Telfar's new strategy

In telling the story of Telfar and the impact that its Shopping Bag has had on the legacy and perception of the brand, a few weeks ago nss magazine reported on how the brand's website had started to be stormed by bots and resellers, making it almost impossible for anyone to purchase a bag. 

The issue came as a surprise for the brand as well, especially since the bag is not a recently launched Telfar product, quite the opposite. After the first release in 2014, over the past three years - thanks to the introduction of new sizes and colours - the Bag has become the brand's hero product, increasing earnings from $100,000 a year to $1.6 million dollars over the past two years. A rather staggering success, further strengthened by a sales system, that of the drop, which seemed suited to the demands of the market, and above all to the production capacity of the brand, which remains a self-financed black-owned business, therefore with limited resources. 

Given the exponential growth in Bag demand, yesterday the brand presented The Telfar Bag Security Program, a plan that revolutionizes the production and sale method of Telfar's most famous bag. Tomorrow, August 19th, it will be possible to pre-order each bag in the line in any size and colour, from now on the Bags will be made only to order, in a new made-to-order strategy. Given the enormous amount of bags sold in recent months, the brand founded by Telfar Clemens has realized that a production that moves six months ahead of customer requests could not have withstood these rhythms, hence the decision to revolutionize the production of the Bag in its entirety. Telfar has also invited consumers to order a bag only if they are 100% sure, considering that they will be items made on commission, the brand does not intend to remain stuck with unsold products. For the same reason, no returns, cancellations or changes will be available, payment will be made in advance in its entirety and the Bags will be delivered between 15 December 2020 and 15 January 2021.

Since its foundation, the concept of community has always played a leading role in the identity of the brand, the idea of ​​creating products that connect people, that make them feel part of something bigger, both in Brooklyn, where the brand was born, both in the rest of the world. In presenting this new program, the brand has reiterated this mentality, underlining that there was never the intention to create exclusive and inaccessible products, but rather the intention to avoid hype and scarcity thanks to affordable products - both in terms of price tags and quantity - that would strengthen that same community. 

Similarly, the pre-order system financially protects an independent brand, that in this way produces only what is actually required and which will be a secure source of income, potentially avoiding problems with unsold goods or early discounts. In terms of image and perception, this idea reinforces the concept of direct-to-consumer strategy as well as the relationship between brand and consumer, a plan that in this sense could make the product even more exclusive in the eyes of the final customer, precisely because that product will be specifically made on order. 

Although trends and obsessions alternate at an impressive pace in the fashion world - it is worth wondering whether in January 2021 the status of a Telfar Bag will have remained unchanged - the move of the brand founded by Telfar Clemens reveals integrity and strategic intelligence that does not want to comply with a model, that of hype and scarcity, that has reached its natural conclusion, as nss magazine reported in the Digital Cover 03. While protecting and preserving its production capacity, Telfar has also restored importance and prominence to the personal experience of the consumer, never as today essential for the success of a brand.