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The Details
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philosophy It was a story about pride and heritage; a strong bond amongst society that was whispered through tales and talks. Render the experience, take it out of context and create an unexpected future filled with oddity. Decode is about the blurring borders between what is reality and fiction. There is always more than one side to a story. We let our consumers
question the definition of truth and its norm, guiding them into a new layer of reality, surreal yet honest.
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core values
Evolving Narrative Decode represents itself as open to interpretation. There is no set definition of what we create yet always a given idea of where it might have evolved from.
Oddity We possess the ability of new translations in which we take reality out of context and force the truth to appear as something surreal.
Surreal Truth What we do is filled with peculiarity; unsettling at first glance yet triggering a deep curiosity, pulling one into a world of imagination.
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expressive values
Ambiguity Surrealism Eeriness We want to communicate with our public through the use of ambiguous visuals and garments, each having more than one function and meaning. Furthermore, Decode uses memorable methods of communication, which trigger the public’s mind and imagination, resulting in an eerie look and feel due to the uncertainty of the context the brand’s imagery is placed in.
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functional values
Unexpected Inventive Eccentric Decode wants to incorporate many aspects to its garments; however, all are defined by three main standards. Our collection merges surprising elements with the common, taking the norm out of context and inserting them into a new ambience. Using inventive details and considering each characteristic of a garment, we change the function of each piece, creating a new use for them. Furthermore, our eccentric and daring look will be portrayed through the use of unexpectedly odd and high quality fabrics through the use of knitting and
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target group
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The laid back Xenophile The laid back Xenophile is a true explorer who does not believe in just one purpose of life. Therefore, he appreciates variety not only around him but also inside himself. Through these beliefs, he likes to challenge himself into various directions. With a distinctive eagerness for knowledge, he carries a broad interest into culture of the past as well as of the present. With the opinion that everyone has to create their own life, he avoids boredom of any kind and allows himself the freedom to choose a new direction for himself everyday, which triggers his curiosity and passions. Residing in the upcoming trendy areas of metropolitan cities, his broad interests and thirst for the unknown him constantly on the go. The laid back Xenophile style represents his casual, free-spirited and open-minded attitude. He has enough funds to allow himself high quality, and exclusive products and designs. His wardrobe consists of a small number of unique and basic garments, which he combines creating various looks each day. He enjoys discovering such garments in stores with unique brand identities. Decode stimulates the laid back Xenophile through means of unconventional advertising. We want to reach out to him by using thought-provoking advertising methods in the form of guerrilla marketing and product collaborations, which will be further described in the appropriate issue of Decode magazine. These methods will uphold and develop our intended strong identity and implement the aspired individual thinking and idealist mind-set of our target group. 18
ambition Decode’s aspiration is to adapt new interpretations to life. We want to
inspire our clientele to pursue an inventive truth and illusive reality. We aspire to create a strong bond between our brand and its customers which lives through its shared values and life philosophy. We want to establish ourselves as a brand that stands for individual
mindsets, driven by curiosity for the unconventional, knowledge about the past and excitement for the future. We look forward to new opportunities, changes and differences between points of view, perceptions and admittance about a non-existing single
truth. Decode seeks to become a brand synonymous to evolvement, reviving phantasy and variety.
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The Business Plan 1
executive summary 2020 is ready for a new story. A story about the recreation of a truth with an odd twist. One that is adaptive and continuous, and therefore contemporary. With Decode, we are launching a brand that satisfies the customers’ desire for a tale of style and success with a quirky aftertaste. Decode’s essence is the evolving narratives’ faded credibility resulting in a surreal truth. Co-creation is integrated in everything we do, from our brand philosophy to the contact with our customers. The garments that result from this experimental way of working are clean in their shape with interesting details. Our materials are 100% natural and will be recycled or up cycled. Our brand aims to develop a complete lifestyle for our public that goes beyond the lines of fashion. We create the Decode Magazine, using the paper made by our up cycled cellulosic fabrics. Decode Magazine is an independent magazine bridging the gap between literatures, photography and stories within fashion and presents our lookbooks to our readers. In 2020, we will launch our business as a shop-in-shop at Dover Street Market, London. We chose this location for its reputation as a perfect networking and creativity pool, where fashion becomes fascinating. Furthermore, our brand addresses a specific tribe: the laid back Xenophile. Our clientele leads a flexible life; he is eager to learn and has affection for the unknown. He appreciates a laid back yet daring lifestyle, which is portrayed in his interests as well as in his shopping behaviour. 2020 is the perfect point in time to launch our business because of the encouraging and beneficial market situation. During the financial crisis, luxurious brands – against all odds – experienced a growth, so this shows that providing a qualitative product with a luxurious touch to it is a safe investment. As we have raised an amount of €10.000 through our own savings and private investors, our company requires a bank loan of €27.696, which will help us start-up our company. Our business will reach the break-even and start making profit at the end of the third financial year, in December 2022. 43
USP & C2C USP Unique Selling Point Sharing and co-creating. The beautifully odd and Cradle2Cradle designs each tell their own tale and contribute to our continuously evolving story by being transformed into paper to create a high quality lifestyle magazine, the Decode Magazine.
Cradle to Cradle Garment
Decode Magazine
Consumer‌
Up cycling of garments into paper Shop
Re-using embellishments & wool for future collections
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The Garments Decode offers menswear garments that are produced in an environmental friendly way. Our products will be partly up cycled into our own magazine, the Decode Magazine, and partly reused in future collections. Up cycling is becoming increasingly popular among individuals or groups concerned about climate change. Recycling is great, but up cycling is an even greener way of recycling, finding a new purpose for unwanted items and waste. The customer plays an important role in returning the garments to our shop. When our customers are buying our products, our sales personnel in the Dover street market shop-in-shop will take an active role in informing them about our up cycling process. Moreover, in each garment, a tag can be found with our brand philosophy. This will feature the cycle from the garments to the Decode Magazine and to the materials recycled and re-used in the collections. In this way, our customers will be aware of our Cradle to Cradle principles. Thus, they will be triggered to bring back the worn-out garments to our store, leading to an active contribution to our philosophy. By returning the garments to our store, our customers receive the chance to buy our limited edition pieces. Methods Our garments are made from protein and cellulosic fibres. The cellulosic fibres, namely organic cotton, Tencel and linen will be up cycled into paper. The woolen parts of our garments, and all the embellishments (buttons, hook & eye) will be re-used and re-assembled into future garments. The cellulosic materials will first be cut into pieces and then put into a beater with water. After this, the pulp is transferred into a tub and extracted by a mould. In the next step the paper is pressed with heavy weights and subsequently dried in a drying box. No chemicals are used throughout this process. It is applicable to all plant materials. The Magazine As previously mentioned, we will use the paper internally for our magazine, which will be available in our shop-in-shop at Dover Street Market. The paper will be brought to our publishing, House Levelprint Ltd in order to create the magazine. Levelprint Ltd is an independent publishing house based in London and is mostly famous for its collaboration with the I-D Magazine.
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Decode Magazine is an independent and high quality magazine bridging the gap between literatures, photography and stories within fashion. The Magazine is conceived to highlight our storytelling inspiration by presenting the look books to our readers. All the magazines will be built up on each other, which underlines our continuously evolving story. This makes it a product to collect, to keep and to cherish. Social Responsibility As a brand, it is our ethical duty to create and maintain a safe environment for our society. The following guidelines embody our brand philosophy and our attitude towards social responsibility. Safe Products Decode will not use materials that can harm people or nature. Instead, we will use natural fibres that will be part of the C2C cycle. Moreover, the brand will only work with natural dyestuff. By using natural fabrics and dyestuff, we eliminate the harmful chemicals’ consequences on our society. These natural fabrics and dyestuff will not be harmful to nature, because they are made from biological nutrients that can be reused by nature at the end of their life cycle. Helping the Community Decode will invest in spreading the sustainability principles. We believe that by educating society about sustainability we will create a safer future. Decode will give lectures at schools and at businesses on how to be “green”. By fully understanding the Cradle2Cradle concept, they will be able to transform their brand into a fully sustainable business. Employees We have guidelines that will protect the rights of our employees. Every employee is entitled to holidays, which is four times the number of days work per week. Decode will also respect and honor our employees’ balance between their work and family. Our employees, regardless of sex, race or religion, will not be discriminated. They will receive equal payment and will solely be assessed by their work. The employees will also receive training from the company to improve their skills and their efficiency at work. Decode will also apply a safe environment where our employees can use their passion, creativity and skills to help create our products. 46
marketing
Direct competitor analysis
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Vivienne Westwood
Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
The House was created in 1971 by Vivienne Westwood. Her designs are inspired by political, economic and environmental factors. These lead to a story behind each collection which is appealing to the customers. Decode is also based on stories. However, as we focus on storytelling in a continuous design process, these are evolving stories that build up on each other. This is what makes our brand special. Furthermore, she is inspired by the modern punk and new wave fashion into mainstream. This could be interpreted as being too specific and very taste depending. Vivienne Westwood’s and Decode’s designs both include high prices and variety in styles.
Comme des Garçons is a Japanese brand which was founded in 1969 by Rei Kawakubo. They launched their first men’s collection, Comme des Garçons Homme Plus, in 1978. CDG is an international company which is located in the prestigious areas of big cities. It is known for its eccentric style, tailored look with dark colors and a splash of bright tones. The niche brand is characteristic for its French touch mixed with Japanese influenced designs. Compared to CDG Homme Plus, Decode offers a broader variety in design influences but may not be as avant-garde as CDG Homme Plus. Our consumer also appreciates the cleaner look with a touch of oddity. Our brand’s price range is not as high as CDG Homme Plus.
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PRODUCT
4p’s
Our products embody quality and individuality. All materials are made of 100% natural fibres. The high quality fabrics are sourced at the company Ratti Spa in Guanzate, Italy. After this, the garments will be produced at the Confezioni Gioielli srl in Prato, Italy. Lastly, they will be brought to our shop-in-shop space in London by truck. Our designs have a clean shape with intelligent details. We maximise the fabric’s properties to its best. The product involves two sides to every story and blurs the lines between reality and fiction. A simple look with odd details causes a surprise effect, which makes our garments special. PRICE Our price range is in a higher level and is located on the high-end of the market. This is an overview that shows the average price level: - T-shirts: 145€ - Sweaters: 400€ - Shirts: 350€ - Pants: 400€ - Coats: 910€ PLACE To launch our brand, we are renting a 30m2 shop-in-shop space located in Dover Street Market, London. Dover Street Market is known for its avant-garde, independent, high-end labels offered to the customer on six floors. Furthermore, Dover Street Market collaborates on a regular basis with designers and style icons, creating a cutting-edge experience. Their opening hours are from Monday to Wednesday, 11am – 6.30pm and Thursday to Saturday 11am – 7pm, Sunday 11am – 5pm. PROMOTION To promote our brand, Decode, we are starting off by having our own website, providing our customer with news about our brand community, garments and collaborations. Furthermore, our own magazine will present the consumer impressions of our upcoming projects and offers. Our customer has a sense for avant-garde fashion trends, therefore he likes to go shopping in exclusive areas like Dover Street Market. From that point on, we can expect him to spread the word about our brand and to be interested in new developments in the high-end sector. 1
SMART
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SWOT
SWOT
Strengths Weaknesses -‐ Historical cultural references for -‐ Start-up company: no design experience on the market -‐ Cutting edge concept -‐ Low brand loyalty -‐ Clear target group -‐ Understand target group’s needs -‐ C2C principle: up cycling -‐ Old combined with new -‐ Decode magazine Opportunities -‐ Brand goes along with future demands -‐ Booming in demand of sustainable products -‐ Consumers are generating a greater sense of awareness in sustainability
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Threats -‐ Fashion market is not a stable environment -‐ Increasing competition from ecofriendly brands -‐ Technological advance
financial plan Profit and Loss account
Profit and loss account
Operating revenues: Sales Value Sales
€ €
254.320,00 210.181,82
Operating expenses: COGS
€
36.266,67
Gross profit:
€
173.915,15
Rent Dover Street Market
€
33.480,00
Costs of office: Rent Internet Telephone Printer Cleaner Total
€ € € € € €
8.740,00 80,00 30,00 56,44 53,50 8.959,94
Costs of personnel: Personel Total
€ €
147.000,00 147.000,00
Promotion costs: Marketing Total
€ €
2.000,00 2.000,00
Fixed costs:
Depreciation
Costs of personnel: Personel Total
€ €
147.000,00 147.000,00
Promotion costs: Marketing Total
€ €
2.000,00 2.000,00
Depreciation Office inventory Macbooks Total
€ € €
871,43 1.214,67 2.086,10
Interest (3,71%) travel costs Total
€ € €
1.027,53 4.630,00 5.657,53
Operating income:
€
25.268,41-
Taxes
€
-
Total Net profit:
€
25.268-
CAPEX
€
17.244,00
Other
*Office Inventory and Website (see the investment budget)
Net Profit - CAPEX
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42.512-
financial plan Break Even Analysis Fixed Costs Dover St. Rent Salaries Office rent Office costs Depreciation
€ 33.480,00 € 147.000,00 € 8.740,00 € 219,94 € 2.086,10 + € 191.526,04
Variable Costs
Total
CoGS
€
36.266,67 €
63,49
Sales
€ 210.181,82 €
367,97
Gross Margin
€ 173.915,15 €
304,47
Break-Even Point
Avg. Per Unit
629
*DECODE will reach its breakeven point in the 3rd year (2022)
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