Between videoconferences, photos, prototype approvals and conference calls, Valérie Capitan, JACADI PARIS Offer Director, tells us how the Jacadi collections get made… in spite of everything!
“The first challenge for the offer team: make sure the Jacadi Autumn/Winter 2020 collection arrives in stores on time this year.
We approve the new products remotely with our China-based teams:
- Dominique works on approvals for the “bib” colours (tests on real fabric to ensure the colours are right) that she receives at home.
- Some final adjustments are made by patternmakers based on photos our suppliers send us. It takes longer because we’re not actually handling them. But it works.
- And we trust our suppliers, who – thankfully – know our standards well.
Meanwhile, we’ve started working on our Summer 2021 collection. We’re well used to the process now: the designers get everything ready and send us their theme boards and sketches the day before.
The designers, market heads and creative director work together to progressively approve the model designs by videoconference.
The aim is to not waste any time so we can get straight to finalising the Winter 2020 collection when the offices reopen. The first prototypes will begin arriving in late April. And we’ll have to do that in person when our offices reopen in Paris.
When it comes to the operational marketing side of things, it’s a little more complex. We have to readapt the entire plan as each country reopens. It started on 16 April with one store in Austria, and then quickly continued with Italy, and Germany after that… There are a lot of unknowns right now: when sales will start, how long they will last!
We’re trying to get ahead on the Winter 2020 plan right now, with the same unknowns! For example, we’re reworking all our Winter 20 communication because we can’t do any photoshoots right now. So we’re working on a marketing concept without any products being worn!
And finally, to be able to manage all this on reduced hours, we’re focusing on what we know for sure – we just can’t consider every possibility.
We’re still having meetings, but with smaller teams. That said, every week, the entire team gets together to stay up to date, and of course I catch up every week with Cédric, our CEO.
The next big issue: the plan to reopen our Paris offices. We already know that we’re going to be receiving 3,500 products from the Winter 2020 collection in a short amount of time that we’ll have to do merchandising for: it’s a big job! We all went into lockdown in a single day, but we won’t be coming out all at once…
See the Jacadi collection: https://www.jacadi.fr/
