American Apparel's Zander Livingston to Keynote at RFID in Fashion 2009

June 10, 2009—RFID Journal and the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) have announced that Zander Livingston, American Apparel's director of RFID, will present the opening keynote address at the fourth annual RFID in Fashion conference and exhibition, being held on Aug. 12-13 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

American Apparel has been a pioneer in deploying RFID technology at its stores and in its supply chain (see American Apparel Makes a Bold Fashion Statement With RFID and American Apparel Expands RFID to Additional Stores). At its RFID-enabled stores, the retailer has improved inventory accuracy to 98 percent, while also increasing sales by nearly 15 percent. At RFID in Fashion, Livingston will explain how and where the technology is being used by his company, and how it is providing a return on the firm's investment.

American Apparel's Zander Livingston

"American Apparel and Zander Livingston are proving that RFID can deliver huge benefits to apparel retailers and suppliers," says Mark Roberti, RFID Journal's founder and editor. "We're very excited to have Zander present, because other retailers will want to follow American Apparel's lead."

RFID in Fashion 2009 will reveal how retailers can deploy radio frequency identification to improve inventory accuracy, reduce shrinkage and increase sales. The event will feature objective case studies presented by apparel, footwear and accessory retailers and suppliers that have deployed the technology in their operations. Attendees will learn how these companies are using RFID to:

• Improve in-store inventory accuracy from 65 percent to 98 percent
• Decrease the time required to take inventory in stores by 75 percent
• Reduce the time needed to receive goods into inventory by 85 percent
• Lower labor costs associated with markdowns by 50 percent
• Increase sales by as much as 15 percent

"RFID in Fashion is a unique event," Livingston says, "in that it focuses on the issues related to deploying RFID in our industry. I attended when American Apparel was first exploring the potential benefits of RFID, and I found it extremely informative."

The conference is being coproduced by RFID Journal and the AAFA, and is supported by the Vendor Compliance Federation and the Trade Promotion Management Associates. Avery Dennison will be the event's cornerstone sponsor.

RFID in Fashion 2009 will feature a special Leadership Forum, in which a select group of apparel retailers will discuss issues related to the adoption of RFID technologies in the retail sector.