Idea Napkin No.1

Piecing It All Together

Me.

Hi everyone so my name is Beaudeline Mesadieu but everyone calls me by Beau. I’m a 2^nd year finance major minoring in Chinese and Entrepreneurship. Some of my hobbies/ talents include sketching, designing, singing, leading worship services and taking pictures on my iPhone. From an early age, I always had a pencil/pen in my hand sketching wherever I could. I got so good at fashion illustration, I decided I wanted to become a fashion designer, hence, the motivation behind my business opportunity, INDUSTRY. As I continued to foster my love for all things fashion, I began the first fashion club at my high school. Through this experience, I gained knowledge in all the twists and turns of the fashion industry and learn how to recognize what people want. I believe I do have skill in this field, being that I did compete in a national competition where I showcased my first outfit (creation). I was blessed to be awarded the First Place Regional Winner. Some of my aspirations for INDUSTRY, is for her to be more than sufficient for plus size women but exceeds my consumers and my personal expectations. I would love to see INDUSTRY first be a household name in the first two years and eventually broaden to a global landscape three to five year after launching. Nevertheless, being that my childhood dream was and still is to become a fashion designer, the success of this company would literally be a dream come true.   

What is INDUSTRY offering to customers? 

My vision for INDUSTRY is for this venture to be a plus-size woman’s best friend, someone/something she cannot live without. The main thing I hope will attract customers is through our “customizer”. I believe the main issue that retailers aren’t satisfying these customers relates back to understanding the various and unique body types but also the fashion at the same time. The customizer will allow our customers to modify and adjust the model to resemble their body shapes as precise as possible. After we get a firm model, we will match their input with the best clothing options that flatters their body types while also making sure they resemble current trends. You might ask how will we know which body type to best match the customers with? I would want an algorithm specifically designed to take the customizer’s model and matching it with our different pre-ready body types. The customizer will be heavily used on our online platform since we would not be able to see them in person. For our brick and mortar stores, there would be Smart TVs and tablets that had the customizer app on it and our clients would wait in a lobby and asked to fill out the customizer while waiting in queue. It would help us get a better understanding of our customer so we could better serve them. By developing garments, that not only flatter but resemble current trends, we would not only satisfy our customer but hopefully, exceed their expectations. Being that we are a special retailer, we would have a ready to wear line which will include formal wear but not limited to gowns and a brick-and-mortar store where we would have fittings and designers ready to sketch and create gowns.   

Who is INDUSTRY offering it to?

After interviewing women, most of our customers are from every demographic. The most to buy our products are women from mid 20s-late 30s. The different age groups have different shopping habits. Some women look for ease of use, practicality, and the younger generation looks for fashion-forward, trendy look and willing to spend.  

Why do they care? 

Although I may be beating dead horse, but the answer is so simple. These women are not being heard. One of the main reasons plus size women give up on looking for gowns or any type of formal wear is because the standard sizing charts and models do not apply to them. They have different body types so the usual sizing charts will not work for them so they need a personalized one. Because INDUSTRY stresses on the importance of caring for our customers, it is one of the main reasons why people will pay to buy our products. We will be offering them with a technology that can help us better understand their needs and help produce a beautiful garment that they feel beautiful in. That’s how we’ll do it.

What are some of INDUSTRY’s core competencies? 

I believe some of the core competencies of this company which sets us apart from other companies are our customizer, our stress on understanding what these women need and through our love for fashion. Although everyone may say they care for their customers, INDUSTRY takes it to another level. We will strive to push employee-customer relationships which will stimulate good Word of Mouth and etc.

Reflection.

I believe these elements do flow with each other. Obviously, there is more that we can work on, specifically the psychographics of our customers. I really would like to understand each age group of our target market, so that we could offer each age group what they’re looking for. Besides that, I believe these elements flow more than being out-of-joint.