3294. How to succeed globally in the fashion business

Apr 15, 2019

FIRST DRAFT

An essay on how to succeed globally in the fashion business using Aijek and other companies as case studies.

Contents


1.  PRODUCT 

2.  A UNIQUE SELLING POINT - the DNA of the designer


3.  GLOBAL BUYERS

4.  MANAGEMENT
4.1 QUALITY CONTROL
4.2 LARGE QUANTITY OF ORDERS
4.3 FACTORY SELLING "EXCESS" STOCKS
4.4 RESEARCH
4.5 FAKES
4.6 DEADLINE PENALTIES
4.7 EMPLOYEES' WORK ETHICS

5.  NO WORK-LIFE BALANCE

6. GOVERNMENT/ASSOCIATION HELP FOR START-UP
. 
7. SUSTAINABILITY

8. REFERENCES


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1.  PRODUCT.  A product that is desired by many global customers. Aijek offers high quality work, occasion and bridal wear that is affordable but not as cheap as the mass-market.

Do not make a product that does not have a wide audience as sales will be little. However, I think that high end luxury products have a niche market globally if it is well designed and unique.     

2.  A UNIQUE SELLING POINT - the Brand DNA (Brand Signature).

Aijek makes affordable, easy to wear, high quality classic designs that will not go out of fashion.  Prices range from $159 for an off-shoulder cropped top to $479 for a pleated jacquard maxi dress. Bridal pieces from $279 for a short lace cress to $549 for a full-lace wedding gown.

(Singapore wedding gowns can cost over $3,000 but there are Singapore brides who can afford to buy them!).


For example:

2.1  Kate Spade in 2019. Creative director, Nicola Glass' vision is a grown-up and polished quirkiness. Kate Spade had sold her business a decade ago. She died in 2018. Sales surged 31% in the 2018's fourth-quarter sales.

2.2  Alexander McQueen died in 2010. Now the DNA is modern classic with the new designer, having been avant-garde under McQueen.

2.3  Lanvin is the oldest French couture house in continuous operation. Jeanne Lanvin, the founder did not create a signature like Coco Chanel's tweed jacket or Christian Dior's bar silhouette. It fired Alber Elbaz in 2015 and new designers have never been able to grow the business. 

Be open to feedback but do not stray from your original intention to create your fashion label. Keep up with trends and times. Keep evolving your product as a woman cannot be just buying black dresses for her wardrobe. Make product in a different material or change the product line-up.  You have to figure this out yourself.

Brand Signature for Aijek - Timeless designs which are trans-seasonal. Aijek's brand signature is in its customised lace such as customised colour combination and fabric prints designed by Danelle Woo.

 Brand DNA (Signature Style) - What is lacking for designers today is their DNA - their signature style. Without DNA, no one is going to give you a place to show your work.


3.  GLOBAL BUYERS

3.1 Must attend major trade fairs when you are ready for export orders which could be over $100,000s.

Aijek started in 2009. It sells to major department stores in the United States like Bloomingdale's, Barneys New York and Newman Marcus. It entered the US market in 2013. First sold in multi-label boutiques, then department stores in the US. Sales have been at least doubling year on year.

3.2 Sales in over 30 cities worldwide. Sales are in Hong Kong, mainland China and the Middle East.
3.3 E-commerce sites like Revolve, Asos, Shopbop, Taobao
3.4 Fashion Rental Platforms like Style Theory and Rent the Runway.
3.5 Clothing retailer like US Anthropologie, making exclusive products for it. See Point No. 4.3

4.  MANAGEMENT

4.1 QUALITY CONTROL. She hired her own in-house quality control team. How she did this?
Probably hired a trusted competent manager to be inside the overseas factory and she had to be there at times to check and monitor. Hence lots of overseas travelling for the founder. This key person may resign and the team may not work as one as office politics is very common.  

4.2 LARGE QUANTITY OF ORDERS. No problem for Aijek.  Smaller fashion designers need to place large orders with the mainland China factories and face language barriers in the old days. Nowadays, many mainland China factories do have English-speaking staff.

4.3 FACTORY SELLING "EXCESS" STOCKS. Happened to find her silk-linen jumpsuit designed for U.S clothing retailer Anthropologie exclusively sold in Taobao and a store in Hong Kong. This is a very common finding for other fashion and non-fashion labels. The "excess" stock like LV handbag is cheaper if you have contacts. 
 
4.4 RESEARCH. Worked very hard and experimented with the dye process for the delicate nature of the silk-linen in the production department of China factory. The "excess" stock was discovered to be sold by somebody.  Cannot trust any outsourced factory in any country.


4.5 FAKES. Article did not mention about the fakes. 

4.6 DEADLINE PENALTIES. No mention.

4.7 EMPLOYEES' WORK ETHICS. Aijek's founder has no factory of her own. The mainland China factory will usually have priority to complete the job rather than do quality control. She received wrongly stitched clothes at one time. This is a common problem with out-sourcing.
 
5.  NO WORK-LIFE BALANCE - No time for family.  Overseas travelling (a week to months working in the US or China; young children and spouse used to absence) for the past decade.

6. GOVERNMENT/ASSOCIATION HELP FOR START-UP

 6.1  Business model.  A business model is very important for start-ups. Consider how your item will be sold. Use technology creatively to sell your product (Facebook, e-commerce etc). Not every designer is an entreprenuer. You may need to focus on design and have a business partner. There is usually problems with partners (greed, dishonesty, poor work ethics).

6.2  The Bridge Fashion Incubator is from the Textile and Fashion Federation. It aims to help fashion start-ups bridge the gaps among fashion, technology and sustainability.


6.3  Singapore's Textile and Fashion Federation helped Aijek to rent a booth in 2013 at the prestigious Coterie trade show in New York. With exposure, popular e-commerce Revolve carried 5 of her designs but in 2019 sells 30 of her designs.


7. SUSTAINABILITY.
Designer and founder Danelle Woo started Aijek in 2009 with 30 designs sold in Shanghai and Singapore with $10,000. Has been profitable yearly for the past decade. 2018's revenue is over $3 million.

I am surprised that she said that it is easier to find the right husband than the right buyer. She wanted the buyer with the same vision. She will close the business in July 2019 and may revive later. I guess she does not want to damage the reputation of her fashion label by selling to others without the same vision. Kate Spade (eponymous New York Fashion Label) sold her business 10 years ago. I think Ann Klein sold her business too.


CONCLUSION

1.  An entrepreneur has to sacrifice work-life balance to be globally successful. Some Singapore fashion designers focus on the local clients and do relatively well as clients' progeny support them. Some work from home as office rental is very high. Some have boutiques in Orchard Road.

2.  Production and manufacturing difficulties if you don't have your own factory.
Singapore fashion designers say production is a common problem. Competition with mass-market labels that sell cheap.  

3.  The entrepreneur must be able to manage his or her factory very well. Poaching of experienced staff. Dishonest staff. Lazy staff.  Share options for all staff?

4. The designer cannot be hands-on in every aspect of her business as she has to plan her business model. She gets burnt out.

5. Keep scalability in mind. Aijek founder said that when you go for trade shows, you have to be able to deliver very large orders in a short period of time. You have to be export-ready.

Reference:
Straits Times Mar 22, 2019.  Life. D1-3.