Online clothier to create up to 980 jobs in Plainfield

Stitch Fix Inc., a fast-growing and publicly traded firm that uses artificial intelligence to help online shoppers assemble personalized wardrobes, plans to hire as many as 980 workers for new warehousing operations in the Plainfield area.

According to a tax incentive agreement signed by state officials in January, Stitch Fix intends to invest $19.1 million for e-commerce fulfillment operations in leased space at 1551 Opus Drive and 3124 E. Plainfield Road.

The firm said it expects to create as many as 980 jobs in Plainfield by the end of 2026. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has pledged $8 million in tax credits to Stitch Fix, based on its hiring plans. The credits are conditional, meaning they cannot be claimed by the company until jobs are filled.

San Francisco-based Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 and went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2017. It has more than 8,000 employees in the United States and United Kingdom and 3.8 million active clients, according to its website.

Originally focused on women’s clothes, Stitch Fix added men’s items in 2016 and children’s fashions in 2018. It uses data science and the human instincts of company stylists to personalize the online clothes shopping experience, drawing from more than 1,000 fashion brands.

“Algorithms are core to Stitch Fix and they are used in every aspect of the business from operations, styling, inventory management, allocation, to client and stylist matching,” according to the company’s website.

Between 2011 and 2019, the company opened warehouses in San Francisco; Dallas; Phoenix; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and Atlanta.

StitchFix has had operations in Plainfield since 2014, but they were handled by a third-party provider. Now it’s bringing them in-house.

“We are excited to be taking our Indiana-based operations in-house and expanding our presence in the state, as we continue to grow our business and deliver an excellent end-to-end experience for our clients,” said Minesh Shah, chief operations officer for Stitch Fix.

“We’ve enjoyed a positive and productive relationship with the city of Plainfield and the state of Indiana since first establishing the state as an operations base in 2014 and look forward to welcoming more associates to Stitch Fix in the coming years,” Shah said.