One more post about my kickstarter campaign... I have begun a fund raising campaign for my Walthamstow based clothing company, Phannatiq, in order to secure garment orders in advance of manufacture, so that I can meet factory minimum order numbers. Over the last 4 years of running Phannatiq, the most enduring hurdle has been that accepting many small orders from independent shops means I cant commit to larger scale garment production, and therefore am charged significantly more per item. I have given great thought to the past and future viability of Phannatiq as a long term business interest, and concluded that I need to lower my prices to match the expectations of my customers. Phannatiqs clothing is produced in line with my own strong views on fair working conditions, pay and an environmental conscience. This has lead me to shun the poor standards of manufactures in the Far East and India, and instead build relationships with factories within Europe, where I can better guarantee these conditions and rights. There has been a huge cost implication to this decision, resulting in prices that sit unnaturally above my competitors, whilst Phannatiq makes a smaller margin still, to absorb the difference. I have developed a viable business plan for developing my company through lower prices, but it means reaching out to previous customers, those in the media who have long enjoyed and featured Phannatiq, as well as swathes of potential new customers. My challenge is to demonstrate to them that I can deliver the same standard of clothing quality and ethics whilst matching the prices of my nearest competitors. For this I have chosen a website named Kickstarter, which has a successful history of raising capital from individuals in the form of pledges, in return for rewards from the brand. In reality, this amounts to pre-ordering from a range of Phannatiqs clothing, with a view that in the first instance, I can break the cycle of small and expensive factory orders, with larger guaranteed sales numbers, and therefore deliver more realistic prices. In the future, the extra stock that I can purchase with this campaign capital, and the business marketing I can afford to deploy, will position me as a much stronger contender within the industry. The pledges range from small badges, made from Phannatiqs scrap fabrics, to glamorous Harris Tweed dresses and coats, and include some of the most popular items from my recent London Fashion Week collections. I have set a target to reach of £30,000 by 16th July. At this figure, I believe my business can become viable into the future, but the rules of the campaign mean should I fall short of this target, then no money at all will be received, and no individual will be charged. Even if its not something for you, it could be someones Christmas present and the smallest pledge is still a massive help! The twist is that if I dont reach my target by July 16th I dont get anything at all regardless of how many people have pledged. So even if you cant pledge or dont want anything it would be amazing if youd share it around. This can be via email/Facebook/twitter/texting anything at all is greatly appreciated https://kickstarter/projects/phannatiq/atiq Thank you in advance for your consideration Anna xxx
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 19:10:27 +0000
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