Mike Smith on The Stitch Fix Mojo

Stitch Fix Inc. is something of an anomaly in fashion.  It’s not exactly a retailer and not exactly an e-commerce site, and not so much a subscription box service — but it has elements of all of those.  But in a generally tough world for fashion merchants, it’s growing rapidly with an entirely different model that stresses both head and heart in equal measure. The combined effect is powerful.   Revenues for the fiscal year ended Aug. 3 shot up 29 percent to $1.6 billion. The company — which prefers to be described as an online styling service — ended the year with 3.2 million active clients and profits of $36.9 million.  All that is enough to make the rest of fashion pay attention to the firm, which sends its users five items to try on at home and let’s them easily return what they don’t want.  There are many nuances to the company’s story and approach, but Mike Smith, president and chief operating officer, attributed much of its success to founder and chief executive officer Katrina Lake, whom he met in 2012, before becoming the firm’s fourth employee.  “She was super clear on the vision for the company,” he said. “With four full-time people at the company,

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