Marketing Projects
(More under Internship Tab)
Fashion Marketing in The UK (London College of Fashion) - River Island
Principles of Marketing - Telfar Project
Client Introduction
Telfar is a small high fashion company located in New York, specializing in purses. Started by Telfar Clemens, Telfar started out as a runway fashion line as has evolved since then. Now, Telfar is running the purse game. Purses on the website sell out within minutes almost every week and resale prices are high. Telfar’s purses are known for its signature vegan leather, lightweight feel, skinny arm straps, customizability, beautiful color palette, and relatively cheap prices. Promoted as genderless, it is popular among Millenials and Gen-Z , as well as the Black community. You can see Telfar purses on TikTok and Instagrams' of celebrities and fashion influencers. Telfar became a household name in 2020 during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. In the midst of fashion companies dealing with racism against employees and other similar scenarios, the spotlight turned to the small Black-owned purse company.
Mission Statement
Telfar lives by one saying: “It’s not for you-it’s for everyone”. Here at Telfar, there is a bag for everyone, everywhere, and there is no one that shouldn’t be able to have one. Whether you’re a man, woman, non-binary, masculine, or feminine, Telfar belongs to you. There is no certain look a customer buying Telfar has, because Telfar is for anyone and everyone. At this company, everyone is respected for who they are. Telfar also says “Telfar is for the people, not for bots”. Telfar has a buyer protection program that lets buyers shop without worrying about bots and resellers buying their purse. CEO Clemens believes in community over exclusivity. Telfar is not and does not want to be a brand that people see as not having access to. This is not your average fashion brand. Telfar is meant for everyone to wear and feel powerful in, and no one is left out.
Competitive Landscape
Potential Growth Strategy
Telfar is collaborating with two K-pop groups to bring consumers closer to their favorite boy groups! Each member would have a pin or accessory designed by them that consumers can decorate their purses with. That’s over 25 to choose from! Fans can mix and match to style themselves like their favorite idol. Pins and accessories will be made so that even if you don’t know the member but love the item,you can still wear it. Customizability is one of the most popular trends at this moment. Everyone wants to rock something that has their own personal touch. K-pop has become increasingly popular over the past few years much like Telfar. When K-pop promote products for companies they instantly sell out of them. These idols have heavy influence in apparel, food, and leisure markets as their fans want to follow in their footsteps. BTS and NCT are two of the biggest groups in the world right now. BTS has broken a huge amount of records including 3 Guinness World Records. NCT was one of the most anticipated groups of 2016 and has gained more traction over the past few years for their unique concept. With 23 members at the current moment, (the company plans to add more, there will be an infinite number of members) the members are very popular in the fashion world and are often endorsed by high fashion companies. Both groups support the same social causes as Telfar which makes them a great partner due to similar beliefs. Each group has brands that they associate for specific clothing items such as shoes or jewelry, but neither group has a purse company yet. This project targets a market that Telfar hasn’t quite reached yet. US K-pop fans and other POC fans already love the brand, but now it’s time to bring in the rest of the international K-pop fandom.
The members of NCT127
Example of PGS utilized by K-Pop group Monsta X
The members of BTS
Segmentation Strategy
Customer Persona Poster
Brand Association Map
Final Product Pitch
Mock-up and technical design created and executed by Bria Felix
My name is Bria Felix and I am with Telfar. Have you noticed the shift in style and trends lately? More specifically among men? There is a new demographic that is rising and seems to be here to stay. We call them: New Aged Young Men. These men are students, creators, and business owners. They are young and full of life. They like to experiment with their clothing and creative outlets. They’re not afraid to take risks. They live their life on-the-go and they need a bag that can go along for the ride. They don’t have time to think about how to organize their bags, they’ve got things to do! You can go to Target or Walmart and spend half your night in there looking for the right computer and still come out with nothing. You need a bag that’s not bulky. It can’t take up too much space wherever you go. You want something that is stylish and matches your personality but all you see when you look in the stores is the same drab black computer bag that’s been in rotation since your parents started purchasing laptops. The design of the bag does not accommodate the needs of the consumer. Too much space taken up by padding can cause everything to be smushed together. Having your food in the same space as your laptop cause be cause for immediate damage. Imagine you bump into someone or a wall, and when you look in your bag you can see your computer shining with the spilled juice. That is something that would stress you out. When wearing a backpack you are carrying 10 to 15 percent of your body weight. Studies show that 25% of consumers face back and shoulder problems with backpacks. This is why there is a sway towards shoulder bags as the weight is distributed across the body.
We at Telfar have come up with a solution in our new computer bag. With 4 total pockets for your computer, phone, snacks, and papers or folders, there’s room for everything without having to scrunch your papers to fit them in. That granola bar won’t crumble after 5 minutes of being in your bag because of the padding between the computer and food. There’s a compartment in the right compartment for your phone so you don’t have to try to fit it in your back pocket. A padded compartment for the laptop is added to avoid damage to both computer and any other items you may choose to put. The straps are thickened to help provide better support on your shoulder to carry weight and are adjustable. In addition, it’s made with vegan leather with the purpose of having long life wearbility. This bag is meant to make life easier for the consumer.
With all these things considered, this is a great business opportunity for you all to involved in. I hope that you and your partners will invest in Telfar, the bag for everyone.