, it was founded to solve a single problem: help women buy bras online. It might seem simple, but a bra is one of the most complex and personal garments. Managing the design, procurement, logistics, and customer experience involved is an uphill climb that built our company to take on increasingly more significant challenges.

Adore Me became the first major online player in lingerie and the first to introduce inclusive sizing in the category. They launched a wholly-owned logistics center, Adore Me Services, in 2017, the same year they became profitable and found a pioneering try-at-home shopping service, several innovation-focused satellite brands, and most importantly, an affordable sustainability model that is transforming their entire business to make sustainable clothing available to consumers of all shapes, sizes, and spending abilities.

Adore Me aims to improve the fashion industry by fostering inclusivity and environmental sustainability in our products' production, distribution, and marketing. In September 2019, the company embarked on a transformation journey, rethinking its approach to making sustainable fashion accessible to a broader audience. “Our mission is to drive the industry into a new phase where sustainability is not a luxury but a standard. We understand the importance of innovation, transparency, and cost-effectiveness, avoiding the notion of a ‘green premium’,” elucidates Romain. “To achieve this, we partnered with innovative startups to reduce our carbon footprint by an impressive 50%, a significant leap compared to typical industry efforts. Adore Me's dedication underscores our commitment to driving sustainability in the fashion industry.”

Adore Me’s clients have experienced a transformative and highly beneficial shift in their shopping experience through its innovative "try-at-home" model. The company has wholly reimagined how they approach e-commerce by offering this service. This approach allows the customers to personally experience the products, creating a highly convenient and personalized shopping experience. It eliminates the guesswork, making it easier for clients to find the perfect items that suit their needs and preferences.

The company has recently launched the Adore Me Sustainability Accelerator, a program working with a curated community of entrepreneurs to find game-changing and scalable fashion innovations to make sustainability a norm in the fashion industry. This initiative fosters a mutually beneficial partnership within the community, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, resources, and expertise. “We extend comprehensive support to this community, enabling them to embark on a shared journey of growth, learning, and development. Through the Sustainability Accelerator, we are driving sustainability and nurturing a collective environment for progress and innovation in the fashion industry,” concludes Romain.