Specialty apparel retailer heads list of 10 ‘most innovative’ companies in retail
Fast Company has revealed its 2025 lineup of the 10 “most innovative” companies in retail and only one legacy retailer made the list.
Here is a look at the companies, with commentary by Fast Company. (Click here for the full story.)
1. J. Crew Group: For reviving a heritage brand by marrying cutting-edge tech with old-school marketing.
(The apparel retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, executed a remarkable turnaround in 2024, attracting new customers by leaning into its heritage and embracing new technology that makes online shopping a social experience. Its efforts resulted in an estimated $3 billion in sales in 2024, a record high for the retailer.)
2. Coupong: For unlocking the logistics for shopping groceries and luxury clothes alike.
(The company combines a one-stop e-commerce shop (Coupang) with a grocery delivery service (RocketFresh), video streaming (CoupongPlay), membership program (Wow) and more with free delivery benefits. It entered luxury retail last year with the purchase of British luxury e-commerce company Farfetch.)
3. Ikea: For launching a secondhand platform to keep consumers in its ecostream.
(Customers can buy and sell their secondhand furniture on Ikea’s peer-to-peer marketplace, Ikea Preowned, which it launched in August 2024. After a customer uploads pictures of their product to the Preowned marketplace and sets a price, Ikea uses an AI-enabled database to generate more promotional images and measurements. When an item is purchased, the seller chooses between receiving money or a store voucher with a 15% bonus.)
4. Pandora: For spinning recycled gold and silver into new jewelry.
(In January 2024, the company announced it was revising its entire supply chain so as only to use recycled precious metals, which can be reused indefinitely without losing value. Although sourcing recycled metal is more expensive than mining it, Pandora hasn’t raised its prices, crediting its vertically integrated supply chain.)
5. Fast Retailing: For introducing micro-fashion trends to Gen Z Americans.
(The parent company of Uniqlo introduced its youth-focused Gu brand to the U.S. with a flagship in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. GU taps into Gen Z culture by highlighting innovative microtrends popular with younger consumers, similar to fast-fashion site Shein, but selecting only a few microtrends to focus on each season.)
6. Swap: For helping DTC brands send products to customers around the globe.
(The London-based company provides an operating system that consolidates logistics into a single suite of tools to manage e-commerce operations, offering its DTC customers the ability to ship packages, track them in real time, manage cross-border logistics and more. It also helps the brands navigate the complexities of international shipping.)
7. Crisp: For cutting waste by forecasting demand for consumer packaged goods.
(The New York-based firm consolidates data and analytics on inventory, sales and returns from more than 40 grocery retailers and distributors, including Amazon, Target, Walgreens, Ulta and Whole Foods, into an easily digestible digital report, with clients that include Hormel, Mars, Kraft and more. In 2024, Crisp completed its biggest integration yet, with Walmart’s Luminate reporting platform, now called Scintilla, with the integration letting Walmart access details on what’s selling online and how it’s being delivered.)
8. Amazon: For creating an assistant to help shoppers navigate its offerings.
(Amazon’s AI-powered conversational shopping assistant Rufus seamlessly synthesizes information from a range of sources, including customer reviews and relevant stores, to answer consumers’ queries.)
9. Perfect Corp.: For letting customers try makeup and skincare virtually.
(The company’s augmented reality assistant helps makeup and skincare brands as well as retailers create virtual try-on experiences for their customers. Perfect Corp.’s tools integrate directly onto its clients’ websites, allowing consumers to virtually test cosmetics, nail colors, hairstyles, and accessories before purchase.)
10. Constructor: For pointing shoppers toward what they need — even when they’re not sure.
(The company AI shopping assistant, deployed by major global e-commerce sites, can answer complex, hyperspecific questions, using location data and other information to generate a tailored, shoppable packing list. If the shopper is a repeat customer, the technology will also factor in their purchase history and preferences.)
Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company's “Most Innovative Companies,” 606 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture, here.
