Process Journal @nehasuneja - Tumblr Blog

Wednesday, Jan 4th, 2016 at 8:14 PM

Results from expert survey, evaluating the business plan.

Wednesday January 4th 2016 at 8:51AM

These are the results of the form sent to test consumer appeal as a part of the success criteria. 50% of the people who answered this survey were part of the target audience: females 20-50 who are in general well educated, upwardly mobile, fashion conscious and have a positive attitude towards cultural diversity.

Indians who did not wear traditional clothing on a regular basis did not wear it due to its difficulty in maintenance, the fact that it is not trendy, and it is too traditional. Satyam marries Western clothing with Indian handloom, making it trendy and not overly traditional. However, the fabric is made with silk and must be dry cleaned only. Non-Indians did not wear Indian handlooms because they had never been exposed to it because it was never a trend.

75% of the people who answered the survey were interested in the product and 57.9% of these people would buy the product at the suggested cost. The primary reason for why people would not buy the product at the suggested cost was that it was above their budget, or that they would never wear it. 0% of the people said that the product was too expensive for what it is. This suggests a high consumer appeal to an audience that is even wider than the target.

#checkin

Tuesday 3rd January 2016 at 6:17 PM

I took better pictures of the garments so that consumers could have a better idea of what the product actually looked like. I included these in the form to test consumer appeal as part of the success criteria.

#checkin

Success Criteria Form

3rd January 2017 at 7:21 AM

I have designed the form for the success criteria. A part of the criteria was that the product must appeal to the target audience. I created a Google Form to test if the product did appeal to the target audience, and if they would purchase it at the suggested price. This helps to project sales in the future.

The form can be found at https://goo.gl/forms/Np62oEHaF0RCippl2

#checkin

Feedback Form Sent

December 25th 2016 at 12:03PM

The form is accessible using https://goo.gl/forms/jCWtMeA8icoMhHbf2

I have created the form using the research I have done about what a business plan should include, as well as keywords from my prior knowledge of MYP rubrics. The form has now been sent for an expert opinion as part of the success criteria. I will now start collecting the rest of the data to evaluate the personal project's success.

#checkin

Business Plan: Sent for Expert Opinion as Part of Success Criteria

December 25th 2016 at 11:39AM

I have sent the business plan to Prasad Menon, a marketing and strategy professional among other specializations which are included below:

Menon, Prasad. "Prasad Menon." LinkedIn, us.linkedin.com/in/menonprasad. Accessed 25 Dec. 2016.

The email I sent to him is included below. I am also creating a survey for him to evaluate the success of the business plan, which will be sent to him shortly.

#checkin

Business Plan Complete

December 24th, 2016 at 1:37PM

I have finished crafting the business plan using the research previously done. It can be accessed via this link: https://docs.google.com/a/isa.nl/document/d/1kCA7FjWuZXUW7D5MT8laHl5Yn_ntCZaHIWl60BSFn5s/edit?usp=sharing

#checkin

Physical Product Complete

December 3rd, 2016 at 5:56PM

I have received the product from India. These are the products that the company will sell.

#checkin

An Update: Business Plan and Production Calculations and Estimations

Monday, November 28th, 2016 at 8:26 PM

I have gathered the knowledge from research about calculations that I have done as well as estimated certain values in order to create a spreadsheet that defines the values needed in order to put the products into production. The calculations have also been mentioned in the columns themselves for easier understanding of the numbers in future.

#checkin

Success Criteria: Adapting to the Changed Product

Sunday, November 20th 2016 at 6:22PM

As the product has evolved from its original state, it was fitting that the criteria for its success would evolve too. I have made some changes to the criteria in order to test the product, which is the clothing company’s, success.

#changes

Personal Project Session: Introduction to the Report

Written Wednesday November 9th 2016 at 10:52 AM

We just had a session with Mr. Griffiths where we have been introduced to the report section of the project. It is essentially an outline of our personal project experience. I also learned about the structure of the report, which is included below

I also created the document with all of these sections labeled. The deadline for the report draft is 6th December, and the maximum word count is 3500. I will start writing soon in order to meet the deadline and to have a good start to my report. I will also document my writing in my journal.

Business Plan Development

Sunday, November 6th 2016 at 6:57 PM

Now that I have understood most terms that I need to create a business plan with the help of my father as well as the consultations of several business-plan templates, I am ready to start applying these to my own situation to create the plan.

I have decided on the name Satyam for the company, as the product is essentially a possible company start-up. The word means truth in Sanskrit, with the connotational resemblance of authenticity.

The markets that will be targeted will include Delhi, New York, Mumbai, and London initially. The order of opening of stores will be as above as well. Introducing it in India first will allow for margin of error that can be rectified easily due to the fact that it is the same country and variable transportation costs will be lower. It is also a familiar market, which gives it an advantage over opening first in Mumbai. However, a New York store will be opened shortly after the Delhi one. This is because Indians want to follow international trends, and USA and the UK are hubs for fashion, and highly present on social media. Following this, a store in Mumbai will be opened as trends begin to catch on, hopefully in a matter of months. Another store will be opened in London, soon after Mumbai. This is the plan for approximately the first year, after which the brand may consider expanding to Paris, Milan, Bangalore, Amsterdam etc. It will also have an online webstore with worldwide shipping in order to maximize potential sales.

The segment within this geography will be A1 and/or A1+ due to exclusivity and premium factors. For maximized universe size, or target audience, awareness and distribution must be optimal. Possible approaches to increasing awareness among A1 or A1+ in selected cities are:

celebrity endorsement

product showcase on platforms such as

social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube testimonials, YouTube advertising)

selective billboards

magazines such as Elle, Femina, PAPER, Harper’s Bazaar, and ultimately Vogue.

e-commerce website

The dress’ developmental cost was approximately €500. However, when overheads, working directly with weavers rather than purchasing from retail stores, working directly with tailors, and scale are taken into account, the price drops significantly to approximately €100 for production. Once variable fees is added, which includes transportation, loading and unloading etc., 10% is added. This makes the cost price €110 without profit. If the mark-up for the company is 40%, the selling price becomes €154. However, the product will not only be sold in original Satyam shops, but also in multi-brand large scale outlets such as Selfridges and Bijenkorf. They will keep about 50% margin for their own profit. This means that the consumer selling price becomes €231, increased to €249 India will be cheaper as Indian markets are more conservative, and variable costs and trade margins/market prices are lower.

The different unique dress styles will be 20. This is to provide enough choice for people who walk in to stores or browse websites etc, and to impress them with choice to encourage word of mouth. Over the course of the year, Satyam is planned to open 7 stores, with 1-2 stores in each of the selected cities. There will be 5 sizes available: 34, 26, 28, 40, and 42.

Currently, values are:

7 stores in-person

1 online web store

300 pieces per store

2400 total pieces

20 styles

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

120 dresses per style

24 dresses of each style per style (5 sizes)

#changes

Elements of a Business Plan: A Glossary

Sunday, November 6th 2016 at 12:02 AM

I sat with my father today, a CEO of Perfetti van Melle, to understand what to really put in a business plan. Before we did this, we simply defined terms. These would help me to understand different parts and functions of a potential company. I took notes of this, as can be seen below.

Delhi Days Day Four: Product Development

Written November 3rd 2016 at 9:59 PM

Based on October 19th 2016

Day 4 was when everything started to really come together. It was the day of my meeting with Ashish Soni, and it was the day the true design and outcome of my project would be determined. I had sketched something the previous night:

the dress that I had immediately thought of when I looked at the fabric. I was completely enamored by the fabric and nervously excited to enter his factory. I also sketched shoes and a clutch that were coated with the fabric.

Since he is an incredibly well known and respected designer, I would have expected him to have an office/factory that was rather posh. I was surprised to find that it was actually quite run-down. There was no glass walls, rather chipped paint. As I stepped into the factory, late because of the unpredictable Delhi traffic, I was overflowing with nervous excitement. I walked up the stairs to go see him, and the walls were covered in quotes that showed what Ashish believed in, and what inspired him. It inspired me, as it pushed the boundaries of convention and reading them definitely helped to push me into my creative space.

The meeting itself was quite casual. I showed him the fabric that I had purchased, and my original sketch. He was quite silent and pensive, and I started to freak out a little bit during this time. Was my design too conventional and mainstream? Was it too different from what people would actually ever wear? However, he did really like the idea. I told him that I wanted to somehow incorporate pink into the dress. With the standard route, I was thinking pink fabric in a waist belt. He said, “Why choose such a simple route?” He introduced me to the concept of using embroidery or crystals or weaves that could be placed on the fabric, something that I hadn’t even thought was an option. I realized the true amount of possibilities that were now open to me simply because the resources available to a designer like himself were not comparable to the ones I had ever imagined I could have.

What we did was to position the fabric in different ways based off my original designs, making several variations of it by simply placing the fabric together in interesting ways. Soon, I realized that instead of being a midi dress that I had originally imagined, it should be a full-length gown. This would create maximum impact, making it look truly magnificent and premium. Arriving at this conclusion did take me some time to arrive to, but I thought that changing it would give a good end result.

We also worked on how we could add more of a premium, handmade factor, as well as incorporate pink into the dress. The bodice was to be the gold flower handloom. We decided to place pink Swarovski crystals in each of the petals, and a gold bead in the middle of each flower. We had an assortment of possibilities, and we decided by placing them on the fabric to help to get an effect before choosing the ones I would use.

After taking my measurements for the dress (because the dress would be fitted to me so I can wear it after the project), I also asked if there were possibilities to get shoes made to go with the dress. My original plan was to buy shoes and wrap some excess fabric around the heels, but I realized that having shoes made for such an exclusive line would be much better. Ashish said that shoes were definitely a possibility as he had someone who made shoes for his own line, and he could produce them for me as well. He also told me that we could have a bag made, which would make the product a true premium collection rather than a stand-alone product. I was incredibly enthusiastic about this idea. We discussed the shoes and bag. The bag would be a clutch bag rather than a handbag because it would look a lot more classy, and we looked at some examples of shoes before deciding on styles, sizes, and heel height. However, sizing of the shoe was a bit of an issue, and so we agreed that I could bring in a pair of heels as a sample later.

We concluded the meeting with a decided design, fitting, and idea of the finished product. We then scheduled another meeting in a few days, where I would try on the dress that would be very loosely/flimsily stitched so that it could be properly and accurately fitted to my size.

We also discussed cost, as this would later be needed to calculate different predictions etc. in the business plan.

#delhidays

Delhi Days Day Three: Purchasing Fabric

Written October 31st 2016 at 9:53 PM

Based on October 18th

On the third day, I went to private retailers where I would actually purchase the fabric. I did this because the availability and quality of authentic handloom was much better. I spent a long time in one store named Raisons, which was actually a store that I had gone to very often with my mom in my childhood. It was her favourite place to buy fabric because of the quality and because of the patterns on the handloom.

I looked at many different fabrics before purchasing a few. I chose one brocade fabric that was covered in gold flowers, on a light teal silk. I chose it because it was not a striking Indian color, which made its Indian influence subdued and more contemporary rather than traditional. With it, I also purchased the same teal silk handwoven fabric. It had a very interesting border which I thought would look beautiful on the skirt part of a dress. I decided to make a dress out of these two fabrics right then. These would be for my project with Ashish Soni, because they were exquisite pieces that could be worn to formal events such as galas.

I also needed to purchase fabric for my project with the tailors, which was kind of a backup plan. I chose a beautiful ikat fabric that was black with a white print woven into it, and a red border. I then went to another shop, where I purchased a red, handwoven, raw silk. I also chose red because it would go well with the red within the ikat that I had already purchased. I wanted to make a skirt out of the raw silk.

When purchasing these fabrics, I had to imagine what I would do with them on the spot. My original plans had been completely discarded with the new knowledge of fabrics that I had gained. I realised that I had to shape my design around the fabric, rather than the fabric around the design. This entire project was about reviving Indian handloom, and so could not neglect the fabric when designing. These original ideas of what I could do with the fabric were incredibly important, as they would impact how much fabric would be cut and then purchased. With the dress, I originally wanted a fitted top with the brocade flowers, and a poofy midi skirt with the silk with the border. Based on advice that I got from the tailors in the shops themselves, I purchased 1.25 meters of the brocade flowers and one meter for the other one. For the ikat, I purchased 1.25 meters. I wanted to make a wrap top out of it to go with the skirt.

Delhi Days Day Two: Learning about Types of Handlooms

On Monday, I went to the different emporiums in Delhi. Each state of India has an emporium that advertises its textiles, handlooms, and other specialties. I visited several for most of the day, learning about various different types of handloom and its origin.

I also interviewed people about why the emporiums did not do so well anymore in terms of business, and why sales were declining. My mother told me that when she was young, the emporiums used to be incredibly exclusive and house some of the best quality handlooms. This quality and exclusivity had dropped massively. I could understand why because several of these emporiums seemed run down and uninviting. The had failed to package their product in a manner that would be appealing to the buyer. Many items were unavailable. I learned that this was because there was no market for high-quality pieces because the masses that shopped at these emporiums did not want certain pieces, and pieces above a certain cost. Therefore, the weavers had stopped weaving these items altogether.

Seeing these fabrics in person definitely changed the way I viewed them, because the same idea was impossible to be conveyed simply with images. I did take several pictures because I wanted to remember the fabrics as best I could.

Chikankari:

Ikat:

Brocade: (note: originally woven with gold thread)

Kutchi Mirrorwork

#delhidays

Delhi Days Day One: Meeting Ashish Soni

Written Sunday, October 30th 2016

Based on October 16th 2016

The night before we were leaving for Delhi, we had a few friends visiting us in Amsterdam. As we got talking, the topic of the personal project came up. When I told them that I was going to Delhi to look for fabrics etc. for my project, they realized that it would be great if I met one of their close friends, Ashish Soni, a leading designer in India. They told me that my original plan of going to India and working with tailors etc. to create my product was not feasible. I did not have the necessary knowledge of how different fabrics work together, of how they fall etc. to be able to produce a product. This is because even tailors are not very experienced in this, as they only know how to sew. not what to sew.

They set up a meeting with Ashish Soni for the following day, and I met with him on the first day that I was in India. After introducing what the project was as well as my sketches etc., he told me that he had been working on something very similar the very week before, which had been Amazon India Fashion Week, as well as other designers who had tried this in the past. He also told me that “India is a wealth of ideas, and fortunately, because of its mystic image, the West loves us. Provided we can package the product in a manner that’s upscale and luxurious, but it’s completely in their sensibility.”

We discussed how to package the product in a way that would appeal to both the West and to India, and how to create a story around it. Something that truly stuck with me about the project is when he told me that “Products don’t sell. Stories sell.”

He helped me to realize that one could not make a product for the masses because if you wanted to use traditional handloom, the cost price would go up as a default. Authenticity and scale are inversely proportional, the less authentic, the less the price. The product I wanted to make would be a premium one. The plan would be to make it a large trend that would inspire less authentic fakes in high street brands such as Zara and Pull and Bear. It would be like making a Burberry coat, or the Chanel Nº5-a luxury that one wanted to have, the real thing.

We then set up the next meeting for Wednesday. He told me that I should look around emporiums and markets to really get a feel for what different fabrics really were because it was simply impossible to understand this without seeing and feeling it in person. After I had done so and found a fabric that I loved and wanted to work with to create my product, I would come up with ideas on what to do with it, and then meet him on Wednesday.

#delhidays #changes

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