California Apparel News

Once upon a time, a business needed this new-fangled entity called a website in order to present itself to the world. Fast-forward to the future, and mobile applications for smart phones are steadily becoming the way companies are directly communicating with their audience.

One tech company is placing the development of mobile applications directly in the hands of businesses without the need for an outside programmer or developer.

iSites (www.isites.us) enables companies to create and self-manage their own mobile applications across platforms such as the Apple iPhone and Google Android smart phones.

iSites, launched in January 2010, is the flagship product of Los Altos, Calif.–based GENWI, a mobile application creation and management company.

iSites integrates a company’s website updates, social-network feeds, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed and data into one application.

“Smart phones are the new PCs,” said GENWI co-founder and Chief Executive Officer P.J. Gurumohan. “[With tablet devices, such as the iPad], we’ve reached the point where the gadget must reflect the same user behavior.”

Gurumohan views mobile applications as an extension of a brand and its catalog. “It’s a way to bring together all [content] in a way that makes a compelling rich-media presentation,” Gurumohan said.

iSites’ app service is tailored toward small- to medium-sized businesses. Companies pay a subscription fee of $50 to $100 a month to style the color scheme and customize the content on their mobile applications. Companies can also enable AdMob advertising to earn revenue off their apps.

Companies that have created apps through iSites include London fashion blog The Style Scout and Nashville-based contemporary resale and vintage boutique Goodbuy Girls.

iSites has also worked with Cypress, Calif.–based Vans, a VF Corp. brand, on its Vans Hub mobile application. Vans has developed several applications for the iPhone, but the Vans Hub is the first for Android.

The Vans Hub app features news, blog-post feeds, photo galleries, and videos featuring musical performances by bands and action-sports clips. Users can voice their opinions on products and share information through the app.

“The benefits are simple,” said Nikki Scoggins, Vans’ direct-to-consumer communications manager. “Rather than loading Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter plus news sites for our dozens of sports and lifestyle categories in separate windows on my iPhone, I can easily open them in one app with a couple of clicks to see what’s new. It’s a great tool for the fans.”

Scoggins says the reception to the app has been positive. “We’ve been pleased with the response from our communities for Vans Hub,” Scoggins said. “The daily downloads have remained constant since its launch and [have] not tapered.”—Connie Cho