Since 1982, Tillys has set the standard for young adult surf and skatewear with their trendsetting gear. From humble beginnings at an Orange County Swap Meet, Tillys has grown to 220 stores in 31 states nationwide and their large eCommerce store ships to more than 100 countries.
During a recent refresh program, Tillys was dismayed to find themselves in need of a more effective product and the victims of inattentive service.
Tillys
After a store’s interior decor started peeling, Tillys needed a better product – and a better vendor.
Textured vinyl adhesive for virtually any surface (TexWalk)
Great service and a great product transformed ugly slatwall into the realistic look and feel of reclaimed wood and brick.
Quality is communicated in store, so when the vinyl Tillys was using to cover their existing plywood surfaces started to peel and bubble, it endangered the high quality, cool image that had defined them for over 30 years.
“We had a lot of issues where you could see the plywood. You could see the seams. [The vinyl] would lift or look bubbly,” said Lauren Bryden, Manager of Maintenance and Special Projects at Tillys.
Tillys was unsure how to proceed. But, as Lauren explained, “Our VP was at SPECS and met NGS [Films and Graphics]. He came back and told me, ‘There’s this material they had and it’s really amazing.’”
After speaking with NGS and seeing the material herself, Lauren was confident she had found a solution that would stick and would eliminate her current material and service issues. With that, she brought NGS on board to complete the remainder of the year’s refresh program.
“I started using them for urgent marketing too,” Lauren said. “They have a national reach so our people can use them in one-off projects, not just big projects.”
Tillys challenge was to refresh existing materials, such as plywood panels and unused slatwalls, without engaging in a store remodel. The design intent was to create a reclaimed wood finish and NGS’s product brought the design to life.
The product, TexWalk, is a textured vinyl adhesive that can transform almost all surfaces and provide additional branding opportunities. Not only will it not bubble or peel, but the material’s texture adds a realistic property that you won’t find with traditional vinyl.
“You can’t even tell that there’s a slatwall behind [the graphic] now. You could lay it on a CMU and you wouldn’t be able to tell there’s a CMU wall behind it!” Lauren enthused. “The material is just remarkable. It really looks natural.”
Not only was the product superior, installation was seamless. In only three nights, NGS installed the TexWalk and several thousand square feet of wallpaper provided by Tillys. When asked about the process, Lauren said, “It was painless.”
“Typically in an installation or rollout project that we do,” Lauren explained, “we’ll go back and have to say, ‘This wasn’t done properly; you need to go back and fix it.’ Sometimes you’ll get pushback or there’ll be a huge punch list because there’s so many deficiencies, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t even have any punch items. They really are amazing.”
“The TexWalk is great. It’s been perfect,” Lauren said. “The store looks like it’s been remodeled… it’s essentially just received a mini-facelift. The feedback we’ve gotten from customers and staff is: ‘It’s so amazing… can we have more?’”
“It’s not just the material, it’s also the service and how quickly things get done. [NGS has] been able to react to changes and requests on a tight timeline and never say, ‘Oh that can’t be done, that’s impossible.’ Everything is possible. They scramble like we’re their only customer. Anything you need, they get it done–and they’re not just saying that; they’re actually showing me they can do it.
With NGS, you eliminate the headache. Sometimes I feel like vendors require so much handholding. With NGS, it’s set it and forget it. You know it’s going to be done right.”
-Lauren Bryden, Manager of Maintenance and Special Projects at Tillys
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