Mill Trends: The Latest in Who’s Doing What to Reach the Market Amid COVID-19
Since we’re all practicing social distancing, mills are finding new challenges in bringing the market to you.
Carved in Blue caught up with a some of leading TENCEL(TM) Denim mills to find out how they’re addressing the impacts of the coronavirus, and how they’re innovating to still get news and new product to the industry.
Here’s what they had to say.
AGI Denim, Pakistan
Henry Wong, product development and marketing director
We are offering our collections in digital format and catering to each client’s needs in a customized, flexible manner.
Berto, Italy
Francesca Polato, marketing manager
In these days, due to COVID-19 emergency, it’s impossible to reach brands. We are trying to change the way we have been working until yesterday, transforming the relationships and the visits from “offline” to “online,” doing video calls and sending clients photos and digital documents which describe our fabrics. For the moment we have to do what we can, but we are gearing up in a more structured way because the emergency will not be short, and our way of working will undergo some inevitable and definitive changes, from which we will never go back.
Bossa, Turkey
Özge Ozsoy, marketing chief
In this situation everything is going to be online. We are preparing videos, we want to do online presentations. Our plan is to working closer with our sales team to do a proper selection for each client considering that probably in the next future we can’t have meetings with them and probably we will have to send to clients our qualities. This is also pushing us to analyze deeply fashion trends that can be suitable for each client.
Badjatex, Indonesia
Amit Suresh, marketing manager
Currently contact with customers is through email. All trade shows are cancelled or on hold.
Calik Denim, Turkey
Ms. Çiğdem Kaçar, Product Marketing Manager
Like many companies around the world, thanks to up to date technology opportunities, we are using digital platforms to communicate with our customers and partners during this difficult time and we are looking forward to touching and feeling our fabrics together with our customers again like we were doing before.
Panther Denim, China
Tim Huesemann, sales director
We keep in contact with our customers:
- Through the social media channels, liked IG, FB, website
- By sending collection book with the hangers based on different brands’ needs
- By constantly rolling out and introducing our new items and collections online
- By videos which will be recorded, stay tuned
Royo, Spain
Santiago Rodriguez, sales manager
We are no longer holding in person meetings or attending events and instead pivoting towards a digital strategy. This includes connecting with clients through e-mail, offering video conferences and sharing digital resources.
Naveena Denim Mills (NDM), Pakistan
Aydan Tüzün, executive director of global sales and marketing
The shows are very important but they are just part of the bigger picture. We continue to be in touch with our clients on a daily basis. Obviously, we use digital communication channels more and more.
The fact that we have a global presence with offices worldwide is a great advantage. Having powerful offices in different time zones also enables us to keep track of latest developments, to keep communication strong and to provide the necessary support.
SOORTY, Pakistan
Eda Dikmen, marketing manager
The denim industry is a global community. We have built close and trustworthy relations over the years that reach beyond the office desks, orders or payment transactions. We are in this crisis all together and we have to acknowledge the importance of supporting each other along the value chain.
We have a global team in place and we are trying to utilize the digital technological tools to communicate both internally as well as with the outside world. We are putting together a digital platform to present our latest innovation as well as share where we have differentiated our processes and products. All with a positive, engaging tone.
Advance Denim, China
Michael Lam, marketing manager
For the domestic China market, we created the online platform to communicate with our buyers and raw material suppliers. We made the online live presentation on March 11-13 in our mill to present our latest 2021 Spring/Summer collection and there were over 15,000 people were watching our fabric show.
For overseas customers, we are making the product presentation in video and we will send it to them or post it in Instagram and Facebook. We also communicate with customers through software such as Zoom, WhatsApp, etc.
Bens Mode, Taiwan
Benjamin Liao, director
I am working with buyers through my agent and mails while letting them know what I am doing and what I can provide as the new concepts by new products photo image.
Cone, Mexico
Pierette Scavuzzo, director denim product design
During these extraordinary times, we have the opportunity to be more collaborative and creative with how we work. We are pushing ourselves to communicate our products and collections in new ways and as clearly and creatively as possible. During this time when we do not have the ability to communicate in person, we are working to connect with our customers, to still feel like they are receiving our utmost attention and extra special care. Through virtual presentations, we hope to give clarity, inspiration for future designs, and most importantly, bringing (and keeping) our denim community closer together.
DNM, Turkey
Zuhal Karacayir, marketing executive
We offer our collection books to the customers in order to be still able to present them our products. Other than that, we obviously increase the use of video conferencing to stay in close contact with our customers.
On a total different level we have to work in creative ways to manage the upset of the current season and planning. We support all the links in the supply chain to overcome this era.
Global Denim, Mexico
Anatt Finkler, creative director
With today’s technology we are managing to communicate with brands and customers through different mediums, call it phone conferences or video meetings and provide them with our collection and sampling as usual, so they can review it freely in their own time and workspace.
Taking all the precautions and measures needed to ensure the safety of our clients and staff; we are committed to keep working and providing the best service as possible during this time and we are here to support each other.
Kilim Denim, Turkey
Elif Karahan, marketing executive
We keep in touch with our existing customers and we try to present our products.
NZ Denim Ltd, Bangladesh
Jasim Uddin, project director
At this turbulent coronavirus-stricken situation all the trade shows, travels and visits are stopped, banned or limited. There is no doubt this is for the sake of world health safety but the future business plans must be communicated and updated with the brands so that once everything is up and running, we do not fall back.
In this time our research and development team is in contact with our brand designers and sharing their ideas and innovation stories through email from house isolation working hours. The R&D team is also posting innovative and sustainable stories through social media like LinkedIn, Facebook pages and Instagram.
R&D also shares power point presentation of stories and new innovation with brand marketing teams and also with brand designers.
Orta, Turkey
Zennure Danisman, marketing and washing manager
Since the first day, as ORTA, we have taken all the necessary precautions possible to protect our employees, their families and all our business partners who all of them considered as our most valuable assets.
In these days, we are working more than ever as the solution partner to our brands and business partners. Our sales team is accessible as always to keep our dialogues and we have a swift relationship with every market. We will launch our “HERE4GOOD” collection with our digital narratives on Kingpins24 for the online exhibition.
More than ever, now it is the time to be more “social.”
At ORTA, we are now building resilient thinking into our ORTA BLU sustainability platform. Resilient thinking will be a new measure in circular design processes. That means re-assessing every practice and process we have in place to ensure that we are proactive and not reactive to the unforeseen forces. Our OrtaBlu app is a great example to be proactive by enabling design for sustainability. OrtaBlu app lets designers/consumers assess how high their decisions are creating environmental impact based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.
*Anyone can check us out, just snap the QR code on the collection hangtags, download the app, and see our collective eco-handprint.
We would like to invite everyone to join us as we network with closeness, by keeping our social distance for now. We are HERE4GOOD.
Özak, Turkey
Aysun Acar Yuksek , product development manager
We have a strong and long-standing relationship with our customers for many years. Yes, we are going through a difficult period right now. Since we know them well, we may anticipate their tastes and demands and make a preparation accordingly. We also meet their demands quickly with a close contact.
During this hard period, we support each other as always we do. Distances are not an obstacle between our customers and us. One and only important thing is now, to slow the spread and prioritize our community’s safety.
Shinjintex, Korea
Y.K. Youn, marketing manager
Indeed no certain way. Sometimes, we send new samples to their houses as most of companies are closing.
Siddiqsons, Pakistan
Asif Ali Rana, managing director
This is a very important time for denim industry. COVID-19 has hit everyone badly and there is no fixed timeline of when it will get fixed. We are now focusing on social media, print media and also partners like Carved in Blue to help spread our innovation and product to the active customers.
Tavex, Mexico
Arlethe Sanchez, marketing coordinator
We designed “virtual collections,” with the picture of the product and its specifications. The presentations are online by Zoom.