Rubie’s began in 1951 when Rubin Beige, known by his nickname “Rubie,” returned home from serving in World War II and opened a neighborhood soda shop and novelty store, hoping to make enough money to temporarily support his family. When he eventually realized the masks and costumes were selling better than anything else, he renamed the store “Rubie’s Fun House” and focused on costumes. From its humble beginnings, Rubie’s Costume Company has grown into a thriving, full-blown costume company with more than 3,000 employees, four U.S. factories and offices around the world.
“Rubie’s grew from a small mom-and-pop store to a global enterprise in only a few short years, and we didn’t have the processes to support this rapid expansion,” said Patty Clausen, product management, Rubie’s Costume Company. “Everything was offline, on paper and in folders. We needed a system of record that would support our global growth and give us complete transparency throughout product development. NGC’s PLM has been fantastic in offering us the capabilities we need to optimize our lead times and distribution around the world.”
Rubie’s has rolled out NGC’s PLM in its U.S., UK and Australian offices and is currently onboarding the solution in Asia. The system allows Rubie’s to take advantage of a 24-hour workday by using NGC’s PLM at its offices around the world, in a global, collaborative environment. Employees also benefit from product development calendars to monitor on-time schedules and performance, ensure on-time deliveries and optimize sales and profitability.
“NGC’s PLM is designed to keep all departments on the same page in real time, so it’s easier than ever for apparel brands and retailers like Rubie’s to streamline product development and make better decisions,” said Mark Burstein, president, NGC. “With our product lifecycle management solution, Rubie’s can avoid supply chain nightmares and instead focus on offering the best costumes in the world.”
