Behind a great (but modest) Israeli success in the field of fashion, stands a young man who went on a trip after the army and returned with fashionable news for Israeli women. From identifying a solution in the field of underwear, he founded a fashion company that does not embarrass the activity of the giants in the field when it all started from the desire to bring the existing abundance to Israeli awareness in 1998, while traveling with a friend in Brazil, Uri Raiz (47) recognized the potential for success of the transparent silicone suspenders in the field of clothing the bottom and brought them to Israel.
The demand, popularity and success of the solution for bra straps for many women led him to become interested in the entire field of fashion, "There was a feeling that fashion in Israel is poor, that the abundance that is found abroad should also reach Israeli awareness", is how Rais explains his desire to enter the field.
Over the years, in parallel with his academic studies, he began to look for well-known and successful brands in different parts of the world, brands with content, which do not only offer beautiful, updated and trendy items, but also have a story.
Raiz summarizes the strategy that underpins the company: "I look for brands that I can be excited about, I have to fall in love and connect with the story of the company, the people who stand behind it and the message they transmit. To find unique brands, bring them to Israeli awareness and make them a success, patience and patience are required, but That's part of the magic." After years of wandering between the worlds of academia and international fashion, in 2001, Raiz founded, together with his friend Gidi Federman, the 911 Group, which operated in the first years as a wholesale showroom for shoe brands and today, 23 years after its founding, it imports over 85 fashion and lifestyle brands, Operates approximately 30 fully owned physical stores and additional stores operated by franchisees, sells wholesale to thousands of points of sale nationwide, operates local trade websites and employs over 300 employees.
In 2008, the first store of the STORY chain was opened on Shenkin Street in Tel Aviv and it brings together dozens of brands imported by the group. The vision was to establish a chain of multi-brand stores that would offer a variety of fashionable brands that we had not yet met and would present the story behind them. These days, the STORY chain in Israel operates 14 stores, 6 outlets and an e-commerce site that is considered a leader in its field.
In addition to the STORY chain stores, the 911 group operates mono stores of popular brands such as ALO YOGA, ALLSAINTS and the successful Dutch brand SCOTCH & SODA, which are very successful among a wide local audience that loves fashion. In November 2022, the first mono store for the ALLSAINTS brand was opened in Israel and another one is planned to open during 2024.
The chain's biggest leap can be attributed to the considered franchise it received for the successful international active brand ALO YOGA in Israel, which it announced in January 2023 and since then it operates 3 stores of the brand in Tel Aviv, a local online site and two more stores that are scheduled to open this year. In 2022, the Green Lantern Foundation entered the 911 Fashion Group as an additional partner in order to invest in the company and continue its growth trend with new brands and the import of new mono chains.
As early as 2024, a mono store of the Californian surfing brand Hurley, which is part of the fashion giant Nike, will open and will also sell in the STORY network. The new partner enables accelerated growth for the network, which promises massive activity in the coming years. "We are going to double our entire activity since 2001 in a few years," says Raiz, CEO of 911 Fashion and co-owner. This summer, three new brands will enter the Italian brand Elless, the surf brand Hurley and the New York swimwear brand Solid & Striped."
In the course of time, the fashion chain STORY regretted also promoting sustainability and conscientious consumption, long before these concepts became a coin that was used to "green wash" fashion and consumer brands. "Our audience is aware and mature" he says. "I know people come and ask about brands: who is behind them, is it fair trade, how are the production workers paid and are the materials from which the item is made environmentally friendly, etc." Every year the STORY chain transforms the wasteful consumer custom of "Black Friday" into "Green Friday" to promote responsible and thoughtful consumerism, and transfers part of the profits to associations such as "Adam Teva and Din" and "Let Live Live".
In recent years, thanks to the chain's many brands Such as: Veja shoes, Melissa, Nudie jeans, Palladium shoes, Rains and more, which meet international standards of sustainability and preservation of the planet, it received the standard mark of Vegan Friendly Israel - the first Israeli fashion chain to receive the mark. And in matters of sustainability and the environment About two years ago, the STORY chain made history with the opening of a second-hand department of a retail chain called Second Story in the chain's store in Dizengoff Square.
All items are collected and curated by the chain's staff and you can find used and vintage fashion items for women and men. The concept of "buying and doing good for the planet" is quickly becoming a favorite and popular among customers with environmental awareness. "This move is an integral part of our trend to strengthen responsibility Ours as a fashion company to be at the forefront of sustainability and environmental issues, in addition to the overall mission of representing conscious and valuable fashion.
Selling clothes that already exist in the world, after taking care of them, is the most refined configuration of sustainability, and we recognize a demand for it. We worked thoroughly and over time to build a system that would allow such activity within the network. We are proud to be the first network in Israel to lead the agenda and hope to expand it over time," added Reise.
Along with brands that come from abroad, the STORY network also operates in the local fashion scene while supporting Israeli fashion brands, together with the Conciliation Plant it operates the "Fashion Lottery Incubator" program, a project to promote young designers in Israel.
Another community project is HERSTORY, which is shared with the "College" association, which works to create opportunities for women who are in situations of prostitution and violence, through the provision of professional training and occupational guidance in a variety of fields. As part of the project, a mini-collection was born with 8 T-shirts, hats and bags, with powerful sentences of feminist, activist and groundbreaking women in history, as a tribute to the way they changed the world.
The T-shirts will be sold on the website and in the chain stores and all profits will be transferred to benefit the association's activities. The network's most exciting project, "Border Story", was born after the October Shabbat in collaboration with designers from the Ofat area who were there that Shabbat and rallied to design a t-shirt that would express their lives before and after - and the result is one of the most exciting and painful t-shirt series seen in Israeli fashion since and never
Behind every brand - a story
Veja - a French brand established in 2005 from the vision of two young entrepreneurs to contribute to social responsibility in the field of fashion. In 2018, Duchess Meghan Markle wears their V-10 sneakers made from recycled bottles combined with organic cotton and wild rubber from the Amazon forests and they become the most desired sneakers in the world. The company waives advertising expenses, so it manages to produce a quality product that preserves sustainability values and fair trade at reasonable prices. Today, alongside the iconic model, you can also find a vegan line, which makes the brand popular among communities looking for the added value of environmentally conscious consumption.
PALLADIUM - The company was founded in 1920 in France as an aircraft tire manufacturing plant. After the Second World War the demand for tires decreased significantly and it was decided to make an innovative use of the raw materials canvas and rubber.
In 1947, the famous Pampa model was born, whose comfort and durability stood up to harsh field conditions and caused the French army to recruit it into its ranks. The popularity crossed continents and brought more waves of success in the 70s and 90s. In recent years, Palladium has had a successful comeback, after the brand was purchased by a Dutch entrepreneur who brought the color back to life.
NUDIE JEANS - The young brand Nudie Jeans was born in 2001 in Sweden by jeans lovers for jeans lovers. While holding a non-conformist worldview and values in the areas of environmental quality and human rights, the brand presents every season collections for women and men, alongside clothes made of organic materials using environmentally friendly techniques. The raw material from which the jeans are made carries the unattainable quality of aging gracefully, which requires wearing as much as possible and washing as little as possible.
Melissa - The Melissa brand was established in 1979 as a factory for the production of plastic covers for wine bottles. Melissa shoes are made of recycled rubber and are characterized by a functional design and a featherweight. They are washable and even equipped with a breathable and fragrant pad to prevent sweating. Melissa are world pioneers in the field of collaborations with top designers, and already in 1983 they launched the first one with Jean Paul Gaultier who gave Melissa shoes his own interpretation. Since then joint collections have been made with leading designers in the world including: Vivienne Westwood, Karim Rashid, Zaha Hadid, Jason Wu, Gareth Pugh and Karl Lagerfeld.
SCOTCH & SODA - The Dutch brand began its activities in the 1980s in Amsterdam, and carries an image of quality and style, accompanied by a devout following, in Israel and abroad. The brand has over 200 mono-brand stores in 35 countries, among them the most valuable and respected fashion and department stores in the world that sell the variety of collections, clothing and accessories, for men, women and children. The brand promotes a social and environmental agenda using sustainable raw materials, reducing by-products in production and full transparency regarding fair trade.
In addition to the stores operated by the 911 Group in Tel Aviv, the collections are also sold on the website and in stores STORY network.
ALLSAINTS - a British fashion retail chain that has existed since 1994, sells men's, women's clothing, footwear and accessories in approximately 280 stores and employs 2,400 people across 27 different countries. The brand upholds important values such as fair trade and preserving the quality of the environment in the production processes and purchasing one of the brand's items is a support for the initiative of the BCI farmers who take care of the environment and respect the rights of workers. Today in Israel, there is one Ulcients mono store operating in the Azrieli Mall in Sharona and another store will soon be opened. In addition, the Ulcients collections can be obtained at STORY chain stores
ALO YOGA - a premium lifestyle brand that has set its sights on promoting yoga in the world, spreading the mindfulness movement, inspiring wellness and developing community. Since it was founded, it has been at the forefront of the activewear category thanks to its innovative designs and recognizable fabrics. The brand is environmentally friendly, operates in green factories and protects workers' rights, while presenting fashion that goes from the studio to the street, a combination of fashion and lifestyle that starts with the mattress and moves on, to the other areas of life.
The brand began its journey in Los Angeles in 2007 with the common goal of the founders to spread goodness by spreading yoga to the world. It is considered one of the sports fashion brands that recorded the greatest growth, and is popular among celebrities and influencers such as Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner , Hailey Baldwin, Selena Gomez and others and is one of the most active fashion brands on the social network.
