Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM): Plus-Sized Customer Service

Women’s apparel retailer Charming Shoppes praises the red-carpet treatment it gets from logistics partner Hyundai Merchant Marine.

THE CUSTOMER: Charming Shoppes, Inc., Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Charming Shoppes, Inc., the parent company of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherines Plus Sizes, is a leading multi-brand specialty apparel retailer primarily focused on plus-size women’s apparel.

THE PARTNER: Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM)

Hyundai Merchant Marine is an integrated logistics company, operating more than 40 sea routes to over 100 ports of call. HMM also offers state-of-the-art B2B products for enhanced supply chain visibility.

Charming Shoppes, Inc. (CSI) is the umbrella company for three well-known ladies apparel companies — Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines Plus Sizes. The company is recognized for its celebration of the lives and fashion images of women wearing plus sizes.

Speed to market is important in fashion, so garment importers have to be demanding customers. But in today’s fast-paced, electronic environment, customer service is often not a top priority for many companies. That is not the case in the partnership between CSI and its logistics partner, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM).

“HMM’s customer service team is responsive and attentive to the movement of our cargo, and they address our concerns immediately,” says Laurie Everill, director of international trade logistics and compliance for CSI.

HMM is an integrated logistics company, operating approximately 160 state-of-the-art vessels. HMM offers a worldwide global service network, diverse logistics facilities, leading IT shipping-related systems, and a professional, highly trained staff. HMM uses its extensive resources to collaborate strategically with global consumers and vendors of ocean transportation and logistics services.

One example of HMM’s “above and beyond” customer service involves a CSI container that was over the legal weight limit. The container was moved off the terminal and had to be transloaded in order to move to Charming Shoppes’ distribution center. Laura and Angela, both members of Hyundai’s customer service team, worked with an in-house trucker to arrange for transload and get the unit delivered to Charming Shoppes’ DC to meet a tight deadline.

“We are grateful to Hyundai’s customer service team for handling this issue, but we also appreciate what they do for us each and every workday,” notes Arlene Arnold, manager of international transportation supply chain management for CSI. “We sincerely appreciate the efforts they extend to us, as well as their continued support.”

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