H&M Debuts Coloreel Embroidery at Berlin Store
H&M is tapping into consumer interest in personalized retail experiences through a new partnership with Coloreel, a custom embroidery and thread dyeing provider.
Debuting at the Swedish fast-fashion retailer’s store in Berlin, the in-store pilot marks the beginning of a new retail program that allows consumers to tailor their apparel purchases with stitched designs. H&Mbeyond, the firm’s innovation hub, said it will update the library of selections weekly.
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Also based in Sweden, Coloreel aims to commercialize the art of embroidery. It offers a variety of recycled colored threads through its proprietary automated technology, which it said reduces waste water by 97 percent compared with other commercial embroidery processes. Using a single needle and thread, the process expedites complicated designs with gradients and texturing, according to Coloreel.
To use the service, H&M shoppers select their design from the portfolio of imagery and work with an associate to choose placement on the garment. Choices include zodiac signs, birth month flowers, emojis, monograms, hand signals and motifs specific to Berlin, each retailing for 2.95 euros to 6.95 euros ($3.15-$7.42). Personalized products cannot be returned or exchanged.
“Our partnership with Coloreel reflects our commitment to enhance the shopping experience through innovative solutions,” H&MBeyond lead Oliver Lange said. “By embracing this advanced technology, we can offer our customers a unique and engaging store visit.”
The brand has been looking to incorporate experiential retail into its brick-and-mortar locations, and plans to analyze the influence that new technologies can have on in-store purchasing, Lange added.
“We are proud to team up with H&M to bring forth a new era of personalized fashion,” Coloreel senior vice president of product management Mattias Nordin said. “Together, we are redefining the boundaries of traditional embroidery, empowering customers to express their individuality.”
The embroidery personalization service will be offered at the store in Berlin’s Alexa shopping center in the fourth quarter. For now, the service is available only for products purchased at H&M, but the brand said it may open it up to include other garments in the future, with the goal of extending product lifespan.
Coloreel’s patented technology for digital dyeing of textile threads on demand earned it an $8.14 million investment in July 2021, which it said would support its market expansion. Later that year, it began offering a 100-percent recycled polyester thread offering, to be used with its instant thread-coloring technology for embroidery.
Since then, the company has inked several global partnerships. March 2022 saw a partnership with Huntersville, N.C.-based embroidery machine distributor Hirsch Solutions. One month later, Coloreel teamed up with printing technology maker Apsom Infotex Limited to bring Coloreel’s technology to the Indian market.
