The story of Alex and Ani began because Carolyn Rafaelian believes that every individual has a (+) positive message to share with the world. By incorporating powerful symbolism into each eco-friendly, American made piece, Alex and Ani provides a vehicle for the wearer to express their individuality. Rafaelian furthermore believes it’s her life’s work to support charities. Through e-commerce and social media, Alex and Ani has been able to sustain its mission, selling deeply meaningful products that, quite literally, change people’s lives. You see, Alex and Ani and the person that wears Alex and Ani are not mutually exclusive; by sharing their #charmedarms, the wearer is telling the story of her mom who survived cancer, her son who was born in August, her love of the home team, how she is a sister and her love of the ocean. During the good times and the bad, we’re there through it all to share in their #pathoflife. And, the gift is, we’re able to do it all through social media.Founded in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian (@carolyn), Alex and Ani (@alexandani) takes tremendous pride in the fact that its products are affordable, eco-friendly and made in America. Built on the hallmarks of peace, love and positivity, every product is created with the intention of making its wearer feel better because they chose to put it on that day. Alex and Ani also spreads #positiveenergy through the heart and soul of the company, Charity by Design. Through this program, 20% of all sales are donated to non-profit organizations helping them reach their goals and enhance the quality of life in communities globally. By promoting awareness about the brand and its mission through social media, Alex and Ani has built a dedicated following of women of all ages. Whether they are seeking the perseverance to change their path of life, the strength to overcome a debilitating illness, or simply want to have #charmedarms, the #positiveenergy has proven to be contagious. We encourage our fans every morning with #motivationnation and listen to stories about why each person wears their Alex and Ani. In the years since joining the social stratosphere, Alex and Ani sales have increased from $1 million/year in 2010 to more than $10 million/year+. In fact, over the last 12 months, we have experienced a 1400% increase in email signups, 757% increase in online revenue and 454% increase in web traffic, including a 25% month-over-month boost since we unveiled our website redesign in January. Following a significant round of funding from private equity firm JH Partners, we entered into Thanksgiving weekend with an aggressive strategy. We shattered our daily e-commerce record with a risk-controlled, site-wide discounting strategy. During the same period, socially-assisted conversions were up more than 300% and email conversions were up more than 500%. By the end of the year, sales neared the eight-figure mark, positioning Alex and Ani for its nomination on the Inc. 500 list as one of the fastest-growing retailers in America. With more than 100,000 likes on Facebook and 100,000 followers on Twitter, both mediums grew nearly 50% in the past year, proving our fans desire to engage. Our goal each day is to address every single customer, whether the interaction is positive or negative because we believe that all fans matter. In the end, our hope is to simply inspire our fans a fraction of what they inspire us and to keep the #positiveenergy flowing.
http://glossi.com/AlexandAni/10418-shorty-awards, https://twitter.com/alexandani, https://twitter.com/carolyn, http://www.facebook.com/alexandaniusa, http://pinterest.com/alexandani/, http://instagram.com/alexandani
