US fibre and yarn giant Unifi has undergone a major rebrand with a key focus on its customers. Andy Rhodes speaks to global marketing director Christine Spiegel to find out more.
Christine Spiegel, global marketing director, Unifi
Unifi, a global provider and manufacturer of fibres and yarns for the textile industry, has undergone a major rebrand to ensure its customers are better informed of its product portfolio.
The company, based in Greensboro, NC, US, has manufactured textile fibres and yarns since 1971, but this is the first time the company has repositioned its brand. Throughout its 47-year history, the company has developed a wide range of synthetic materials and has now launched its PROFIBER™ collection as part of the rebrand, which outlines to the customer exactly what benefits the fibres offer.
The entire rebrand has been designed with the customer in mind, as Christine Spiegel, global marketing director, Unifi, explains. “The rebrand is tailored towards our customers, who are looking for benefits that today’s consumers demand,” she says. “Whether it’s moisture management, thermal control, odour management, bounce in their socks, and all the great benefits that consumers look for, it allows us to put that at the forefront so it is easy to understand what they are looking for, and we are looking to deliver that at a customer level so that we can pass along the benefits to their customers.”
Changing perceptions
Unifi wants to change how its customers perceive the company, as prior to the rebrand, Spiegel explains that customers recognised the company as a yarn and fibre manufacturer rather than a solutions provider.
“Since 1971, Unifi has focused on being the high-quality manufacturing company with state-of-the-art manufacturing behind it,” she says. “But as we have progressed through the years and as we have gained our new senior leadership, we’re really focusing on the company to become more of a solutions provider in relation to yarn innovations and global supply chain flexibility, as well as being able to focus on sustainability because it is so big in the marketplace.”
Spiegel continues: “Unifi is more than just a yarn and fibre manufacturer, and because we offer almost what you would say is a one-stop shop, we are fully vertically integrated and offer our customers multi-level solutions. The rebranding really helped us help our customers better understand the value that we offer to them through helping them with innovative products and supply chain flexibility, as well as sustainable options. Overall, it allows us to partner with our customers on developing tech-savvy innovations rather than just discussing fibres alone.”
‘Tru’ innovation
As part of this plan, Unifi has also launched its new PROFIBER brand, which the company states provides options to integrate multiple performance Tru-technologies into polyester and nylon yarns that deliver increased comfort, performance and functionality.
Spiegel says: “For the company, it allows us to be aligned with the benefits our fibres offer to our customers when they make their fabrics into finished garments. So, it allows us to help them get a better understanding of the brands that we are offering and a much simpler understanding of the benefits.”
Spiegel adds: “It also allows us to help them understand that we offer fibres as a platform, both under REPREVE® recycled, as well as under our PROFIBER brand which consists of our virgin-based materials that can be combined with our Tru-technologies. This allows us to simplify our benefit offerings to our customers, so they understand what benefits they can offer consumers; and it allows them to choose the platform of fibres that best meets their cost pricing and the benefits they want to offer their customers.
“If they are interested in sustainability and recycled materials we have a platform that allows them to add performance-based benefits to that yarn at the yarn level, so it can be embedded in the yarn or inherent in the yarn, as well as topically treated,” adds Spiegel. “Also, another option is our virgin fibre option with the same benefits, so it allows them to understand fibre platforms and technologically-based platforms that they will then be able to build into that yarn; and that is where the true innovation in the fibre comes from.”
The rebrand and the PROFIBER brand were launched at the 2018 edition of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, held in Denver, CO, US, on 23-26 July. At the launch, Unifi offered examples of the new Tru-technologies and their benefits, as seen in various fabric constructions at the exhibition. These include:
TruTemp – High-tech fibres for fabric that performs, providing year-round comfort in warm or cool weather
TruDry – Breathable, moisture-wicking fibre technology helps keep fabrics cool, dry and comfortable
TruCover – Fibres with an increased surface area deliver flexible, lightweight stretch and coverage without show-through
TruFlexx – Fibres that allow fabrics to move freely and stretch without binding or sagging
TruCool – Performance fibres create fabrics that feel cool to the touch
TruTouch – Fibres with cotton-like softness provide a natural touch and feel
Outdoor launch
Describing Unifi’s presence at the event, Spiegel says: “Outdoor Retailer this year was a marvellous success for us. Firstly, we had our new Unifi booth that we built last year, but we have updated it with our new positioning from this campaign. We also brought our REPREVE national mobile tour which is a mobile tour that travels across the country. We dropped that into the show to promote our REPREVE brand, so we were based on the sourcing floor on the lower level, but also on the upper level with the brands where we were talking about our new position and introducing our new technologies.”
Spiegel continues: “We probably saw close to 900 different customers over that four-day window between both of our booths. We saw new customers and existing customers, and then from a brand position, it launched very well because it allows our customers to realise that we are a solutions provider and we’re able to talk about true innovation starting in the fibre. They totally get it.”
Unifi now aims to develop the new brand further in the coming year as it looks to promote its new position and its new technologies. “We are introducing a new hangtag system; we are going to help deliver a stronger story to the consumers,” says Spiegel. “We’re also seeing that the demand for new technologies in the marketplace is increasing rapidly to where you are seeing the sustainable performance fibre being at the top of their list."
She adds: “We feel that this rebranding really supports what’s happening in the industry of demanding new technologies across the board, and so this demand and popularity has increased. We think that it is not only going to help fuel our brand, but it is also going to help grow our business in the future while we help our customers’ businesses grow as well.”
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