Centric Brands' Suzy Biszantz: 'The most challenging obstacles are logistics and supply chain'

In 2020, office spaces around the country began to resemble the ghost towns of the Wild West. Still, Suzy Biszantz, group president of men's and women's at Centric Brands, was determined to find an in-person space for her teams that would balance safety and productivity. To do so, she traversed to the Arts District of Los Angeles and secured a workspace that could also facilitate the growth of the company, where she oversees its Favorite Daughter, Herve Leger, Hudson, Buffalo Jeans and Izod brands.

“It’s important that your creative people who touch product are able to actually touch and feel and be around the product,” said Biszantz on the Glossy podcast. “We rented a new building that’s 20,000 square feet, has 10 separate entrances and is all one story.”

The building's other Covid-safe features include ample outdoor space for collaborative meetings, a lack of elevators, and separate exits and entrances.

Each brand needs its own space because each is focused on different objectives, she said. “[For] each brand, you have to look at the total potential,” when determining its DTC, wholesale and retail strategies," she said.

In the same way, not every brand is focusing its marketing strategy on collaborations with influencers, which is a unique challenge.

“You have to strike the right balance of operational support, logistics support, strategic support,” she said, regarding a brand's role in influencer partnerships. “But you can’t lose and water down the authenticity of who you’re collaborating with.”