Almagul Kassymova

Astana, 2013

Description of the product

Production process

Strengths and weaknesses of the product

Choice of products for international marketing

Target market

Distribution channels

Commercial strategies

Future development opportunities

Sources: www.ayabapani.com

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T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s a n d s o u r c e s

D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p r o d u c t

Aya Bapani produces high quality clothing primarily made

out of felt. Felt is a hand-made fabric, which is produced from sheep wool. The designer has developed her own unique technology for producing felt clothing so that it does not shrink after washing, give away color or tear easily. Aya creates prêt-à-porter de luxe collections, which can include smaller pieces, like jackets and skirts, as well as such complex designs as dresses and coats. She also provides custom tailoring. Currently, her products are priced between $1,000 and

$3,000 per piece.

The wool used to create the designs is imported from

Australia. There are some local producers of wool; however, Aya explains that the local product is not clean and soft enough in order to be able to make pieces of the desired quality. The process of making a simpler piece of clothing, such as a jacket, a skirt, a coat or a short dress takes from 1

week up to 2 weeks. Creating evening gowns, can take as long as 1 month. The technological process of pressing felt is quite complex, so even if additional labor is used, it still requires close supervision by Aya herself. Current available facilities include a workshop and a show room in Almaty city.

P r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s

S t r e n g t h s a n d w e a k n e s s e s o f t h e p r o d u c t

Strengths Strong product identity makes her brand easy to remember Unique technology makes it hard to replicate her designs allowing for high exclusivity High quality of products Exclusivity of the product and its high value added allows for high gross margins on the products

Weaknesses High cost of production due to long production lead time and labor intensive production process lead to a High risk associated with supply of wool from Australia Limited choice of distribution channels due to low production volumes

C h o i c e o f p r o d u c t s f o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l m a r k e t i n g

Outerwear would represent a higher value added as a prêt-à-porter de luxe product. The lead time for producing coats and jackets is relatively short less varied design forms would allow Aya to teach others to produce them. Accessories would allow for the highest profit margin, also requiring less time and materials for production. Felt could be combined with other materials like leather to increase the appeal in terms of quality and robustness of the product. Custom tailoring for up-scale customers would not only help to increase the margin even further, but would also be a great marketing tool for Aya’s retail products. Since some complex pieces need more time to be produced, and therefore, have a lower profit margin, it would be too risky to produce complex pieces in advance for ready-to-wear sales.

T a r g e t m a r k e t s

The primary target market in terms of geography would

be Europe and CIS countries due to their higher proximity and climatic diversity, which makes outerwear a more relevant product.

Individual customers Wealthy fashion-conscious women, who shop at luxury goods stores for outerwear and accessories. Public figures, who are looking to emphasize their unique style and image through custom tailored designs.

Public organizations Theatres, opera and ballet companies, movie production companies.

D i s t r i b u t i o n c h a n n e l s

Luxury retail networks Distributing Aya’s outerwear and accessories through up-scale retail chains would be the most cost effective strategy, eliminating the need to incur high overhead costs for maintaining her own shops.

Air-freight transportation and workshops For the custom tailored products, the main distribution channel would be air-freight transportation. She could use her existing workshop , as well as set up a couple more workshops, for example, in Moscow and/or Milan, to make it easier for her customers to place orders and come for measurements and fittings.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n s t r a t e g y

In order to position her brand as a luxury brand,

Aya should market to a very limited auditory. European Fashion week participation is the classic choice for a communication strategy for any brand, where she could target only the designated customers. Advertising her products by donating/renting her

pieces to public figures, who would be willing to wear them to largely-attended ceremonies, would be a great positioning strategy for her custom tailoring services. A professionally enhanced official website

AyaBapani.com would make her work known to the wide audience, but would not serve as a distribution channel on the initial stages.

F u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s

Diversification of production Eventually, having established a strong brand, it would be possible for Aya Bapani to explore lower-scale markets by creating pieces, which require less hand work, but will still include her signature prints and some felt elements in them.

Brand identity Despite the possible growth of demand for Aya’s ready-to-wear luxury product lines, it is crucial that she maintain a high focus on her custom tailoring services, since this is and always would be her highest paying off investment not only in financial terms, but also in terms of brand image and further business opportunities.