Table Colombia Challenge

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Brunett Beachwear identified problematic insights at the moment of buying swimwear for women. It is hard to find the perfect fit having as reference the traditional standard sizes (extra small, small, medium, large, extra-large, etc), all body types are different and require dissimilar cuts in order to make our costumers feel comfortable and stunning in the beach days. However, the big brands in the market both local and global keep making pieces with standard sizes and despite the fact that many consumers adapt to what the market offers them, there is still a pain and a need, in thousands of costumers, to find something with which they identify and feel safe and comfortable. For this, Brunett was born. We choose to hear what costumers require and seek and we, as a brand, motive costumer to do responsible purchases and choose what they really want and not only what they offer.

We create swimsuits using specialized design techniques that seek to incorporate a integration between functionality and fashion, thus providing high levels of quality and consumer satisfaction. Everything will be done under the premise of the use of non-standardized sizes, which will lead to inclusion and ensure maximum comfort for our users.

We also encourage our customers to create their own designs by our co-creation process and platform.We strongly believe each one has the power and imagination to create their own pieces of clothes that represent what they want, love and dream. Thus, we help our customers to empower theirself throught the way the connect with their bodies and we also teach our community how to consume slow-fashion clothing and being kind with both environmental and local economy.

The global swimsuit market was valued at 18,5US billion dollars in 2017 and is projected to reach 28,1 billion dollars by 2024, registering a 6.2% growth from 2018 to 2024. Of the total, it was found that 73% of purchases are made online and the remaining 27% in physical stores (The Global Swimwear Market: Opportunities and Forecast, 2018-2024). The market is divided among women (70%), men (17%), girls (10%) and boys (3%; NPD Group 2019), so the women swimsuit market is expected to reach values ​​of 19,7 US billion dollars by 2024. One of the reasons for the growth of this industry is linked to the fact that swimsuits are not only used for water activities, but are used for semi-casual outfits, pool parties, and for use of outdoor places (The Global Swimwear Market: Opportunities and Forecast, 2018-2014); In addition, the combination of two big global trends, tourism and lifestyling, have stimulated and advantaged this industry in particular.

Colombian swimsuit market is in a wave of success, according to government data. The desire of women to feel comfortable and show their best look while they are at the beach or the pool is increasing the demand of the market. Added to this, new customers are being attracted every day new trend and fashion elements that complement the clothes such as the use of special fabrics that mold their physical, fabrics with protection, customization and different textures (PRweb, 2019). The success in the local market (Colombian) began in 2011 and has been increasing annually 3,2% and by 2018 it moved 41 US million dollars (Procolombia, 2018). The leading companies in the traditional market have joined the online channels responding to the current buying habit (73% of the purchases of swimwear are made through digital channels and 27% in store). Among those companies we can highlight brands as: Leonisa, Onda de Mar, Alternativa de moda, Agua Bendita, Maaji, among others.

Quantities projection*:

Potencial market (Colombia):  240,612

Average purchase price: 90,000 COP (27 USD)

Purchase frequency: 2,68

Apparent market consumption: 59.067.358.656 COP (17,2 million USD)

Target market: 0,32% / 189.012.547 COP (55,000 USD)

Risks:

*All quantities projections were made for Colombian market. The size of the global market is even bigger*

In the following link, you will find our competitor analysis, including prices, channels, distribution and descriptions of their products. You will find that we only include Colombian brands instead of globally but those brands cited below besides being in Colombia and representing the biggest competitors, they also have a presence in the global market and are growing and earning a large portion of it. Global consumers choose Colombian swimsuits for their quality, style, and versatility and that preference over non-Colombian brands gives us an advantage and possibility to grow and scale our business model.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H5LlfotmwnK5qcl8Pk5URIQ1ksBQtEg1/view?usp=sharing

Competitive Advantages

• Growing economic sector: As explained above, the swimsuit industry is growing and Colombian brands lead that growth, positioning themselves as preferred by the market.
  

• High cash flow: This is due to the null inventory management and production on demand. What allows to always work with the money of the consumer to reinvest and also keeps the fixed costs low.

• Innovator product: Brunett was born from the need that the big brands of swimsuits create in their own consumers. We took that need and transform it into a solution based on what we had learned studying and analyzing the market. We motivated our costumers to create a personalized product with good price and quality.
  

• Scalability: We are able to grow and expand our business model to the global market easily and without changing our system. We can introduce our products in any market just with the right strategic alliances in logistics and distribution.
  

   

Product validation:

The validation and discovery of the optimal state of the products offered by Brunett has been an ongoing process since its appearance in the Colombian market. Listed below are a number of factors that determined product validation:

Market experience: Brunett has been operating in the Colombian market since February 2014. His five years of experience have allowed it to gain position locally and nationally. To date, more than 4,000 swimsuits have been sold and there is an average monthly sales of 10,000,000 COP (3,000 USD).

Repurchase: The statistics obtained throughout our sales and consumer history show that in the 3 months after the first purchase the percentage of repurchase amounts to 30%. The objective publicity, the good service, customer service and the possibility of an attention almost at any time of the day has allowed the loyalty of consumers who have more than 5 Brunett swimsuits and constitute 15% of our community.

Feedback: We have reviews submitted by our users on our Facebook (facebook.com/brunett.beachwear) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/brunett_beachwear) fan pages, as well as a survey that was carried out in May, 2019 that aimed to know more about our customers, their swimsuit buying habits, customer journey, use frequencies, prices and preferred brands. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-9EPyl2E8f-029OOieOU9TCXMQ63OA8p4UL0PqlZBSs/edit#responses). We also create a space referred trought the hashtag #BrunettBabes where our customers can show our community and theirs how the feel and fit with our products. Most of our feed on both pages is composed with customers pictures because we strongly believe we must show to market real women.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1dDwscNHSGaGw7IkwkfXEARH6BjZLTq85

The income generation strategy is given through the direct sale of our swimsuits to the final consumers through our digital commercial showcases (Facebook Fan Page, Instagram Profile and Website). Each market strategy is described in detail below:

Estefanía Gómez López (CEO & Co-Founder)

She was born in Manizales in 1995 and she has been studying and working since she was a little girl to fulfill her dream to become a successful businesswoman. When she was only 15 she left his hometown to study and learn English during a semester in Auckland, NZ. After finishing high school she started studying in the university to become an International marketer and while she was studying she made two internships: One in a startup in West Palm, FL and the second one in the management of Marca País, ProColombia the company who is in charge of promoting Colombian brands to the global market. She has been leading Brunett since it's the foundation and currently, she works fulltime with the company. She loves studying and she is doing an MBA at IUBH. Estefanía holds 35% of the company.

Mateo Correa Grand (Marketing Chief & Co-Founder)

He was born in Manizales in 1995 and he is a nature lover since he was a child. He loves reading and working with communities and that is why when he finished High School he moved to Florida, the US to learn English and work there as a Spanish teacher. After spending 6 months there, he came back to Colombia and started studying Geology where he learned about his country and culture while traveling around it. He also started to work for local companies in marketing and sales and founded a startup. By 2016 he founded Brunett Beachwear with Estefanía and has been working as marketing chief since then. He is very into helping communities and making Brunett a social brand that would help with the economic and cultural growth of Manizales and Colombia. Mateo holds 35% of the company.

Gloria López Zuluaga (Head designer-Partner)

She was born in Aranzazú, Caldas a small town close to Manizales. She studied her High School there and then she moved to Manizales with her family to study in the university where she studied both accountancy and family development but for almost 15 years she worked as a housewife raising her children and leading a family. Her true passion has been always being art and that is why she started painting, sewing, weaving and even cutting hair because she likes everything that you can create or do with her hands. She's a lovely wife and mother and because of her profession, she likes to work with families and leading women from her community. She puts her heart and love in every stitch she gives and the results are lovely pieces of art that we sell to our customers. Currently, she is working with a community of grandmothers and surrogate mothers from a small town in Aguadas, Caldas, they make beautiful pieces of art knitting hats made of palm leaves. Gloria holds 30% of the companie.

Below you will find our financial projections for the incoming 3 years for one of our products (One-piece swimsuits). Each number was calculated based on our sales and the monthly variations in it. All values are in units or Colombian pesos (COP).

Brunett Beachwear was born in the Colombian market due to the need that large companies were generating for their customers due to the lack of pieces designed for the variability of the bodies, the greatest motivation that we, as a workgroup have, is the inspiration for the development of the Manizaleña and national region. Brunett, in addition to being a company, is a commitment to the consolidation of the region as a workplace for the more than 1000 bachelor graduates we have annually. We recognize Manizales as an ideal place for a large company to emerge and that was also noted by the Doing Bussiness project where they choose Manizales as the best city in Colombia for creating a company.

The short-term project includes the increase in personnel, and for this organizational aspect, it has been defined to prioritize, as until now, the work of head mothers and artisans in rural areas of Caldas, such as Aguadas for our line of accessories and hats. We are willing to create a space where that artisand will be able to share their culture and talent with the whole world through our beautiful products while they keep leaving in their native village.

We believe that history is nothing but teaching and a guide on how to make things better than they were. Caldas and Manizales, as it is the capital city, were a huge economic center back in the first half of the 20th century and We want it to be again and even greater. If Brunett gets to grow, Manizales will grow with us.