Fashion as a Force for Good with Lisa Pisano, Chief Revenue Officer, Knitwell Group, and Heather Gruccio, EVP/Chief Merchandising Officer, Ann Taylor

May 18
10 mins

Episode Description

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Christine Russo sits down with Lisa Pisano, Chief Revenue Officer at Knitwell Group, and Heather Gruccio, EVP/Chief Merchandising Officer at Ann Taylor, to talk about what a nearly two-decade partnership with nonprofit Delivering Good actually looks like when it's built into the DNA of an organization — not just a line item on a giving report.

Pisano, a Delivering Good board member, traces the relationship back to 2007, when it started with Ann Loft and grew across all of Knitwell's brands. With 20 million customers and 45,000 associates across the portfolio, she makes the case that scale is not just a metric — it's a responsibility.

Gruccio brings the brand perspective. Ann Taylor's Buy a Dress, Give a Dress campaign is now in its tenth year. From June 1st through June 6th, every full-price dress purchased in stores or online triggers a donation of a brand-new dress to Delivering Good. It's tangible, it's timed to the summit, and it gives customers a way to participate in something bigger than a transaction.

Russo pushes the conversation into territory that goes beyond product. The Women of Impact Summit on June 3rd is about community — the kind women are actively craving, and the kind Knitwell and Delivering Good are in a position to build. A Women Behind the Brand panel, a multi-generational conversation led by Pisano's own daughter, and a full day of voices that have something real to say.

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