Romania Edition 1 Jolidon AWS

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Market At the start of the 1990s, the Romanian lingerie and swimwear market was still an unexplored area.The market only offered a scant selection, made up of limited imports and a single Romanian brand, Argos. Jolidon was born in 1993 out of a desire to reply to this need and, as a result, it contributed much to shaping the lingerie and swimwear market in Romania and to educating and influencing the consumers' buying behaviour on this segment. Currently, Jolidon is in full development on a market on which it holds the leading position (Source: Ziarul Financiar, February 2006). Jolidon holds almost 50% of the Romanian lingerie and swimwear market, giving it considerable influence over local developments in this field. In 2004, through the purchase of Argos, its main former competitor, Jolidon consolidated its product range and strengthened the position it held on the market. The Jolidon brand's reputation is also sustained by its network of 50 brand shops all across the country, which will shortly increase to 70 stores. Turnover in 2005 totalled the figure of 20 million euros, and the company is at present anticipating turnover to reach between 26 and 30 million euros, thanks to the investment plan currently in place. Jolidon is a well-known international presence. Through its branch offices in Italy, France and Hungary, Jolidon is strongly represented on these markets, using almost all the distribution channels, though it also has customers in all other European countries and on the other continents. For nine years, Jolidon has presented its new collections at the most prestigious international underwear and swimwear fairs. SIL Paris and Lyon, Mode City are the fairs where Jolidon is a constant presence.

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Achievements The beginning of 2006 saw Jolidon acknowledged as one of the most prestigious names in the world lingerie field.This confirmation of the Romanian brand's reputation and importance came directly from the land of lingerie itself, France. Between February 2nd - 5th 2006, at the “Salon International de la Lingerie” (SIL), the most important event on the international lingerie market held in Paris every year, Jolidon was awarded one of the three prizes for excellence, amongst the most prestigious brand names in the world of lingerie. After nine years of participating in this underwear fair, Jolidon was invited to take part in a spectacular event called ULTRALINGERIE, where 50 of the most prestigious underwear brands made a special presentation of haute-couture lingerie.The gallery of the famous names present in the show included Aubade, Bacirubati, Rosana Ansaloni, Lise Charmel, Chantelle, Ravage, Chantal Thomas, Argentovivo, Blumarine, Nina Ricci,Versus, Lejaby and others. The ULTRALINGERIE show was developed around the theme of fairy tales.The piece presented by Jolidon was a Chantilly lace and Swarovski crystal corset. It reflected the character of The Lady of the Camellias, from the novel by Dumas - spectacular, sophisticated, an astonishing beauty, though one, at the same time, of extraordinary fragility. Jolidon is one of the few 100% Romanian companies to succeed not only on the Romanian market, but also to compete on the international market against the strongest competitors in the world.The award for excellence is the confirmation of the value of the Jolidon brand at the highest level, with the jury that awarded the prize being made up of fashion critics, fashion editors, and some of the most demanding clients on the market.The prize came as acknowledgement of a successful and daring way of working, of exciting methods of combining fabrics and accessories to create surprising and original pieces. Some recent challenges for Jolidon were represented by Shanghai Mode Lingerie in China and Bodylook Düsseldorf in Germany.

History Founded in 1993 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the story of the Jolidon's success reads like the plot for a classic American movie: after 1989, an entrepreneur, Gabriel Cîrlig, identified two types of products that were very much in need on the Romanian market, but were difficult to find lingerie and swimsuits. He began a small business with a few dedicated and ambitious co-workers. In thirteen years, the initial shop, with three/four sewing machines and two people to operate them, became a factory that can compete with that of any European lingerie producer. Thirteen years since its establishment, the company has more than 1,350 employees and owns a chain of 55 brand shops, 50 being located in the main cities and commercial centers in Romania and five in Budapest, Hungary. In 2004, Jolidon made a new important investment by taking-over its main competitor on the Romanian market, Argos SA.The company taken over had more than 800 employees and more than 60 years of tradition in the field of underwear and swimwear. The underwear and swimsuits are exported across the world, the main destinations being Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Austria, Cyprus, Malta, US, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Lebanon, and Israel. The growth of Jolidon exports necessitated investments abroad, starting with Jolidon

Hungary KFT in Budapest, in 2000, and continuing with Jolidon Italia SRL, opened in 2001, in Milan, and Jolidon France SARL, opened in 2003 in France.The need to better serve its French clients led to the continuing of investments in France in 2005 with the development of a new location - Lyon.

essential for the development of the Jolidon brand. 2006 saw the launch of a new Jolidon brand Prelude, designed for the most refined and sophisticated tastes in lingerie. The new brand was born with the most demanding customers in mind.To create the PRELUDE line, designers played with a mix of precious accessories and fabrics and enhanced the classical beauty of the articles with sophisticated details and daring cuts. PRELUDE is a refined line for the woman who is in love with fashion and luxury.The individuality of the models is created not only through particularly original cuts, but also by making use of unusual accessories. From classic white-black combinations with gleaming crystals, romantic filigree laces, handmade accessories and elegant drapes, to aggressively cut low-necks and avant-garde lines, each model is itself a finely crafted piece of jewelry. At the beginning of 2006, Jolidon announced a new direction for its development strategy.The company decided to place increased emphasis on the development of its retail network, so that the number of Jolidon stores, totaling 50 brand shops in the main Romanian cities, would grow by almost 50% in the coming months. Moreover, Jolidon will open a network of twenty stores under a franchise system in France and a new branch office in Germany, which entails an extension of the branches network that currently includes Jolidon France, Jolidon Italy and Jolidon Hungary.

Jolidon believes that underwear and swimwear items are not merely “fashion items”. These products need to fit consumers, adapt to their size, age and contemporary trends, so that they feel as comfortable as possible and best express the wearer's personality. Other means of communication and promotion for Jolidon are the participation in various specialist international fairs and events,

Promotion Product All the collections produced by Jolidon and Argos are particularly wide, covering the different clients' needs in the lingerie and swimwear field.Through design and colours, the collections contribute to international trends, also being a trendsetter in terms of Romanian fashion. Over the years, Jolidon has invested a great deal in technology and design, and also in trademarks, collections and brand protection. The lingerie collections are created and structured not only for the specific categories of consumers - women, men (JD), children (Jolidon KIDS) - but also in accordance with their needs. These include casual lingerie, represented by the “Linea Continuativa” and “Fior” collections; comfort underwear through the “She” collection; functional lingerie (large size) represented by the “Comfort” & “Lady” collections; fashion lingerie represented by “Jolie”,“Joligirl”,“Jolidon Fashion”, which are refreshed twice a year with spring/summer and autumn/winter collections. Jolidon's latest collection is entitled “Prelude”, a premium brand that blends precious fabrics and accessories with prevailing fashion trends, as well as the exceptional work of Jolidon's designers. The swimwear collections boast the same luxury features. Jolidon is one of the few companies at international level that offers an exceptional variety of swimwear products on a yearly basis. Each year, the swimwear collections offer about 200 new models for women, men and children.

Recent Developments The creation of new products and major investments in technology and innovation are

The most important promotion engine for Jolidon proved to be, over the years, the product itself.With the intention of meeting the consumers' needs in the best way possible, through unbeatable quality and prices, Jolidon products themselves have been the surest means of achieving the fidelity of existing customers and winning new ones. The Jolidon and PRELUDE collections are being promoted through media campaigns in the printed press and TV, aiming at not only promoting the products, but also informing and educating potential clients.

such as the “Salon International de la Lingerie” and “Lyon Mode City”, attended by professionals and experts from all over the world, in which Jolidon has constantly participated for almost ten years.

Brand Values The secrets of Jolidon's success? Respect for brand clients, ambition, confidence in its own abilities and a desire to demonstrate that Romania can design and sell fashion at least as well as the Italians and the French. Moreover, Jolidon is a brand that is being developed and contributed to by a young united team, full of enthusiasm and professionalism.

THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT

JOLIDON The average bra uses up to 100m of thread, has up to 50 components (including hooks and eyes, wings, cradle, wire casing etc.) and can take up to 28 operations to complete 70% of women wear the wrong bra size.This stresses the importance of getting properly fitted for each bra, to ensure the correct support and the perfect shape

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