Select Black-Owned Brands to Receive Complimentary Access to JOOR’s Wholesale Platform and JOOR PASSPORT Events

NEW YORK, Feb. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JOOR, the world’s leading digital wholesale platform, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with RAISEfashion, a non-profit advisory network of fashion industry leaders whose mission is to advance the equity of Black-owned brands. Brands selected by RAISEfashion, in partnership with Harlem’s Fashion Row, will receive complimentary access to JOOR’s digital platform, providing them the ability to connect with retailers, present their collection virtually, and offer a personalized wholesale shopping experience and seamless order management designed to support their business growth. In addition, brands will receive training on best practices to grow their wholesale business and will gain access to JOOR Passport: a digital destination powering the industry’s leading global fashion events and tradeshows.

Up to 25 Black-owned brands selected for this inaugural program will join JOOR’s global network of 12,500 brands and 300,000 retailers across 144 countries. On February 22, JOOR will launch a dedicated RAISEfashion event on JOOR Passport to showcase the nominated brands, enabling buyers from around the world to more effectively and efficiently discover and purchase from Black-owned brands. RAISEfashion will gain data insights from the event that will further the success of their mission to support the continued growth of these brands.

In preparation for this event, an advisor from the RAISEfashion network was matched with each brand to provide tactical support in areas such as pricing model, distribution strategy, and best practices for retail partnerships. This dual approach of providing both business mentorship combined with visibility to prospective retailers is key to RAISEfashion’s goal of improving the representation of Black-owned brands and ensuring these businesses are empowered to succeed.

“This partnership is a dream realized for Harlem's Fashion Row. Our aim was to always create opportunities, mentorship and provide resources to Black emerging designers. Partnering with JOOR and RAISEfashion, HFR can provide tangible networks to designers of color by connecting them to retailers in the US and beyond. These amazing brands will receive the exposure they have dreamed of and deserve,” said Brandice Daniel, founder of Harlem’s Fashion Row.

The RAISEfashion volunteer advisory network consists of 200+ vetted industry leaders, with extensive experience across branding, marketing and communications, digital strategy, creative content, merchandising, sales, and business development. Participating Black-owned brands receive consulting across these functional areas, along with access to tools and resources to help them achieve their goals. Today, Black-owned brands are underrepresented in the mainstream retail business, and Black professionals are underrepresented in retail company leadership.

“A diverse retail industry ultimately means more creativity, which makes us better as a whole,” said Kristin Savilia, CEO of JOOR. “Our partnership with RAISEfashion enables opportunity for promising Black designers. Given our extensive reach within the industry and experience helping brands in their digital transformation, we are well positioned to provide assistance - something that is consistent with our company values and a core part of our mission of no brand or retailer left behind.”

“Black brands are at a disadvantage when it comes to breaking into the retail industry due to high barriers of entry, often determined by personal connections and access to capital,” said Divya Mathur, a RAISEfashion Advisory Board member. “With partnerships like the one with JOOR, RAISEfashion is able to offer both the mentorship and digital platform to successfully connect Black designers with prospective retailers to improve overall representation.”

Brands such as Fe Noel, Sergio Hudson, Kimberly Goldson, BruceGlen, Max+Min, and Ashya will be among the first cohort of brands to leverage JOOR. Every six months, RAISEfashion will nominate an additional cohort of up to 25 Black-owned fashion brands to join the partnership program with JOOR.

About RAISEfashion
RAISEfashion is a 501(c)(3) non-profit advisory network of fashion industry leaders providing pro bono business consulting to Black-owned brands. Our mission is to advance the equity of Black talent by breaking down existing barriers to entry and supporting brands with individualized plans to create and build business infrastructure. Currently, the volunteer-run network consists of 200+ vetted industry experts with years of experience across all sectors of the market including branding, marketing and communications, digital strategy, merchandising, sales, and business development. Advisors have backgrounds ranging from high luxury to contemporary and mass markets, across categories of men’s and women’s apparel, accessories and leather goods, jewelry, and home goods. For more information, visit https://raisefashionnow.org.

About JOOR 
JOOR is the world’s leading digital wholesale platform and data exchange, with over $1.5Bn in wholesale transactions processed every month. More than 12,500 brands and over 300,000 curated fashion retailers across 144 countries connect on the platform every day. With a commitment to fueling the advancement and growth of both brands and retailers, JOOR provides an ecosystem that combines dynamic virtual showrooms with collaborative tools including JOOR Passport, which centralizes the trade show experience across multiple global fashion events. JOOR users have greater flexibility, visibility, performance and insights into their business. JOOR is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Paris, London, Milan, Madrid, Melbourne and Tokyo. For more information visit: JOOR.com.

JOOR Contact Information:

Gretchen Miller, Joor@nectarpr.com