JANUARY 9, 2022
ANNOUNCEMENT
DECEMBER 28, 2021
UPDATE
To all those who take an interest in YMYX, we have gone a long time without a post, and many have requested some news. As a result, I write today to update on YMYX ‘s current status now as we near the close of 2021, and in anticipation of 2022 to come.
Our partner brands are rendering their collections in 2D or 3D visuals, and YMYX is investing in conducting market research across major cities in China and even the rest of the Asia Pacific region, in order to gauge the consumers’ response, and give our partner designers precious feedback from the market on how to further improve their designs.
In this market research process, there are a sizable number of designers who have achieved a very promising success; some of them I share below, in alphabetical order: (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed) and (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), (Name removed), amongst many others; but due to space limitations, I am not listing each and every name out here.
Now, they are deep in the process of refining, improving and adjusting their proposals, in order to capture an even more fervent response from the market.
Even though these brands have achieved an initial enthusiastic acknowledgement from consumers, they are still using a very professional and dedicated attitude, and continue to increase in their scale, add more models and variants to their collections, and improve.
At the same time, in this ongoing period of market research over the last year, some brands did not have an initially favorable result, but after much mutual cooperation, these brands too, have completely flipped the response of the consumers, and achieved a first success as well.
Thinking back, 3 years ago, when YMYX raised the idea of using 3D or 2D visuals to conduct market research, it was not yet a mainstream method, and wasn’t something that many designers accepted, or knew how to do.
As a result, nearly all of our partner designers objected to this request, and expressed their incomprehension.
Yet now, this move into the virtual is now firmly planted in the fashion industry’s future roadmap. Even Louis Vuiton has created a virtual game with 30 NFTs, and Zara too, launched their first wholly virtual collection for the metaverse, last month.
A lot of designers now have written to us to express their gratitude, and they are frank in saying that the direction that we had pointed to nearly 3 years ago, was the correct path.
Some designers now have already completely changed the way that they work, and have adopted these new methods toward their European clients as well.
Due to limited space, I attach just 2 messages from partner designers, with names and information redacted, expressing this kind of sentiment:
Mon, Dec 6, 9:13 PM
[Name Redacted] to Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com>
Subject: Something interesting for you
"Hi Kate,
How are you?
I read this article today in a Galician newspaper and I found it very interesting so I wanted to share the link with you:
Zara crea su primera colección para vestir a personas y avatares virtuales - http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/sociedad/2021/12/06/zara-crea-primera-coleccion-vestir-personas-avatares-virtuales/00031638798779134685542.htm
Virtual design is starting to take position at the fashion world. We are already moving to new ways of showcasing and commercialize our fashion through online marketplaces, offering a new shopping experience to the clients. We are going in the right direction.
Kind Regards,
(Name Redacted)”
Thu, Nov 4, 2021 at 10:30 PM
[Name Redacted] to Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com>
Subject: Market Research
"Hi, Kate,
Finally, we are sending our sketches, we took a bit of time to number it, we got.482 sketches and 646 pieces of clothing.
We are really looking forward to positive feedback from the consumers because we really took a lot of attention to this stage!
(Name Redacted) is very happy to have mastered Procreate rendering, we don't even understand why we didn't use this way of drawing before, so thank you very much Kate for that recommendation!
She is absolutely in Love with that program.
you can download sketches here: (link not shown)
Best wishes!
(Name Redacted) and (Name Redacted)
"
We hope that all of the hundreds of brands who are partnered with us can achieve success in China and the Far East region, because this is the mutual goal that we are pursuing.
Nearly each designer firmly convinced us when we met in Milan and then upon signing our contract that as long as they had financial investment to support them, they could create a high quality and bonafide brand that consumers would love.
But it is also regrettable, that a portion of these designers, their designs simply have not been able to conquer the Chinese consumers.
We hope that those designers who have failed, will not become frustrated and will work even harder, full of enthusiasm to create designs that the consumers will love, no matter if those consumers are in China and the Far East, or in Europe.
Now that chance is upon each and every one of our partners, even though COVID-19 caused us delay, YMYX has not stopped our work, together with each partner designer, we have made good use of this difficult period, and these 2 years gave us even more time to make very thorough and exhaustive preparations.
At the same time, we are currently in the process of testing factories to see if they have the ability to produce high quality products, such that they can be admitted to join the YMYX project.
At present, there are more than 100 factories we are testing with. To name a few, there are GDA Group, Aurora SAS, Arastyle of Italy, El Trote Piel, NAULOVER of Spain, and LBT, and SJ Texteis of Portugal; there is no space to list them all out here, but each week, nearly a dozen more are joining as well.
YMYX requests that each factory can provide at the very least, very high quality and competitive price, and can swiftly respond and react, and expand their capacity. Some factories regrettably have been eliminated in the course of this test process.
But those with ambition, even though they are not big now, they have made a plan, for when YMYX orders will begin, then they will very quickly increase their factory's production capability, and unite the other factories in their zone, to build a consortium to meet the vast demand of the China and Far East market.
We know very well that no one single factory can complete all of the orders that the market will demand from each brand that tests well.
So for those who have tested very well in the market research, we have prepared 12 to 15 factories, some even 20 or more, and in the future even 30 or 40 factories to test, to see if these factories can match the designers' requests and work very smoothly with them.
In the past decades, Made in China conquered the world with its speed and accessibility and low prices; but now, we firmly believe that it is time for Made in Italy, Made in Spain, Made in Portugal, in other words, Made in Europe, to firmly take back the ground they ceded, and claim its rightful spot.
The reason is because the middle class of the Chinese and Far East market has been increasing at a lightning pace, and it has brought about an equally massive jump in consumption power as a result. Just in China, this middle class with strong consumption power is now surpassing 400 million in population. This eclipses the entire population of the USA alone, and also passes the population of Europe too.
This number, in the next 10 years, is predicted to reach between 600-800 million.
This region's extraordinarily strong growth in population and the increased spending power of the consumers' wallets have caused their demands for their quality of life to be ever on the rise. The finer things and experiences in life they now crave, and are seeking with fervent enthusiasm.
Years ago, YMYX identified this trend, and today, YMYX will provide that Made in Europe, unique experience that these consumers so covet, and we do believe that for Made in Italy, spring will return soon once more.
We have seen this in the results of the market research we have conducted for each of our partner brands, many consumers have expressed they very much love high quality Made in Europe fashion, and they are very willing to buy from the brands that they liked, with a sense of anticipation, and can hardly wait, even if Made in Europe is slightly more expensive.
As a result, YMYX is also gearing up to move, and when the borders in China open and normalize, and travel links as well as logistics and distribution in China starts to detangle, we will be ready to immediately go to market. Although Omicron has brought renewed lockdowns across Asia, Japan is again closed to non-essential travel, and China has just locked down Xi’an wholly, and undergone many more smaller sporadic lockdowns, we see hope in the efficacy of these vaccines and treatments, and in seeing that the Omicron wave has not been as deadly.
Our platform is ready to go, and while to protect business intelligence we have always been unable to make it public, we can share a few images here, with some aspects blocked out for privacy.
In the YMYX platform, each brand has its own virtual store and space, and once a consumer enters that space, we purposefully made it such that upon entry, YMYX’s presence fades to nearly complete zero, and we descend into background noise. The brand’s own universe and story, its own compelling interactive experience, is placed at the forefront, and their position as the main focal point is emphasized.
In other words, this is the brand’s stage, and it emerges full force, immersing the consumer in the brand’s DNA, aesthetics, values and voice. This is where a designer's own thinking, designs, and origin, including their hometown aspects, can be featured and explored by the consumer at leisure.
It is a walk through the designers’ heart, spirit and mind; and the brand’s visuals and content as a manifestation of that artistic expression and lived experience combined.
Not only will we stop there, but we have allocated plenty of space for each partner factory to also give their introduction fully and interactively. These contents will let consumers clearly understand exactly who is producing these high quality products for them with patience, skill and craft, and give them a sense of pride in being able to buy and wear garments, shoes and bags of quality so high, it is impossible to capture in words.
So the consumers will become not only fans of the brand, but the factory as well.
The entire platform will read like an interactive fashion magazine, with depth and nuance, and consumers will be moved and touched to read it.
Any designer working with us, as long as they are able to prove through market research that they are capable of capture the hearts of the Chinese and Far East audience, has the opportunity to consider what kind of position you will appear in, and how you want to show yourself to these some 2.3 billion consumers that inhabit China and the Far East including Southeast Asia (not including India). YMYX's sales strategy is to provide high quality production, irresistibly elegant and beautiful design, at prices that will not pressure or burden the consumer, and in fact will be so enticing that they simply cannot refuse. And with this winning combination, we will go to market at incredibly fast speed, to satisfy consumers' desires and quickly turn them into fans of the brands they buy from. In deploying this strategy, YMYX estimates more than hundreds of millions of consumers will visit YMYX's online and offline presences.
This will bring the brand a huge and unimaginable influence, that will impact not just China and the Far East region, but extend even to the rest of the world.
The results of the market research have proven that this reality will very soon come to pass.
From our side, we’ll provide Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other language versions of our digital platforms, such that each designer can communicate with their consumers and fans, of course, with YMYX mediating and managing that experience as needed.
As a brand with talent, through this platform, you can offer these consumers a beautiful and lavish feast for their senses, and dazzle them with design point of view shared through various mediums, not just one static image, or one garment, shoe or bag.
We will also be incorporating live streaming as another way to close the gap between consumers and the brands they follow, increasing the stickiness between the brand and consumer.
Factories too, will not remain silent production partners only, but will have their chance to show their story, background, history and craft. Consumers have often felt that nowadays, Made in Italy is actually Made in Italy by Chinese, due to the situation in places like Prato, or elsewhere in the industrial zones in the country. However, in the YMYX project, we are working with factories that pride themselves on the spirit of their craft and tradition, the attention to minute detail and nuance that these factories bring to their work proudly. As mentioned above, the consumers will also know which factory, which craftsman, has made this garment, shoe or bag for them, and this will also increase the stickiness between the consumer and the factory as well.
In these months, we’ve also had many fruitful exchanges with factories in this test process with us who hope to enter the project, and I share a few of these exchanges below, with names and information redacted for their privacy, to better allow you to understand in what way, with what expectations and what standards we aim to operate with each:
An email exchange between an Italian handbag producer:
Thu, Dec 2, 4:37 PM
[Redacted] to Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com>
SUBJECT: LISTINI MODELLI [REDACTED]
Translation in English:
"Good evening Kate,
Sorry for the delay, but I had to intervene in the market for you to find products at better prices. I attach to this the list of products and a letter.
Sincerely.
[Redacted]"
PDF Attachment:
"letter kate
Dear Kate,
Following your email of 26/11/21 I have carried out a new market research that has made significant changes to the costs that I had previously sent you. In attached I send you "the list [Redacted]" that allows you to have the costs of the articles with the variations. I would like to point out that in the articles 015 and 017 luxury versions, the front pocket is applied and not detached from the dial.
I also want to specify that the quotation that your suppliers have made you 20% lower than mine, is due to the fact that my samples have considerable changes from the photographs you have sent me, as you can see from the samples that you already have in your office.
Regarding the production capacity, with all the materials in stock, we would start with 9000 pieces produced in the first 60 days, we will obtain a monthly production of n. 15000 pieces in the following months. Prices refer to a production of at least 2500-3000 pieces per model.
With the occasion I make you present that the models [Redacted] will have to be made with printed skin, and every article with a different print, making that the costs of production of the samples increase. I would have therefore necessity to know the developments of the production of the articles [Redacted], because I would risk to lose money and energies uselessly because of high costs of sampling.
Hoping for a meeting to be able to confront with you, I am waiting for your answer.
Cordial greetings,
[Redacted]"
Dec 6, 2021, 2:16 PM
Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com> to [Redacted]
SUBJECT: LISTINI MODELLI [REDACTED]
Hi [Redacted],
Thank you for your email.
If you can only begin work on the models of the other two brands in the test until after we have made a detailed price discussion on [Redacted]'s models, then I must tell you very clearly that we must immediately stop our cooperation.
The reason is because if you only make [Redacted]'s models, then you are not able to prove that you will have the ability to produce other models of different variety, from other brands in the YMYX portfolio and work smoothly on all of them simultaneously. We also won't be able to judge if you can make a competitive price, and deliver with speed of execution for those models as well.
Please understand, even if we approved you as a factory for [Redacted]'s brand, we could never give you all of [Redacted]'s orders. The reason is after the COVID-19 outbreak, we came to deeply feel that if one country, or city, went into lockdown, our deliveries would run into huge delays if a factory had to shut down as a result, so it would be crucial for YMYX to divide up the orders amongst many factories, and that is why we changed our policy.
In fact, I trust that you also understand, even brands like YSL or Fendi are not allocating one model's entire production to just your factory alone, because no company would be willing to face this kind of risk.
So when we approve a factory to become a YMYX production partner, this is based again on whether or not that factory has the ability to work smoothly with multiple brands in our portfolio, creating a variety of different kinds of models. This is the basic criteria of our factory selection, and it is also our company's policy.
As a result, only when you have completed the 3 test models for all 3 brands, including [Redacted]'s, will we be able to evaluate the quality, speed of execution and the level of cooperativeness demonstrated, and enter into a detailed discussion with you about the actual production orders including the volumes and timings required, and then move to sign a cooperation contract.
Following that, we would pay for the first production order, and begin production.
This full process is mandatory before we can begin, I hope that you understand.
In order to give you a better understanding of our policy, I will make a further explanation using [Redacted]'s brand as an example. Based on the results of the market research that we carried out for her brand, we have confidence that her brand can be very successful in the Far East region.
For instance Model 017, based on the consumers' feedback and the results of the market research, the first order for this model would be 50,000 units. In the future, based on the market's circumstances, we would likely adjust and place additional re-orders.
Why is it that we have such confidence in placing this big of an initial order, is because as I have explained to you in the past, in China and the Far East region including ASEAN and East Asia, there are more than 100 cities that have a population of over 1 million inhabitants; this of course includes mega-cities that have populations far surpassing 10 million or even 20 million in populations.
If we were to sell just 1 bag per day of Model 017, in each of these 100 cities, in one year, we would be selling 36,000 units.
Yet this scenario, of selling so little as only 1 bag per day, would not be likely at all, based on the consumers' positive feedback in the results of the market research we conducted for [Redacted]'s brand.
So our first production order of 50,000 units is a very conservative one, because if we did not start out with this kind of volume we would not be able to satisfy the market's demand.
Of course, just as I wrote above, this order would be divided between several factories who are matched to [Redacted]'s brand, we would not place the entire volume of the first order for this model only with one factory.
In addition, regarding the samples that you have done for [Redacted]'s brand which we have received, I notify you here that the quality you have demonstrated in these models has been approved by our technical department, and has met our criteria. We very much thank you for your effort and cooperation in the course of completing these models.
Regarding the price, we feel that you still have room to lower costs further, especially considering such a high volume, including the choice of materials. For instance, the pyramid plate accessory, in your costing sheet you have quoted 5.20 EUR per piece, yet several of the hardware suppliers in cooperation with us in Europe can supply this at 2.5 EUR per piece, and if we give them an order of 50,000 units, they could even drop the price lower.
So all of these detailed costings will need to be further discussed for the models completed including those of [Redacted] and [Redacted] comprehensively once the test is complete; at that point we will go deeper on the price breakdowns, order volume and timings, and as I wrote above, we would then enter the contract phase, sign and begin production.
I hope that you understand.
Best,
Kate Chang
CEO | YMYX
Tue, Dec 7, 3:18 PM
[Redacted] to Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com>
SUBJECT: AGGIORNAMENTO LAVORI
English Translation:
Good evening very kind Kate,
I received your email of 06/12/2021 in which you ask me to complete the collection of [Redacted]: I update you that today I have developed the three models of bench to start the sampling, I bought the materials, I think soon to finish the line and then devote myself to the collection [Redacted].
I started to do a market research to find the gold plate of art. 017 in order to lower the cost, ditto for the plate of art. 015. If you have some names to which to address me, please let me know. Currently I have contacted two Italian companies, one in the center and the other in the south of Italy.
I will inform you in case of updates.
Best regards.
[Redacted]
Thu, Dec 9, 2:12 PM (21 hours ago)
Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com> to [Redacted]
SUBJECT: AGGIORNAMENTO LAVORI
Hi [Redacted],
Thanks for your email.
I am glad to see that you have already begun to commence with the models from [Redacted] and [Redacted].
I look forward to seeing the final protos for evaluation. Based on the models already submitted, we can feel your quality, and we can see that during the course of production, you have kept quite a high standard.
For [Redacted]'s brand, in the future we will not only produce a luxury version but also the economic version at the same time and offer two options to the consumer, it is a good idea.
Regarding the price, I hope that you understand that the cost price for the YMYX project is really important because it is the price that will give us the ability to give even more benefit to the consumer, and let them feel that this combination of quality and price is truly unbeatable. As a result, your price must be competitive.
Our business model will turn upside down the fashion market's way of doing things in the past.
We use huge amounts of capital and high quality production, together with a price that consumers cannot refuse, to create a massive wave of consumption.
Each factory that works with YMYX should be making their profit based on high quantities, not taking a high margin on a few small quantity orders. We also hope that in the future, as the cooperation with YMYX develops and grows, your confidence too will continue to bolster, and I am sure that at that point, you will naturally want to increase and expand your own capacity, to increase beyond the 15,000 pieces per month that your factory produces today.
A lot of factories tell us that they believe that because of YMYX's strategy, in the future, Italian fashion manufacturers will finally see ¨spring¨ again, and they will restore the scale of their heyday, because consumers will never again believe that to be ¨Made in Italy¨means to be incredibly expensive beyond their reach, or that even though the quality is good, they would never be able to afford it.
In this day and age, the world is changing very quickly, of course, this includes the fashion industry as well.
In fact, 3 years ago, we raised the point of view that design in fashion will be moving to 2D and 3D, and we had each of our partner designers design using 2D and 3D renderings, presenting the vision of each new collection in render to market research with real consumers. Going forward, based on the results of this kind of research, we will be able to react quickly and enter production on those models that test the best.
However, a lot of people didn't understand, including a creative director and consultant at [Name Redacted], and the father of one of our staff, Mr. [Redacted], the owner of the eponymous [Redacted] brand with their flagship in [Located Redacted] in Milano.
Designer brands in the project also told us that this was not possible, that YMYX must not really understand fashion.
But today, we see that Zara, the flagship brand of Inditex, the biggest apparel retailer in the world, has just launched a collection fully virtually, with virtual avatars to display the clothes.
At this moment, a lot of companies have started to believe that this kind of digital age of fashion has arrived finally, and all of this will bring about an even faster speed of production and sales.
I am sharing with you below the link regarding Zara's new collection:
https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/28219/zara-adererror-capsule
I hope that you can get used to these changes, and use a fast and reactive, and modern management style, to proactively find various ways to create high quality products at reasonable prices, with a very fast speed of delivery, and that you can fully comprehend our wishes."
An email written to an Italian fashion garments producer:
Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com> to [Name Redacted], [Name Redacted]
Thu, Dec 16, 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: [NAME REDACTED]'S CALL FOR FABRICS RESEARCH
Hi [Name Redacted],
Thank you for your email and for your confirmation.
Just as I explained before in the email I shared with you, 50,000 units is the minimum for our first production order, for garments, it's even likely that some will be 80,000 units. For the same model, we will likely also add more re-orders throughout the season, because if you recall from our meeting, if we sell just 1 piece per day, for each model that we develop with you, in each of the 100 cities in China with well over 1 million in population, that brings us to 36,000 units per year.
This is a total failure for the brand, and therefore, we consider it a very conservative order volume, to start at 50,000 units for a model already tested, very well liked with high ratings from consumers in the market research. Because it is virtually impossible that the volume would only be so much. We foresee very important volumes beyond this.
Just like I explained, prior to making any orders, and even for this sample test, we conduct extensive rounds of market research with active buyers of luxury brands in China.
Each brand is market tested in this way, across 16 to 20 major cities in China, some with multiple rounds, and for those brands that have not performed as well, we ask them to improve, to refine and elevate the designs, until the market response is much stronger, in a following research round.
Therefore, these brands and models are those which have already been proven through this market research to be very likely highly welcomed by the consumers.
So as long as your quality is good and your price is competitive, you will get the orders because we cannot possibly have 1 factory take everything; there will be a group of qualified partners to take on each model.
We don't want to do a one time deal, where we do one big order then disappear.
The idea is for each model, each collection, we have many factories already matched to the brand, and working together to deliver the overall volumes.
By the way, I am sharing with you a preview of our site (everything is blocked out, all images are black, due to the IP protection), but you can see at the very bottom, the space for the factory's presentation and the name, video, and content.
Your factory will be on the front page of our site, at the bottom of the "manufacturer" section, featured as a partner, and with a lot of space inside to show your story and history, and the process of making the bags.
I hope you understand that this is a very different kind of partnership, and it is truly meant to feature the factory along side the brand and the product, with highest quality and competitive price, to win the consumer, that's also why this quality test is so important, since the factory will get space on the direct front page of our site.
We hope that if you have demonstrated your capability and proved your skill, then once approved and we go forward, you'll become a factory known to the consumer, they trust you and your work, and in the future, they may even request specifically the products made by you, in order to feel safe and secure in their Made in Italy purchase.
Best,
Kate Chang
CEO | YMYX
[Name Redacted - Factory] to Kate Chang <kate@ymyxdesign.com>
Dec 21, 2021, 7:31 AM
Subject: Re: [NAME REDACTED]'S CALL FOR FABRICS RESEARCH
Dear Kate
I hope you are doing fine.
Thanks to you.
Unfortuantely, a lot of fabric supplier closing this week until beginning of next year.
I'm pushing a lot to have some fabric swatches before christmas but it's very very difficult .
I'm so excited to be part of YMYX project and, I0m sure will be a succesfull!!!!!!!
Kindest regards
[Name Redacted]"
Our project is a mutual effort between all three parties - YMYX as the investor, the brand, and the factories - to create and transmit the image of the brand, and the value that we offer to the consumer is comprised inextricably, of these three parts moving in tandem and in great harmony,
From our side, this must include a very clever sales strategy, promotion and planning, and strong financial backing and investment. From the designer’s side, it must include being able to articulate a very unique and high-end design vision and story, that is verified and confirmed through the consumers' responses during market research. And also, from the factory side, it is the ability to execute that design vision, and bring those pieces to life with quality, speed and strong communication.
These three pieces fitting in sync together, will create a perfect fashion “garden”, upon which the consumer can traipse into and happily get lost in, refuse to leave, and become deeply enamoured by.
At the same time very soon we will also enter the virtual world, the metaverse. In China’s incredibly fast growing society, YMYX will definitely not lack in this market, and we will show our great strength and might, in this new arena as well.
We will tie together our ability to stay on the trend, and even guide them, and invest our resources and finances, and placed together with YMYX’s perfect execution of our sales strategy and concrete operations, we will secure the strongest position for each of our partner brands who have received the warm welcome from the consumers.
To better allow each partner designer, factory, or interested party to understand, I am sharing an exchange between one designer and myself, again with names and sensitive information removed for privacy.
From these contents, you can see that as long as the designer has talent, and has proven that talent to be welcome by the consumers, then YMYX has the ability to invest finances, showcase and amplify that talent, no matter if it’s online, virtual or through physical channels. And because of this, just as I wrote above, it will create a wave of impact, and influence not just in the industry in China and the rest the Far East, but even globally as well: