- Make your fashion brand international
- support@maelleapp.com
From a single product to a collectible brand: supporting the brand’s long-term vision
KAWENLAMAR
In search of the perfect unisex product for surf lovers, Spanish entrepreneur Irantzu Blanco Santamaria becomes the founder of the Kawenlamar brand in 2020, relaxed wear for surf lovers among age 15-29, made in Basque Country.
The brand noticed a lack in the production of a sweatshirt that was a cult object, oversized, interchangeable between couples and friends, a collectible, which told the thousand personalities of water sport enthusiasts.
CHALLENGE
From the moment the initial idea was developed, the Kawenlamar team focused on “a single product business” – unisex sweatshirt – and on its collectability.
The biggest challenge for the brand was to position itself as a lifestyle between the years 2020-2021 and define a price point that was suitable for the target.
While using Maelle, the Kawenlamar team understood:
– how to develop a the concept of “most desirable places to surf”, starting from Mumbaka, Uluwatu, Banzai Pipeline and creating an attractive storytelling, also defining the concept of “limited-edition”.
– that B2B distribution was the only winning alternative, given the huge investment required to produce a stock in the sizes S-M-L and the complexity of B2C distribution.
– that establishing the identity of the brand around the recognition of a product is fundamental, before opening up to a wider range of products.
-that the young age of the founder would have been a pro in communicating the brand itself, since she not only speaks to her own generation, but is also digital native.
CHALLENGE
From the moment the initial idea was developed, the Kawenlamar team focused on “a single product business” – unisex sweatshirt – and on its collectability.
The biggest challenge for the brand was to position itself as a lifestyle between the years 2020-2021 and define a price point that was suitable for the target.
While using Maelle, the Kawenlamar team understood:
– how to develop a the concept of “most desirable places to surf”, starting from Mumbaka, Uluwatu, Banzai Pipeline and creating an attractive storytelling, also defining the concept of “limited-edition”.
– that B2B distribution was the only winning alternative, given the huge investment required to produce a stock in the sizes S-M-L and the complexity of B2C distribution.
– that establishing the identity of the brand around the recognition of a product is fundamental, before opening up to a wider range of products.
-that the young age of the founder would have been a pro in communicating the brand itself, since she not only speaks to her own generation, but is also digital native.
RESULTS
After starting using Maelle’s tools, the brand was able to identify the main factors that needed to be addressed to drive the brand to commercial success. First of all, Kawenlamar did not have a business plan and this was crucial, since the founder was actively looking for investors. The founder realized that the biggest limitation was given by the inexperience of communicating and interacting with international buyers and distributors.
Once Maelle’s blue prints followed, the whole Kawenlamar team developed:
- a long-term distribution strategy, focusing only on markets where surfing is popular, starting from Spain (as homecountry of the brand);
- participation in trade shows as winner of contest and strategic online collaborations with low impact on the company budget, increasing sales leads by 25%;
- a distrubution in multi-brand stores in Western Europe, Caribbean Islands, Indonesia and South East Asia.
