Diary of a new childrenswear retailer…five months and counting

Looking back on the launch of IndiaCoco only five months ago, it’s hard to imagine how we got everything done.  There’s so much about launching a new brand that no-one tells you – the days you’ll spend worrying about the details of packaging, photography, design, social media and PR, and that’s not even touching on the technical elements around back end systems, reporting, business plans and legal stuff.   

And that’s just the details – the big decisions need to be made much earlier on. Our brand began with a list of all the things we wanted IndiaCoco to be. Some of them were nice-to-haves (many of which we did anyway), whilst others were the pillars of the business – the values we live and breathe every day.  Our vision for IndiaCoco was to offer parents a world of original, high quality and great value children's clothes from the very best British brands, underpinned by exceptional and uncompromising customer service.

But of course it’s easy to put the words on the page – delivering our values every day is the hard bit. It requires us to be bold and purposeful; to ask ourselves all the time how we can do things better, and being open to change.  It also means taking on every challenge with passion, energy and fun, and getting as close as we can to our customers – social media has been a huge part of our communications strategy from day one, and it’s a great way not only to speak to our customers, but also to listen and learn.

So what have we learned over the past five months?  Lots!  Here’s a few of the biggest lessons.

From little acorns…when we launched the website we expected to be flooded with orders – how naïve! Of course friends and family placed orders, but we quickly realised that a huge PR and marketing job lay ahead of us.

Love your suppliers…We really value how we work with our suppliers - they all took a risk on us when we approached them in January 2012.  This is not just our story – it’s the story of the belief and commitment of every one of our ten talented and inspiring product brands too.

Be driven…For us every order is a new success, and we’ve now dispatched goods to the US, Europe and Australia. It’s all about working hard, then working harder – you need to commit to long hours, late nights and a strong work ethic.

Know your customer...we spent a lot of time working out who the IndiaCoco customer was, and what they really wanted. It’s a process that never stops - customer feedback is a gift and we use it every day to really try and do things better.

Stay focused…it’s easier said than done - in the first few months you can easily be drawn in a million different directions! New ideas are all well and good, but you need to spend some time securing the foundations.  Fresh innovations and new technology are all ahead of us, but we want to get our first few seasons under our belt first!

Don’t forget to breathe…running and growing a business is now an exciting part of our lives, but we always try to remember that the inspiration behind our brand is our daughters, Coco (4) and India (15 months). Working for ourselves means we can plan our hours around the school run and never miss a school event; sometimes it means our work day ends at midnight, but it’s always worth it!   

So – five months in, and our adventure is only just beginning.  We appreciate the support of all our customers and suppliers, and looking forward to sharing the next chapter with you…

By Claire Harper founder of new childrenswear retail brand IndiaCoco

When is a sale not a sale?

As a retail brand, great value for money is always a priority, and that includes thinking about how we manage promotions and sales.  When I started out in retail, sales happened two or three times a year – a summer sale in July/August, a winter sale immediately after Christmas, and maybe a short spring sale over Easter to make room for all the lovely summer stock coming in.  They were genuine events, to be anticipated by both retailers and customers alike.

Now, of course, things have changed – the retail landscape is more competitive, particularly in fashion and clothing, which means everyone is trying to out-bargain everyone else.  For the customer, it can seem like some brands are almost permanently on sale, which begs the question of whether you’re really getting a bargain or whether this is all just clever and manipulative marketing.  And of course there’s always the possibility that the beautiful dress you want will be cheaper next week – guaranteed to make your teeth grind! 

For the retailer, appearing to be permanently on sale does nothing to support your brand, other than make you appear (at best) disorganised or (at worst) desperate.

We’ve only been trading for a couple of months, and we’ve just launched our first summer sale.  Like us it’s only small, but whilst we’ve been planning it we thought we’d share our dos and don’ts of having a sale.

DOS AND DON’TS

1.      DO make sure you have a clear plan that allows you to run a worthwhile (and       genuine) summer and winter sale for a limited window only

2.      DO be consistent with your messaging and make sure your headlines and imagery support your brand values – sale messages can often feel cheap and disruptive, but it doesn’t have to be that way

3.      DO offer customers good value seasonal offers but always provide excellent customer service all year round

4.      DO offer targeted sales - the weather is often to blame for excess stock and for many retailers this wet summer will have been a disaster!  By offering great bargains on summer shorts and swimwear, for example, our customers can take advantage of some great last minute holiday offers (or keep their fingers cross for a scorching July/August)

5.      DO hold your nerve and think about your sale event carefully, plan and execute well – panic promotions are often the first step to compromising your brand

6.      DO think about running different types of sale events to stand out from the crowd – secret VIP sales, competitions, 3 for 2, free P&P offers for example. Think differently and be creative - don't just follow the pack.  Be a leader and stand out!

7.      DO come out of sale at the time you planned, and make sure you have plenty of new and exciting new ranges to talk about

8.      DON’T always have items on sale – it may be tough out there, but your brand will quickly look distressed and it could also look like your brand is in trouble

9.      DON’T get sucked into a sale culture – it’s like a drug for many retailers and you have to know when to start and when to stop!

10.  DON’T forget your headlines – so many brands let themselves down with brash, shouty headlines – e.g. 50% off with another 15% off on top!

11.  DON’T just think short term and be reactive - think about your long term strategy, and building relationships with your customers

12.  DON’T drag your sale out longer than planned, it will not only lose momentum, but you also risk alienating customers by not being honest about when it’s due to finish.  A final week should be a final week!

By Claire Harper founder of new childrenswear retail brand IndiaCoco

ABOUT INDIACOCO

IndiaCoco is an exciting new children’s wear retailer selling the best in original, high-quality and great-value children’s clothes. Hand-picking the very best of British brands IndiaCoco aims to make the shopping experience truly inspiring with uncompromising ‘back to basics’ customer service.

IndiaCoco is the brainchild of seasoned Marketing Director, Claire Harper and Finance Director, Lee Williams. Claire has worked with leading UK retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Ocado and  her latest role, at award winning nursery and fashion retailer Mamas & Papas.

Targeting parents looking to discover innovative brands in one destination shop, IndiaCoco’s retail concept has already secured partnerships with some of Britain’s finest and most sought after independent brands.  These include ‘Brit Cool’ style ‘No Added Sugar’, celebrity favourite ‘Ilovegorgeous’, luxury hand-crafted, fairly traded children’s fashion brand Aravore, traditional and quirky British newcomer Marmalade & Mash and Frugi, which has one of the largest collections of organic children’s clothing in the UK.

With ambitious plans for growth, IndiaCoco will have a web and offline presence, offering consumers a multi channel experience.  Initially launching online, the first IndiaCoco store will open during 2013 and roll out across the UK in community based locations.

IndiaCoco will stock everyday to occasion wear for babies, boys and girls from zero to eight.

Find IndiaCoco at www.indiacoco.com .