It is clear that fashion, designers and producers need to rethink textile production if we are to relieve pressures on our planet. It is not for us to contribute to the global textile volume by making new materials whilst perfectly good materials already exist, as leftover inventory. Alexander Taylor

Bag orders:
plan according to the list when to fullfill these orders.

Time table:
break down what can you do each week from week 7 ( Feb 13th) till week 13 ( March 30th) - 6.5weeks!

Tasks to talk about:

NEXT CALL
Perhaps in 2 weeks; Thursday March 2nd, 6pm ? >>> please let me know soon!

This is the first (mid- term presentation ), we don't expect it to be perfect and too "professional ". However it needs to have strong foundation you will build on and can use for future pitching, business plan and external presentation. 

In near future, you will need to develop couple of variations of your presentations: 
for funding, for further applications, for partnerships , ,manufacturers, marketing … the core information like the purpose, design and data must be the same but the rest has to be adjusted according to audience. 

( anything from 30 second elevator pitch to grab industry's attention to detailed business presentation) 

I’d recommend great online programs with templates and variations such www.canva.com  or whatever you are used to ( Keynote/ Slides…) that can be saved online and easily modified for variations.

- go through previous proposal ( for Starting Power +)  to reflect what can you still use, what is still applicable/ relevant and what might have changed or needs to be updated. 

In general,
Think WHAT, HOW and WHY 

1. Title and "strap line” 

2.  Inspiration/ "spark" + Context

3. Existing products / competitors - one page synthesised overview with key information ( like the basic chart template  but make it appealing and easily comprehensible ) 

4. Market positioning  ( example as well) 

5. Data & numbers ; 1-3 pages that are convincing us of the need and purpose  for there product - material impact , environmental issues..etc Try to find strong facts and points why we need your product and what difference/ positive impact it can make.

5. Your design ( explain your journey - where you started and how you are improving and working on new prototypes  ); 1-2 pages 

6. Materials and production + preliminary costing 

7. Vision for the product  - explain how would you ideally like to see your product  presented, positioned

8. Sale strategies  - explain how would you like to sell your product - as a e-commerces only, in concept stores, more collars ...etc. This is particularly helpful for our other colleagues who will be helping you further down the like ( Damon on business, Michel on partnerships ...)
9. Aims & Objectives for next 6 months 

+ also include page on what what you learnt so far since the beginning on the programme , realising the strengths and weakness of the projects ( you) and what you want to achieve! Make it personal and engaging 

* some of these can be re-arranged to create your own flow but it has have a threat, think storytelling to get us on board to believe in your vision! 

new items

New fabrics 

new avenues to test ( workshops) 

 - this is the final price ( RP - retail price ) which include margins. Margins cover all the expenses relating to running the business.

MY ESTIMATION - PLEASE CORRECT/ ADD MISSING INFORMATION TO DO THE COSTING FOR 1 STYLE ( above )
This is why is important to know over and prices numbers on :

Materials - all materials purchased and the quantity; he many bags/ items you can possibly make out of them?
CHF 700  / est. 147m / how much quantity per bag on average ( est.1,2m) ; roughly 125 bags.
Therefore average cost of material per 1 bag =  CHF 5.74

Labour - how much does it take you to make one bag?
Then assume it would be faster for a professional seamstress ( also need info from the factory).
How much is an average wage per hour for seamstress in Switzerland?

Label CHF 6.67
Packaging  - how much for the material and time to make it ?? Estimated CHF 3 ??
Postage - averaged cost between free collection to posting abroad; estimated CHF 2.5 ??

For other costs, let's work with the 125 bags - they can get produced and sold in 10 months :

What's the studio rent for 10 months 
What Arte all other costs for 10months associated with the business and the products ? 
What would be the basic salary for you for 10months ?
- add everything and then divide by 125 bags 
If the price too high , wee need to find other revenue while producing and selling the bags. 
At the same time, you need to raise your prices at least 20% from what there are.

Do this exercise and let me know the findings! 
We can discuss further next time! 


________
Margins in Fashion -  it has been between 2.5 up to 2.9 in luxury and department stores. This is major problem in the conventional and unrealistic  business models in fashion. Business “success” that has been promoted for last 20 + years  has meant constant investments to expand and produce more to eventually lower costs and expand margins …most fashion brands do not make profit for first 10 years! The only major winners is global  fast fashion brands like H&M and Boohoo in terms if making money  and the 2 Luxury groups, LVMH and Kering.

We are in the midst of transition which is confusing for many including retail, at the same time an opportunity for new business to create more realising, leaner and more sensible strategies including pricing and sales. 

This might be of interest: 

 The fashion breakdown seems different than other “products” as it is more complex... Here is an example: 

£120   - cost of there product ( material, labour, labels, packaging, shipping ...) 

X  1.5 -  2    usual margin by the designer/ brand ( mid- range/ independent/ premium ) to cover other expenses such studio rent, e-commerce, wages..

£ 240  - wholesale price by designer /brand sold to retailer  - from this, the brand designer cover all expenses including VAT 

X 2.2 - 2.9 margin by retailer 

£696 -  retail price - what costumer pays 

I believe VAT is always included in RRP. However,  most new brands are exempt of VAT for first couple if years as they don’t pass £85,000 in year 1-3, in UK and most EU countries.

New, more sustainable/ circular brand calculate margins individually per item as the cost is mainly dependent on fabric. To balance the price points, the margins fluctuate ( between 1.2- 2.2 ), this includes carbon offset but not shipping from e-commerce, costumer pays for this. On the other hand,  if they sell wholesale via online store and they do free  shipping.

This article might give some more examples:

If I change anyway the prices:

A noter qu'il y aura 6 sacs gratuit: 4 pour inner light, 1 moi et 1 "influencer". Donc faudrait au moins 6-10 sacs à vendre.

Conditions de ma part: