Welcome to Incubateme’s newsletter, written by Christina Chao, edited by Alice Zhang.
Follow us on social! Instagram: @joinincubateme, Twitter: @incubateme
Dear all,
With growing concerns of the environmental harms that retail factories and industries have on our planet, we shift our focus to retail solutions where customers can make a positive impact, while also looking their best. In this issue, we focus on sustainability and its impact on retail, and we feature a trendy, sustainable athleisure brand called Softwear.
Also save the date for February 25th! We will have a dialogue with an expert from athleisure and health and fitness industry, Alexa Cawley, to talk about community building and marketing in this sector.
Lastly, if you are interested in being featured in our weekly newsletter, please sign up below!
Build a Wellness Community feat. Alexa Cawley, ex-Lululemon and ex-SoulCycle, February 25 @noon PST on Clubhouse & Zoom
Whether you have a health oriented product or service, join us and Alexa Cawley, ex-Lululemon and ex-SoulCycle, in conversation to get to the bottom of what it takes to build a successful wellness community. RSVP here !!
5 Trends of the Fashion System in 2021
Less is More - Reduce complexity, increase full price sell through, reduce inventory levels, focus on demand versus supply, focus on sustainability
Opportunistic Investment - Establish competitive advantage and grow capabilities to take more market share as many brands go bankrupt
Deeper Partnership - Mitigate supply chain hurdles and disruptions, move away from just transactional relationships and focus on accountability and agility
Retail ROI - Store closures are likely to increase, retailers to rethink store footprint and improve on overall ROI in this space (and also figure out the best way to incorporate more digital investment opportunities)
Work Revolution - Investment in re-skilling of talent for new working model which is likely to emerge as a blend of in person and at home work
Source: McKinsey
Featured Business: Softwear
· Company URL: https://wearsoftwear.com/
· Location: Based in Brooklyn, NY
· Category: Atheleisure
· Founder(s): Sabrina Zohar
· Founded year: 2018
👚 Tell us about yourself, your company, and how you got started. My name is Sabrina Zohar, and I am the founder of Softwear. Before founding Softwear, I was working wholesale for high end and contemporary brands. After spending years in the fashion industry I noticed how brands were both overpricing, providing low-quality materials, using offshore and unethical manufacturing plants, and damaging the environment. In the midst of not being entirely happy with my career, my mom got sick. She was diagnosed with six brain aneurysms and was given a 3-5% chance of survival. I quit my job and spent the next three months by her side. Something I will never forget is how much my mom persevered and took this time of adversity as a moment to find gratitude.
My mother’s ambition inspired me to get back on my feet. After a year of a dozen fittings, alterations, and restarts, I created a new high-quality fabric and cut that is ethically made and never pills, fades, sheds, or shrinks. That’s Softwear.
👚 How did you acquire your first batch of customers? Did your business pivot in the pandemic? My background was wholesale and that's how Softwear came about. When we first launched I had 30 wholesale accounts set up from professional relationships I had made working in the industry for so long. When COVID hit, I looked at my mom, and immediately said, “we need to pivot.” Many of my wholesale accounts were struggling too, and couldn’t purchase the inventory any longer. We did a whole 180, and now we’re about 83% direct to consumer and 17% wholesale.
👚 What is your plan for the future? What trends do you foresee for your industry? In 2021 we plan to further our sustainability initiatives with other factories that believe in the same ideals. Sustainability means no waste, and to be truly sustainable, we will be integrating limited colorways. I think trends like sustainability and local manufacturing are only getting stronger. More than ever, we need to support businesses manufactured in the USA.
👚 Any other lessons/advice you’d like to share with other fellow entrepreneurs? There are a few lessons I plan to take with me into 2021. Always listen to your client and be sure to put customer service above all else. Also, learn to adapt. I think this year has taught us all that. At this point, I want to be prepared for every outcome. We have a good idea of what we want to accomplish in 2021, but if things do change, I have 400 other fresh ideas ready to execute.
Other Upcoming Events
🌟 The mint of million-dollar, one-person business - Elaine Pofeldt - Author of “Million-Dollar, One-Person Business” - RSVP!
🌟 Define Passion Economy - Adam Davidson - Author of “The Passion Economy” - RSVP!
🌟 Wealth Planning For Micro-entrepreneurs - Taylor Matthews - Founder of Farther Finance- RSVP!
Exclusive Partnership Offerings!
🎹 Interested in working with Tik Tok creators to amplify your brand? We are partnering with Creatorhood to recommend Tik Tok creators for boutique brands. Sign up for Micro-entrepreneur Community and we will curate!
🗞️ We are partnering with the much acclaimed Copy.ai to help make your copywriting easier! Receive Incubateme exclusive 65% off coupon code, if you sign up for our Micro-entrepreneur Community!
You made it to the end!
🥇Stay in touch. Follow us on Instagram: @joinincubateme, Twitter: @incubateme, or email us at joinincubateme@gmail.com
Like what you read?