Highly marketable, rapidly growing, trans-seasonal fashion brand for women.
Business overview
Location | Brighton, United Kingdom |
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Social media | |
Website | www.thevampireswife.com |
Sectors | Clothing & Accessories Mixed Digital/Non-Digital B2C |
Company number | 08776674 |
Incorporation date | 15 Nov 2013 |
Idea
Introduction
In just 18 months The Vampire’s Wife has created a collection of clothes that, through word of mouth, great media coverage and a rapidly growing Instagram following, are regularly sought out by a range of high profile clients including the actress Dakota Johnson, singer Florence Welch and super-model Kate Moss.
Our clothes have been seen at major international red carpet events, including the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Brit Awards and the British Fashion Awards.
With wholesale and direct sales demonstrating consumer passion for the brand and an efficient manufacturing facility in full operation, we have achieved our production targets for the creation of beautifully made, trans-seasonal clothes delivered in short lead times at a high profit margin.
Having raised £150k via Seedrs in early 2016 at a pre-money valuation of just under £1m, The Vampire’s Wife is now ready to move from ‘proof of concept’ to scaling the business, capitalising on the success of the 1st full year of operation.
Intended impact
Since it’s inception The Vampire’s Wife has taken on a life of it’s own, developing an extensive and loyal following who are drawn to the brand simply because they want to wear the clothes. They sense there is something beyond the article of clothing, a story, action, an idea that they want to buy into.
Regularly sought out by celebrities such as Kate Moss, Dakota Johnson, Florence Welch, Kylie Minogue, Ruth Negga & Cate Blanchett, The Vampire’s Wife dresses have been seen at events around the globe enabling us to develop e-commerce via our rapidly growing Instagram following.
Recently we have had over 20 sign ups a week to our website mailing list with a 64% open rate (industry average 14.1%). We know who our customers are and we know they like what we are doing. This month (Jul 2017), our return rate is 10% - well below the average for an online retailer. We regularly receive ‘fan mail’ from customers all over the world.
Substantial accomplishments to date
The exponential growth of the label’s presence and reputation on the red carpet is the perfect way to express the global luxury brand positioning of The Vampire’s Wife. Our celebrity clients and stylists have come on board without the aid of an agent, simply because they are passionate about the clothing.
• The Vogue Edit: 50 Best Party Dresses.
• Daisy Lowe voted Best Dressed at GQ Awards.
• Support from talent incubator Lulu Kennedy.
• Runner Up at Sussex Women In Business Awards 2016.
• Harpers Bazaar – 9 Designers to Watch is Season.
• Sunday Times – ‘ The 21 Dress Brands You Need to Know’.
• Pop Sugar – ‘Why The Vampire’s Wife Should Be Top of Your Fashion Wishlist’.
• Featured on Vogue.com and Major print features to appear in August 2017 issue of American Vogue and Nov 2017 in British Vogue.
• 22.7K following on Instagram.
• Average 64% Open Rate on e-store communications (industry average 14.1%).
• Average 23% Click Rate on e-store communications (industry average 1.7%).
• Regular 'fan mail' from customers.
• Collaborations with John Smedley (fine knitwear manufacturer - by apt to Her Majesty the Queen).
• Stocked by Liberty of London, Matchesfashion.com, Fivestory NYC.
Monetisation strategy
The number one strategic objective will be to grow direct to consumer revenue through smart online marketing and promotion.
Wholesale will be used to grow brand awareness and support the e-commerce strategy, together with direct sales to our ever growing private client base.
Wholesale clients also create marketing opportunities, with targeted press features and digital marketing projects driving customers to our own e-store. This has been proven over the last year in the brand’s exclusive relationship with matchesfashion.com.
Collaboration deals are in place with John Smedley, (legendary British knitwear manufacturer, by apt to the Queen) and the renowned jeweler Annoushka.
To date direct sales have been organic but investment will allow us to hire an experienced Sales & Marketing Director and create an advertising budget to significantly increase direct to consumer sales.
Use of proceeds
Our Chairman, Brian Message has already invested £75,000 through his fund as part of this fundraise. Further investment in 2017 will enable The Vampire’s Wife to hire expertise and carry out a digital marketing campaign.
We plan to launch a number of strategic PR and pop-up events in both Los Angeles and London through 2018. We also plan to have ‘by appointment’ stores open in London and Los Angeles in late 2018 to continue to create unique and exclusive shopping experiences for our customers.
Market
Target market
All women of all ages with an interest in beautiful clothes. Our social media following is evenly spread across women of age groups 25-34 and 35 -44. 63% of our website traffic is from women from 25-44.
Our target market are confident, creative, tech savvy women who want to feel sexy. These women are not necessarily served by the high street or high-end couture fashion and remain loyal followers of the brand that can deliver comfortable, classic pieces that fit well and feel personal and enable them to feel part of something special.
This target market will grow to include men, women and their families looking for something distinctive, playful, cultured and unique as The Vampire's Wife develops into a full lifestyle brand, enticing lifelong, committed buyers.
Characteristics of target market
The younger generation are very tech-savvy - following trends, emulating style icons & immersed in social media and the older generations now are not necessarily traditional.
"Nowadays there’s no such thing as an ‘average consumer’; there is no universal. What we have instead is a mosaic of minorities: lots of different tribes of people, with many people belonging to more than one tribe. For retailers & marketers making assumptions about a person from their looks, gender or age can be extremely dangerous' (source: Conlumino).
In 2013, over half of all women bought clothes online. There are 80m millennials in America, about 1/4 of the entire population, with $200 billion in annual buying power. They have a lot of influence over older generations and are trendsetters across all industries from fashion to food. 50+ women are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history'.
Marketing strategy
The number one strategic objective will be to grow direct to consumer revenue through smart online marketing and promotion directed by the current management team and personnel to be recruited. Wholesale will be used to grow brand awareness and support the e-commerce strategy.
Until now, the marketing of The Vampire’s Wife has been entirely via a naturally growing Instagram following and celebrity interest with no advertising spend. We know our customers, we know where we sit in the market and we know we can deliver.
Investment in 2017 will enable The Vampire’s Wife to hire expertise and carry out a digital marketing campaign with an initial budget of £80,000.
Key targets will be:
• Facebook, Instagram and Twitter advertising.
• Google Adwords to optimise SEO.
• Hootsuite will be used to post and monitor social media.
• To start a communication dialogue for those that follow The Vampire’s Wife via our ‘stuff page’. This will lead into other monetisation opportunities; we’ll start recommending products that Susie likes, much like you tube talent does and we’ll monetise those relationships.
We plan to develop the Relay payment system where possible (currently unavailable in the UK) with all social media allowing followers to buy our products straight from Twitter and Instagram without visiting our website.
Instagram Killed the Retail Store:
“For members of Generation Z, the photo-sharing site is the core of an instinctive methodology for building a brand, garnering a following, and generating sales.” Bloomberg Businessweek.
Competition strategy
The Vampire's Wife is more than a womenswear label - its a lifestyle. The sources of influence and inspiration for this lifestyle are being set out on the STUFF page of our website – a growing, living thing – which is becoming a repository of style ideas that are grabbing from high and low culture and throwing them together to form a touchstone for the brand that points people in the direction of interesting and cool things. The Vampire’s Wife is broadening its reach and becoming a club in which people are increasingly eager to join.
We stand out from the competition by making people feel special. Our clothes are unique, yet competitively priced and better quality than many designers.
We provide more than one length in each design to suit women of different size, height and age groups.
We are more tech savvy than many but taking a lead from marketing techniques of successful brands like Michael Kors and Burberry and embracing more streetwise marketing techniques of street wear labels such as NY based 'Supreme'.
By introducing new styles monthly we create a sense of expectation and a constant flow, rather than conforming to bi-annual fashion collections.
Our designs are for all age groups for all seasons all year, making us a truly global brand.
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