Firstly, thank you to everyone who took part in the expo, with special mention to Kate Z, Matthew, Ben, William, Carolyn, Jenny, Nicole, Kate C, Kate O, Stacey and Lorraine for attending the show and selling not only their products but setting up and supporting all designers on the stand.

The objective of going to Hong Kong to display our Innovation Pitchfest Top 20 was purely to test the waters and gauge reactions. I thought it would be great to collect info and help with planning 2017.

What an amazing result!! The expo far exceeded this expectation in so many ways.

As a group the impact is far greater than it would be with any one product or range being displayed.  Visitors appreciated the curation and quality of the products as a whole.

Not only did people like the products, we were asked where they could be bought in Hong Kong, potential distribution opportunities, stores wanting to stock products, companies that want designs / product development.

Key findings include:

  • As a group the impact is far greater than any one product or range being displayed, eg: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - SFMOMA visited the stand and wanted more info - she liked the group and was attracted to the assortment
  • The collection of products created a great impact and made people stop and explore
  • Visitors to the show were a combination of buyers/consumers, retailers, agents, distributors, designers and govt reps
  • Asians do let know the Australian mal but they certainly recognise the benefits of Australian design and business ethics
  • Brands are not focusing enough on retail and too heavily reply on wholesale - this is an antiquated dying retail model
  • Universities were interested to be part of IP because they see it as a solid path to success for their students

Outcomes:

  • All interested businesses have been recorded and brands will receive the contact details for the companies interested in their products.
  • I will be communicating with interested businesses on behalf of Innovation Pitchfest as a group, individual brand discussion will be done directly by the brand and the interested business. It is important brands follow guidelines and agreements of Innovation Pitchfest.
  • Bookazine (8 stores) and Party Time (4 stores) stores, owned by the same owner, in HK took product from the stand and will be ordering others directly. Brands in-store are: Short Story, One Two Tree.  Brands to be ordered: Padpod, Escargot, Urban Gardener + Almost all on the stand over the next few months
    • I have known the owners for a while and they are great people, I invited them to the stand as I knew a PDF catalogue would not do anything justice. The outcomes was even better than I hoped..
    • Bookazine are like Dymocks but better - Party Time are party stores.
    • They have a weekly pickup from sydney of magazines and other items which is great for stock holding and ordering.
  • First Time Parenting Magazine took stock from the stand and has been sent all info.  FTP are a digital app and are in 120 countries, downloaded over 20,500 times. Website is pretty new but we have about 600 visitors a day.
    • Jill took quite a few samples
    • They have already run Dog Gone Design, stay tuned for more 🙂

In 2017 Innovation Pitchfest will be pursuing commercial activity in addition to 1 competition session at the end of the year:

  • Australia - online store and pop up stores
  • The focus of all brands should be to build their brand themselves directly to the consumer. Stage 1 activity.
  • This will create better products and margins. Ranges can be displayed in their entirety & as you the designers intend them.
  • Wholesale should be a stage 2 activity, supporting key retailers , Channelling sales to them & promoting the business
  • Looking at some of your trading terms, they need to be reviewed and if you are doing consignments, I can help you with all that to make sure you are not missing out on profit and they don't run too long.
  • Growth into Asia - Stage 1: Hong Kong

Stage 1 - 2017

Retail:

  • Pop up store
  • Concept store
  • Online store
  • Hong Kong - key focus 2017
  • Collaborations within the IP group
  • Collaboration with commercial groups

Wholesale:

  • Distributor in HK
  • Retailers

Stage 2 - 2018

  • Retail expansion in Australia
  • Other Asian countries, one at a time

Access to 2017 Activity

Brands who took part in IDT will automatically be included in all activity.  Other brands will be assessed and included if they meet the criteria for inclusion.

Assessment

There are a number of requirements that must be met to be included in the Innovation Pitchfest commercial activity:

  • Sales material - includes pricing
  • Marketing material
  • Communication - Using the online communication tools is vital for the inclusion and the success of all activity.
  • Business activity and readiness

Costs and Fees

So far all Innovation Pitchfest activity has been free for brands.

All Top 20 brands will always be on the Innovation Pitchfest website as participants.

As we move to more commercial activity, fees will be charged for inclusion in this activity.

Starting 1 January 2017:

  • Sales achieved though Innovation Pitchfest will be subject to a commission payment
  • There will be a nominal monthly marketing and promo fee for brands who want to be included in the commercial activity.  Please note: Start date yet to be determined, will be $100 - $200 per brand.

As IDT was a tester and an unknown, all sales derived directly from the show are commission free.

Commission structure:

  • Wholesale orders:  5% of total order (not including freight)
  • Retail orders:         15% of total order (not including freight) for the first 6 months

Wholesale - encompasses all domestic and international wholesale orders.

Retail - encompasses all retail sales on the Innovation Pitchfest online store and in Innovation Pitchfest retail stores domestically and internationally.

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We have an opportunity to start a pop up in March @ 100 squared, in Sydney Westfield for around $ 1 090.00 a week for 10sqm.

If we have 20 of our 60 brands involved that is $54.50 each per week for rent. As a point of reference 24 of our brands were in Hong Kong so it is so do-able.

I need to know who is interested ASAP as the space won't be available for long.

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An agreement is being drafted as will be circulated to participants.

Brands are not at all obligated to sign the agreement, they just won't be included in any commercial activity.

I am committed to raising the profile of IP and you guys in Australia and internationally.  We now know we have a place in supporting designers and business owners in Australia and are now getting commercial!

I urge you to take every opportunity you can. Feel free to touch base with the guys who came to HK with me. Onward & upward team!!

Please complete the brief survey below so we can get started.

  • In 2017, we will be investigating the following commercial activities:
    .................
    i. Opening Pop-Up & Concession Stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hong Kong.
    ........................................................................................................
    ii. We will also be opening and online store.
    ......................................................
    iii. Distributors & Retailers in Asia
  • All orders / sales from the IDT Expo in December 2016 will be commission free.................................................................................................................... All orders / sales in 2017 resulting from the commercial activity in 2017 will have a commission applied. ..................................................................................................................... Wholesale sales - 5% commission. Retail sales - 20% commission. ............................................................................................................................. Do you agree to paying commission as per the above? ....................... (A formal contract will be sent to you early 2017, this form is an indication of interest.)
  • We will be using external sites for communication in 2017, including but not limited to: Slack, Google Docs, Dropbox & perhaps trello. Please ask for help if you don't understand something - or google it, which is also very informative. You need to download them and use them on your devices and enable notifications to ensure you don't miss anything. Do you agree to use these tools and the above?
  • We have the opportunity to showcase products in Shanghai at EGC offices. To be eligible for consideration, brand must be able to back it up with stock if an order comes in. Would you like to be considered for the Showcase?
  • Organising and participating in IDT Expo has illustrated that many brands are stuck in the wholesale model and not prepared or informed enough to be a retail brand and build the brand. A few of you have asked for support so running The Business Crew for IPers may be an option. We will also be discussing sales activities and issues - like we did in HK. ........................................................... We will be running this in person and those of you interstate can join via skype..................................................................................................... Collaborate, learn, ask, strategise & grow. 2 - 3 hours a month (depending on group size) @ $100 per month. More info here: http://www.magnoliasolutions.com.au/services-2/the-business-crew ........................................................................................................................ We are starting a new 2017 group mid March and you can join us free for one meeting to assess. ............................................................................................................................ Would you like to join the Crew?
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