How do we get the Binder Bag sold?
Identifying our market potential
We began our day at 14 Wall Street still struggling with identifying a retailer that best fits our product and where we would have the most chance of selling it at our price point. This was a difficult decision because the Binder Bag is not a handbag, it is meant to be a fashionable, sleek way to carry your book binder. It is not similar to a backpack because you can't carry a lot of stuff. We examined this dilema further by drawing a pyramid on the blackboard and catergorizing potential sellers within the pyramid structure. We concluded that Urban Outfitters was the best place to enter the market- but we heard they don't pay a lot. At some point I guess you just have to get out there to see who is interested in buying.
By late morning we set foot out the door to visit a not-for-profit showroom run by the Garment Industry Development Corp to help boost new designers. We were lucky enough to get an appointment with Andy Wade, Executive Director of the showroom and present the bag to him. He works with new designers in the showroom to help them find sourcing and also gives thems advice on how to launch their fashion line. Andy thought that since the Binder Bag isn't a handbag why get it manufactured in a handbag plant? It's not made of leather, it's not a complicted design, and we could get it manufactured cheaper if we went to a clothing manufacturer or someone who makes medical uniforms or placemats. He commented on the messy stitching surrounding the bag and warned us not to send it to a factory to have a sample made as it exists, because they will make it exactly the same way. This would not be acceptable to a buyer and they would surely pass over your line. He also thought we could cut costs and up the quality of the bag by eliminating the embellishments or hand drawn designs by opting for better fabric. Bing, bang, Andy knows his stuff.
Andy providing us some VERY useful feedback on the Binder Bag
Here we are again, hungry and standing in the middle of the very busy garment district. We decide to head down to the Financial District to grab some food to re-fuel.
We meet back at 14 Wall Street and get a quick lesson on how to identify the RIGHT press contacts. We brainstorm the different media outlets, sections, reporters and editors that might be interested in hearing about what we are doing. We realized that we shouldn't only focus on fashion editors but that business editors might be interested in what a bunch of teenage entrepreneurs are up to. We then break off into groups to tackle a few tasks before the end of the day. As one team takes a crack at writing the press release (So far we only have spitballs), another group begins making a list of press contacts and another team researches the cost of presenting at a trade show. Sadly, after we spent time honing our telephone pitch to the trade shows, they all hung the phone up on us because they were too busy preparing for market week and trades shows. Oops, I guess we would have known that if we were working designers.
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