Do you wear tights to work?

Do you struggle to find tights that are comfortable, durable, and affordable? If so, then you share the same frustrations as Threads Founder, Xenia Chen. Xenia wore tights to work every day and was frustrated by the tights and nylon shopping experience. They were a wardrobe staple for her as an investment banker, and with a hectic schedule, she would often forget to stock up, meaning she would reach into an empty drawer and then have to rush to the nearest drugstore before a meeting.

The tights and nylons industry is made up of large, old-school players with deeply fragmented supply chains and heavy markups. By modernizing their supply chain, Threads is able to offer high-quality tights at a fraction of the price, with the added convenience of delivery to your home or office on your chosen schedule and subscription plans available.

During the winter season, tights help us stay not just comfortable and warm, but also stylish with all elegant dresses and skirts. Although outings will look different this year, it is always a day to dress up, even if it means just heading out to the grocery store or for a walk in the park!

We had the pleasure of chatting with Xenia to learn her story on the company vision and how it all got started. Read on to join her roller coaster of learnings, struggles, and how she has overcome such obstacles to grow her business during the current unique business environment.

X: Xenia Chen, Founder, Threads

P: Pendulum Magazine

P: Tell us a bit about your background. What were you doing before you started Threads? What prompted you to decide you wanted to do Threads full time?

X: Before Threads, I was working on Bay Street, which was a pretty different world than the world of entrepreneurship. I started Threads in 2018, on an idea that had been on my mind for a few years. I was getting fed up with the number of tights I was going through in a month, as a result of rips and pulls in the material. I found that I was either spending $10 at the drugstore for a pair that sucks or spending $60 on a pair that’s comfortable and luxurious, but still has some sort of shelf life before it rips or wears out. I began to notice my female coworkers were also experiencing the same frustrations when it came to their tights, whether it was about comfort or how much money they were spending. This motivated me to start doing my own research into the hosiery industry, where I learned there were virtually no companies out there that were making tights with women in mind.

We’ve created Threads to be different in both design and affordability. We work directly with our factory in Italy, where we’re able to cut out the middleman, so women can get luxury tights at the fraction of the price. It was important to me that women had access to affordable and high-quality tights, seeing how they are a fundamental staple to women’s workwear.

P: What were some valuable business lessons you have learned since starting the business in 2018? What key piece of advice would you want to pass on to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

X: This journey into entrepreneurship has been a rollercoaster. There have been many ups and downs and I’ve had to learn how to pivot and remain agile. Maintaining and growing my growth mindset is something I work on constantly, like a muscle. If I could offer a key piece of advice to other entrepreneurs, it would be to get comfortable with volatility. I wish someone had told me that when I first started, but now I’m realizing that that’s where the fun in entrepreneurship lies - in solving problems and conquering the unexpected.

P: How involved have you been in sourcing suppliers and vendors to help you develop the Threads product line? What are your criteria to bring a supplier or vendor onto the Threads team?

X: I’m involved in every single step of sourcing suppliers and vendors. Unlike a lot of other companies, we don’t use an intermediary to introduce us to international suppliers - it’s been me out there sifting for the right ones from day one. Our factory that we work with is in Italy and we have an amazing relationship with them. Luckily, most factories and vendors have an online presence so it’s not hard to find vendors, but I was very picky about who we chose to partner with. It was important for me to not only have a product that I was super happy with, but I also wanted to find a factory partner I knew we could develop a relationship with for the long-run. 

P: You’ve ‘road-tested’ Threads tights with over 200 women to gather their feedback to make comfortable tights that hug all the right areas. Think back to your first prototype, how did that look like? What key changes have been made to the design?

X: We built our first prototype using the feedback of 200 women. When I first got started with working on the idea of Threads, I surveyed them and asked them about what they really loved or didn’t love about tights - everything from the product, shopping experience, purchase patterns, etc. And from that information, I tried to “solve” for the perfect solution. It’s not just the ripping that irritates women (although that is definitely the number one frustration!), it’s a myriad of other factors such as finding the leg length not corresponding to the size, needing more reinforced toes, wanting a control top that’s just tight enough to hug your curves but not so tight that you can’t breathe. We’ve designed Threads (as a product and as a company) to solve all these little frustrations that women have. 

P: As you mention in your brand story, Threads is up against established, old-school players, what would your company’s competitive advantage to stay ahead of the game?

X: I think the fact that we’re a new company and have a small and lean team is definitely an advantage. Because we haven’t been in the industry for very long, it allows us to take a fresh perspective on things and see how we could innovate, instead of doing what’s always been done. Also, as a bootstrapped business, we don’t have to answer to anyone except for our customers, which I think allows us to take more risks and be more nimble. We have a few out-of-the-box projects that we’re working on for 2021 that are definitely not typical and I can’t wait to share with everyone. 

P: Threads operates on an online eCommerce model, but often online businesses still require a sizeable team to keep things running smoothly. Who are the members of your team right now? 

X: Our team is small but mighty. Currently, we have two full-time team members - myself and our social media manager, Becca, and two part-time remote team members who make up our customer experience team. Everything else is outsourced or contracted out. This keeps overhead relatively low and allows us to be adaptable to the changing needs of an early-stage business. 

P: From the start of your business until now, what are some defining moments that you are proud of?

X: I think the moments that I’m most proud of are when we’ve overcome a hurdle or challenge together as a team. One that comes to mind, in particular, is reconfiguring our manufacturing operations at the beginning of COVID-19 to change production from tights to reusable masks. It’s been a really tough year for all businesses and I’m really proud of our team for coming together, thinking on our feet, and making the best of a bad situation. 

P: What’s your vision for the business? Where do you want it to be in 1, 3, 5 years?

X: We’re working on a few new product launches for 2021, which I’m really excited about. I’d like to see Threads as a leader in high quality and thoughtful, but affordable basics. We’re constantly talking to our community and learning about what they want. We’ve learned there are so many wardrobe essentials that could be made better and at a better price. That’s what we want to tackle in the future. 

P: How are you going to get there?

X: I’m such a firm believer that team is absolutely everything! I think surrounding yourself with the right people is crucial to any sort of success. I’m super proud of the team we’ve built so far and hope that it continues in the future.

We want to thank Xenia for taking the time to share her story with us. It gives us insight into how a new online startup functions in the extraordinary business environment that we live in today. A lean team with the ability to quickly adapt and adjust to the daily changing needs of online shoppers is fundamental to survival in today’s climate.

With a few pairs of Threads stocked in our closet, we can say that it is one of the most comfortable pairs of tights we have worn, the most notable thing being the perfect, snug fit. A staple black pairs well with all the dresses we plan on wearing over the holidays!

Photos courtesy of Threads