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Benefits of online shopping for women's clothing.

Twins Irina and Marina Golomazdin from Revda dressed the same since childhood and designed their own clothes, which were sewn by their grandmother’s friends. At the beginning of 2014, together with Irina’s husband Ivan Khokhlov, they founded the 12Storeez brand and began selling clothes in the “cozy casual” style on Instagram - 12 collections of comfortable items from good fabrics per year. Today 12Storeez is a company with sixteen showrooms and annual revenue of 1.2 billion rubles, which plans to conquer the foreign market in the near future.

The Village Yekaterinburg talked with the CEO of the designer brand, Ivan Khokhlov, about how in five years 12Storeez managed to grow into a company with billions in revenue.

Launch

The 12Storeez brand appeared in 2014. We launched as a minimum viable product - with virtually no expenses, in an apartment showroom. At first, most of the sales came through Instagram and WhatsApp.

We spent two million rubles to launch the project - I invested one million, and the girls invested 500 thousand each. When an investor chooses a startup for investment, one of the important criteria for him is the degree of participation of the team in the project. A person must be 200% interested in a startup - if he brought all his friends, family into it, sold his apartment, then he will devote himself to the business as much as possible and will not give up at the first difficulties that arise. There are always conflicts in business - if a person has not sacrificed anything for the sake of the company, then it will be easier for him to give up everything and leave.

Irina and Marina immediately adequately accepted my proposal to invest in the project together. Both were already firmly on their feet by that time, they had extensive experience in the fashion industry: Irina worked as a consultant for premium brands and a personal stylist in Yekaterinburg, and Marina already had her first project. In the mornings, before going to Cosmopolitan Shopping, where she worked as a fashion editor, Marina watched the series and at the same time made headbands, which she sold on Instagram - this is how she earned her first million. The secret of our success lies largely in the fact that we are not only about creativity, but also about commerce.

Initially, I worked in the construction and retail sectors, but within a year since the creation of 12Storeez, the brand had grown significantly - the company employed 25 people. The first collection consisted of 25 models: cashmere tops and culottes, silk raincoats, lace skirts. All items were in equal demand and sold out instantly.

Then I realized that I needed to focus on this project - it was important to create a structure and train employees. Irina and Marina had good experience in the fashion industry, but it was stupid to use their background for other purposes - the company needed a separate manager. At that time, a sharp devaluation occurred, and construction projects began to decline in volume and ceased to be profitable - and my second company sold building materials.

Against this background, the 12Storeez company was growing monthly, so I made the choice in favor of the project quite simply. The brand was a more ambitious project for me in terms of self-realization - I understood that I would most likely be able to apply my new knowledge from Skolkovo here. I left other projects and concentrated on the development of 12Storeez.

"Twelve Stories"

Marina wanted the brand name to include numbers. When we approved the concept of “collection every month”, we chose official name 12Storeez - this spelling was formed in the search for a free domain name. The 12Stories domain in the *.com zone was occupied by some little-known foreign musicians, so we had to get a little creative and change the ending of the noun. Later I realized that this was a mistake.

If we take a classic article or book on naming, we learn that the name should be easy to remember and easy to write. For example, Zara: the word consists of two syllables, all sounds are clear, and the “r” produces an amplification effect. In many languages, the brand name is pronounced the same.

Now the brand name is pronounced correctly no more than once out of five. The most common pronunciation of the name is “twelve stories”

Now the brand name is pronounced correctly no more than once out of five. The most common pronunciation of the name is “twelve stories.” If before I didn’t like it when people called us that, but now, when I hear some presenters pronouncing the word “twelve,” I understand that it’s better to continue saying “twelve.”

We also have a YouTube blog called Twinstoreez, but the brand name is not confused with it. The blog was invented specifically for Irina and Marina, and not for the company as a whole - on YouTube it is customary to share personal content, branded content lives much worse on this social network. True, now we are thinking about converting the channel into a company blog format - several videos are released on the channel every week, so it’s difficult for girls to film in this mode. If a traditional blogger does nothing but develop his blog, then in our case the channel is only 10% of Irina and Marina’s working time.

Geography

The first showroom was our apartment in Yekaterinburg. The first store in the office appeared a month and a half after the launch in the Vysotsky business center. When the brand was six months old, we opened a point in Moscow.

We initially did not intend to think locally and become attached to the Urals. We have a goal to become global company, successful not only in Russia. For such a purpose it is impossible to think of local patriotism. Patriotism is a fickle thing. We rarely talk about the fact that we are a Russian brand.

The average customer bill in our store is 12 thousand rubles. We are in the medium plus segment. As a rule, in this category there are buyers who grew up from the mass market - this is the middle class. Separately, we can highlight people who moved to our segment from luxury, partly for financial reasons.

The active growth of brand sales began with promotion on social networks. First of all, this was due to the personalities of Irina and Marina - twin girls with a noticeable model appearance and their own style became the face of the brand. Important role Their experience in the fashion industry played a role: Irina worked in the retail sector, which helped us immediately begin producing commercial models that would be interesting to customers. Marina's skills in fashion photography allowed her to shoot and present things correctly. The right promotion channel and well-chosen content gave us a good start and allowed us to quickly develop in the market.

Patriotism is a fickle thing. We rarely talk about the fact that we are a Russian brand

Now we have 16 stores in Russia - in Yekaterinburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don and Sochi. Soon we will open showrooms in Vladivostok and Novosibirsk. Investments in outlets are always different; the amount depends on many factors: the size of the premises, the rental deposit, renovations, and whether it is a top-end shopping center. Usually we invest from 2 to 20 million rubles in their creation. The payback of points is also different - it all depends on the investment. There are stores that, according to the plan, will pay off only after a few years, and there are those that break even in the second month.

Before opening in new cities, we do not do any additional work with them: firstly, the brand is already known in the market, and secondly, we open in strong shopping centers. Previously, we thought that we would always create separate showrooms and use only our own traffic - locating in shopping centers seemed like a mistake. Later we realized: opening a separate showroom is indeed cheaper, but in terms of speed of development it is a much less profitable option. Placement in shopping centers has its own strengths: ready-made infrastructure makes it possible to park your car and visit the food court. If the showroom lives on its own, then a person must go there specially every time - the motivation should be much higher.

If in Moscow today we already have 10 points in shopping centers, then in Yekaterinburg there is still only one - a separate showroom on Khokhryakov. Moscow began to generate income very quickly, but Yekaterinburg remains the most efficient in terms of profitability - rental costs and employee salaries are lower here. We feel that we have already outgrown the showroom in Yekaterinburg and are now thinking about a new point in the city.

The online store now accounts for 30% of all sales, 2% of orders come from foreign countries - from the USA to New Zealand and Japan. As a rule, these are people who emigrated from Russia, but it happens that they have no connection with our country. I remember that I once corresponded with a Japanese woman who placed an order with us.

At one time we were selling on the Lamoda site - it was interesting for us to bring new audience. But after three months we left there - the sales level was not high enough. True, somewhere deep down there is a feeling that we haven’t worked enough with the site to draw such conclusions. We didn't put enough on sale. a large assortment and did not use Lamoda’s external marketing tools.

Production

The company has about three hundred employees. At the beginning of our existence, 12Storeez production was located in Yekaterinburg, but we quickly abandoned this. To produce something really good and in large volume, different models need to be sent to different factories. Clothing production involves a lot high level specializations.

To produce nice coats, you only need to produce coats - all technologies and employees must be tailored specifically for the production of coats. Good jeans can only be produced in a jeans factory. Sneakers and high-heeled shoes also need to be produced in different factories. Plus - materials, quality level and prices matter.

Another problem we faced was that we had to independently manage production and solve its problems. Let's imagine: the cutter, on whom the entire production process depends, did not come to work because of the garden. Someone else didn’t provide everyone with work because he was on Odnoklassniki. I had to solve private production problems to the detriment of the company's development.

We began to outsource production. Knowing your core competencies and outsourcing everything unnecessary is the art of entrepreneurship. Now we work with 50 factories in Russia, China, Turkey and Vietnam. The design department is now located in Moscow - there we develop models, create the first patterns and experimental samples.

To produce good coats, you only need to produce coats - all technologies and employees must be tailored specifically to the production of coats

To make a thing come into being, the sisters come up with a concept for it. They collect a database of pictures where they like some of the details depicted - part of a sleeve or a pocket; later they sketch this item. Previously, they did this themselves, but now a specially hired art designer does the work. Then the concept is discussed with the designer, his task is to explain whether he can technically bring it to life and how best to sew the thing.

Initially, we did not position ourselves as designers in the classical sense. Irina and Marina choose trends that are close to them personally and make clothes that they like. They come up with models themselves, choose colors, fabrics and select accessories.

The production time for an item depends on where it is made - in Russia or China. The cycle from the idea of a thing to the moment it reaches the store takes from 5 months to 12 months. As the company grew, we slowed down production significantly - we are trying to develop models more thoroughly and monitor quality more closely. Due to the increase in the team, the speed of decision-making also decreased. When there were only three of us, we could agree on everything very quickly. Now entire departments are doing this.

On the other hand, we are now optimizing and systematizing processes in order to achieve shorter production times in the near future. Previously, in Russia, the production cycle took 1-2 months - we produced things much faster, but at the same time in smaller volumes.

Customer focus

Recently, subscribers to the 12Storeez account and Instagram users left comments that items made of valuable fur are inappropriate in the assortment of a modern clothing brand. This prompted us to discontinue fur products and remove them from the assortment matrix for 2019 and subsequent years. First of all, we removed fur coats from sale in the online store and deleted posts about models on Instagram. At the time of my answer, we still had a few pieces left in stores, which we later sold.

We promptly discussed the issue internally and quickly made a decision, because we are a company that grew out of social networks. For us, feedback from customers is something we always listen to. This does not mean that we only do what we are told on social networks - in this way you cannot invent or create anything new. I am a logical and practical person, so I always reason and weigh all the pros and cons.

Yes, the topic of ecology is much more multifaceted. In order for a person to be truly environmentally friendly, he needs to give up consumption altogether - buy one shoes, one coat and wear them all his life. But I saw that there are a lot of people who don't like what we use natural fur in production. It’s unpleasant for them to see that their favorite brand has similar things in its assortment. We weighed the pros and cons, and in this case we decided to meet the buyers halfway.

We live in the 21st century, where people have the opportunity to comment on everything in the public space. Customers today do not need to call call centers - they can contact company founders directly and launch waves of criticism on the Internet.

We have a very loyal audience. Of course, there are times when someone is not satisfied with the quality of an item, Size chart, terms of delivery and return. We publish all the reviews that customers leave on our website - now their average rating is 9 points out of 10 possible. This is a high result for a fashion retailer. If the buyer gives a rating below 9 points, then we make sure to clarify what he did not like and try to take into account the comments.

Errors

We have never had unsuccessful collections, but there were some best models. The most popular products are always the basics. We repeat some models, but still change the color or fabric. We are often associated with a brand where you can always find knitwear items good quality or a cashmere sweater.

The models that Irina and Marina create, inspired by a recently emerging trend that people have not yet understood, can become unsuccessful. It happens that at first we get upset, but after six months, on the contrary, they start asking us to do such things. Last year we sewed black dress with a stand-up collar and couldn’t sell it for a long time - they constantly talked about the model on social networks, even discounted it. Irina and Marina love this style, so they often wear it and take pictures in it, posting it on their accounts. Subscribers started asking what kind of dress this was and where to buy it, so we decided to repeat the model in April. There are many such stories: people see things on Irina and Marina and begin to be interested in them.

One of the mistakes of 12Storeez was the desire to work without a discount system. We even considered burning the leftovers if sales were poor, just to avoid discounting. From the experience of our market colleagues, we have seen that buyers get used to discounts and already refuse to buy anything without them. Many well-known retailers who live off price incentives have become hostages of this. But this affects the business model - companies operate at zero or at a loss.

One of the mistakes of 12Storeez was the desire to work without a discount system. We even considered burning the leftovers if sales were poor, just to avoid making discounts

Goals

In 2018, we had a goal to make sales of one and a half billion rubles. At the end of the year, revenue from all orders placed amounted to 1.2 billion rubles. In 2019, we want to increase it by 2.5 times.

We always set ourselves the most ambitious goals - the higher you aim, the more you accomplish. If you have completed at least 70% of the plan, this is already a good indicator. A year ago, when drawing up a plan, the team was twisting my head - everyone thought it was unrealistic. This year it was easier to set goals.

In the near future, we want to open 13 more stores, and also specifically try sales abroad. We see that in Russia in the next couple of years we will most likely exhaust our potential for multiple growth. We will continue to grow, but not at the same pace, and we don’t want to slow it down.

All the girls want to buy new clothes as often as possible, Irina and Marina Golomazdin are sure. For the fifth year, the sisters have been releasing a new mini-collection of clothes every month, hence the name of their brand 12storeez - 12 stories, 12 collections a year

The Moscow office of 12storeez is located in an alley near the Taganskaya metro station: the old three-story building also houses the Igor Krutoy Academy of Music, the Sex.rf training center and the Naglo clothing store. The room, with large windows and white brick walls, houses an office for 80 people, a warehouse and an experimental workshop. There are also seven brand stores in the capital.

The 12storeez project appeared in early 2014 as an Instagram account. The founders - 35-year-old twin sisters Irina and Marina Golomazdin and 32-year-old Ivan Khokhlov, Irina's husband - come from Sverdlovsk region and started the business in Yekaterinburg. The style of the sisters’ brand is called “cozy casual”: easy-to-wear everyday items made from good fabrics and with a non-standard cut.

“The main thing you need to understand is that we are not designers, we choose trends that are closer to us personally and make clothes in their style,” says Marina. “We make clothes that we need ourselves, so all things fit together,” adds Irina.

The sisters are sure that even during crises, women do not skimp on appearance. “I have many friends whose salaries were cut, but they didn’t have fewer dresses,” Marina smiles. “In addition, many of those who could afford luxury now do not buy it at all: they have moved into our segment.” IN last year the brand, which previously produced only women's clothing, began producing bags and shoes - all for customers who want to buy a “ready-made look,” explains Irina: “We give them this opportunity: a lightweight, quick choice. It turns out to be such an accelerated shopping experience.”

Although the sisters’ concept may not seem indisputable, it is supported by evidence: in just four years, 12storeez has grown from an Instagram brand into a company with revenue of 629 million rubles. in 2017.

Twins from Revda

“We have never worked without a crisis, in principle we don’t even know what it’s like,” sighs Ivan Khokhlov. Following the crisis year of 2014, his previous projects, a construction business and a rolled metal trading company, which he had been involved in for about nine years, were experiencing difficult times. The total annual revenue of its Akskor CJSC and other companies, in best years reaching 1.5 billion rubles, fell to several hundred million. And in general, “my heart was never in this business,” admits Ivan.

“In 2013, I went to study at Skolkovo under the Executive MBA program, in one of the modules we tried to build a vision of the future of our company in ten years. I realized that I didn’t see myself in this, which means I had to look for something else,” explains Khokhlov. The atmosphere of entrepreneurship turned out to be contagious; I wanted to try something new, where I could apply the acquired knowledge, he adds. The idea was found literally at hand: his wife Irina, together with her sister Marina, had been inventing and ordering clothes for themselves for many years.

The sisters posted photographs of things made according to their ideas on Instagram: behind the posts in their personal accounts by 2014, approximately three thousand people were already following. But even the constant questions “where does this thing come from, where can I get the same thing?” never gave them the idea of creating their own clothing brand, Marina admits: it’s one thing to sew for yourself, it’s another to take responsibility for the things that others wear.

The Golomazdins come from Revda, a small town 50 km from Yekaterinburg, along the border of which lies the line separating Europe and Asia. Surrounded metallurgical plants in a town one and a half thousand kilometers from the capital in the 1990s, many things were in short supply, including clothing. Getting good things, especially for twin teenagers, was an almost impossible task, Irina recalls: “Since childhood, when we needed skirts or raincoats, my mother took hers and made two identical ones from them, because before the 11th grade of school we wanted dress exactly the same. We didn’t have our own tailor, as many people now think, our grandmother’s friends sewed for us.”

At first, my mother was responsible for the design of things, but over the years the sisters began to participate in this more and more: “We looked at magazines, looked for fabrics, tried to explain what exactly we wanted. But still, we never received things for nothing, money was saved for each of them, they were agreed upon by the whole family,” says Marina. The sisters continued to sew their own clothes after moving to study in Yekaterinburg and even after they went to work in different cities: Marina went to Moscow in the mid-2000s, where she began working at Cosmopolitan magazine, Irina remained in Yekaterinburg to work as a consultant for premium brands, then as a personal stylist.

Marina worked at the Independent Media publishing house for almost ten years, rose from the position of assistant to fashion editor at Cosmopolitan Shopping, and by 2014 she came to the conclusion that it was time to leave. “It seemed to me that I had earned a name for myself. I wanted to find a place where my skills would be appreciated and where I could earn cool money,” she laughs. Marina went to Yekaterinburg to consider proposals from three companies.

“Why work for someone?”

“One day I was sitting on the sofa at Ira’s house with Vanya, at that moment he was just hatching the idea of a new project - a joint clothing brand. When he suggested, I immediately answered “no,” but Vanya knows how to convince,” Marina smiles. “He asked: If you’re going to try something new, why work for someone else when you can do something of your own?”

Convincing Irina turned out to be much more difficult. “I’m a conservative by nature, the idea immediately seemed pretty crazy. In addition, I have never hidden the fact that I want to earn good money, and starting a startup is clearly not a story about big income“- the girl admits. Even after the launch of the project, Irina refused to leave her previous place for several months: she says that she did not consider the project a real job and did not believe in the success of the enterprise. Even now, Irina is sure that sooner or later she will still leave the project for the sake of stability and money.

Ivan, Irina and Marina spent 2 million rubles to launch their project. “That was my principled position: we had to invest everything together. You see, all three of us are Capricorns, and it is often difficult for us to agree, so joint investments were necessary so that everything would not fall apart at the first dispute,” explains Ivan. Khokhlov invested 1 million rubles, Marina and Irina Golomazdin - 500 thousand each, but the partners immediately divided the shares in the business equally. “The fact is that from the very beginning I had rather a secondary role,” says Ivan. “I am an investor and strategist, but the girls took on all the creative work and production, and we agreed that I would not interfere in this.”

In the first months, the main expense item was the salaries of Irina and Marina, Ivan recalls: to make life a little easier for the sisters in the startup, he immediately offered to pay them 60 thousand rubles each. per month. Khokhlov himself spent the entire first year working “for two businesses” and did not receive any money from 12storeez. “Other than that, starting a clothing brand requires almost nothing. To become a designer today, you need to go buy two meters of fabric, hire a seamstress for a thousand rubles, sew a dress, put it on Instagram and accept orders - that’s all,” Khokhlov assures.

This is roughly how the 12storeez project began: the sisters made the first collection of 20 items, set up a showroom in the guest bedroom of Irina and Ivan’s house, took pictures of themselves in all their clothes and posted the photo on Instagram, which became the first trading platform for clients from Yekaterinburg. At the same time, they approved the concept of “collection every month” and the official name 12storeez - this spelling was chosen in search of a free domain name. “Only a year later they told me that this is one of the main mistakes of a startup - coming up with a name for the site. No one can still remember ours properly; out of five messages or requests, one is written correctly,” Khokhlov laughs.

In the first month at the beginning of 2014, the startup received 650 thousand rubles from the sale of clothing, spending about 2.5 times less on its production: 12storeez still maintains this ratio between revenue and cost, says Khokhlov. “We didn’t have any marketing or administrative costs, we did everything ourselves: the girls ran Instagram, I did the accounting, the net profit was quite high,” recalls Ivan, without naming the profit margin.

“There was a moment when the euro jumped sharply, we stood up with our imported fabrics and thought that we were doing something wrong,” Marina smiles. - But we got out, probably because we have a very correct general director [Khokhlov - CEO of the company]. In our case, business without a man is not business. Ira and I would definitely have mismanaged our investments: a frequent situation is when I want to buy fabric, and Ivan hits me on the wrist: dear.”

Division of labor

After five months, it became clear that the flow of customers was already too large and only half of the customers bought clothes with delivery and without trying on. This means we need to open a full-fledged showroom. Also, the project began to actively increase the volume of purchases of materials - it was necessary to organize wholesale supplies. At this stage, those 2 million rubles were quickly spent, but there was no need to attract new investments: the business grew organically, and the revenue was enough to continue to increase volumes, says Ivan. By the beginning of 2015, Khokhlov realized that he construction firm with a much larger revenue volume, it was almost equal to 12storeez in profit: both projects that year brought in approximately 20-30 million rubles. Khokhlov decided to quit construction and completely switch to a new project.

In the founding team of 12storeez, responsibilities are clearly delineated: Ivan is responsible for the business component and development, Marina is responsible for marketing, collections of shoes and accessories, Irina is responsible for production and clothing collections. The sisters come up with their own clothes: from the selection of fabrics, for which the Golomazdins travel to Italy and China, to the elaboration of details. “We have two design departments, or rather experimental workshops, in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, where all collections are developed and tested,” says Irina.

In order for the item to come into being, the sisters come up with a concept: “We collect a base from pictures where we like some details: somewhere is part of a sleeve, somewhere is a pocket, then we sketch this thing. Previously ourselves, now we have an art designer. And then we discuss the concept with the designer, his task is to explain whether he can technically bring it to life and how better thing sew. In general, the whole design is based on our instinct,” adds Marina.

Due to the increased workload, the sisters divided the tasks. Marina helps Irina come up with the main collection - new items, Irina is also responsible for bestsellers - items loved by customers and approved for re-release in new colors and designs. minor changes in the design. “Ira still selects fabrics, linings, and buttons herself, although it seems to me that we already have a large company and we need to find people who can do this,” says Marina. They sew things in factories in China and Russia, and each one says where it was made.

12storeez employs 175 people - several times more than in many similar projects. Assembling such a staff for a project with revenues of up to €10 million is a rather reckless idea, says Daria Yadernaya, CEO of the consulting company Y-Consulting: “Administrative costs are distributed over a very small volume of products. Because of this, for example, with Russian market The River Island brand, which had 20 stores, left.”

Such an expansion of staff may be justified if the company is planning a large expansion in short term— at least 50 stores per year, adds Yadernaya. “But such goals in today’s market are a huge risk; a year is too short a time to conduct all negotiations with shopping centers and prepare stores. Even market leaders spend two to six months preparing discoveries.”

15 people work in two departments: SMM and customer friendship. The first is responsible for content on the website and social networks, the second is for communication with subscribers and customers. Now the official account 12storeez has 275 thousand subscribers, and almost 90 thousand each in the personal accounts of Marina and Irina.
The success of niche brands that started their business on social networks is based on a trend recent years, which is especially clearly visible in the fashion industry - demand is dictated by the consumer, says commercial director of Fashion Consulting Group Anush Gasparyan. Social networks provide an opportunity to communicate with a loyal target audience, conduct surveys, and adjust the assortment.

“Instagram brands do this much better, they feel their audience more sensitively, because they raised it themselves,” says Gasparyan.
Mass brands that came to social networks to keep up with the trend of omnichannel presence are not coping with it so successfully, she adds. In the ranking of “Top 10 official communities of fashion brands by number of subscribers” as of March 2018, 12storeez has an audience of 275 thousand people, one of the mass Russian brands Ostin has 265 thousand people. “Let’s compare 12storeez - nine retail stores, Ostin - 636 stores,” emphasizes Gasparyan.

12storeez cannot compete with large companies in terms of product range or costs contextual advertising in Yandex or Google, so Special attention pays attention to social networks, says Khokhlov: “How can we advertise for the request “red dress” if we have one, and Lamoda has a hundred? A client attracted in this way will cost us so much money that it will pay off on the third or fourth purchase, or even on the tenth. Therefore, the only opportunity we have is to develop our social networks, invest there and open retail.”

Real world

In the first months of work, immediately after the showroom in Yekaterinburg, another one appeared - in Moscow. From the very beginning, 40-50% of all sales were shipped through Pony Express delivery services, and most of them to the capital, explains Khokhlov: “This was an obvious step for development: even without a showroom, we sold half of all things there, simply accepting orders on WhatsApp” .

At the same time, the development of an online store was underway - it became very difficult to process orders worth many millions of rubles exclusively in messengers and social networks. The founders of 12storeez made a lot of headway with the online store, Ivan recalls: “There were a lot of problems with the developers, we didn’t have our own team that could service it, logistics became more and more difficult.”

Initially, there were no plans to open offline stores: according to the plan, the main sales were to go through the online platform, and two showrooms were enough for it. But about a year after the launch, an old acquaintance came to Khokhlov with a proposal to open retail outlets in Metropolis and Oceania. Usually, “entering” a shopping center costs $100-200 thousand, which 12storeez could not afford, says Ivan: “But we were called as an interesting project with a fairly large loyal audience, in order to attract new traffic from social networks to the shopping center, so we did nothing “We didn’t pay anything other than rent.”

The stores opened in August 2016: Khokhlov spent two last days, Irina and Marina washed the windows before opening the store. “We opened on the third floor of the new Metropolis building, there was complete emptiness there at that time, there was construction around us, somewhere in the corner there was our store, and yet there was a queue on the floor. We, of course, did not expect this,” says Ivan.

The success of the first experiment became contagious: in two years, 12storeez opened four more stores in Moscow, one each in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Each cost the company an average of 5 million rubles, while the first two stores in Metropolis and Oceania cost the project 11 million rubles each. In the next couple of years, the founders of 12storeez plan to open in major cities Russian network of 30 points.

On the one hand, such a massive move offline for a small brand may look illogical, Khokhlov admits: the world is moving to the Internet, Instagram is becoming the main platform for sales, why invest in opening new stores? On the other hand, if you look at global statistics, only 7-8% of retail sales come from the Internet, he adds, and the situation is unlikely to change radically over the next five or ten years. “Our lease agreements are concluded for an average of three to five years, during which the maximum that can happen is that traffic in shopping centers will drop by another 20 percent. But still, the dominant amount of sales will be in retail, so why don’t we take advantage of this? » - Ivan reasons.

Offline is necessary, Yadernaya agrees: it gives greater control over the network and coverage of more conservative buyers. “With all the demand for online, its share in clothing in 2017 did not exceed 9%, that is, 91% of sales are still made offline,” she says. If a niche brand was initially sold through social networks or an online store, this does not mean that it does not need to develop other distribution channels, including offline retail, says Gasparyan: “Opening offline stores is a fairly logical step if the company feels feels confident and has resources.” In the case of 12storeez, retail quite organically complements online, Khokhlov is sure. “We usually work like this: a customer sees a recent photo on Instagram, goes to the website, studies what it is and how much it costs, looks at which stores have it, then goes to her favorite one, her favorite seller and buys from him.” Currently, about 43% of sales at 12storeez occur online, and 57% in offline retail.

Big mess

In 2017, the revenue of all online and offline stores of 12storeez amounted to 629 million rubles. (the company does not disclose net profit; they say that everything except the founders’ salaries goes to business development), and the brand has produced about 100 thousand items, the company claims. Since its founding, revenue has grown several times every year, says Khokhlov; in 2018, the company plans to increase it to 1.5 billion rubles. It is unclear whether such a result will be achieved, but in general the concept, focusing on frequent purchases, has merit. “Our research shows that in Moscow, women aged 28 to 45 years with an average income of 60-100 thousand rubles spend up to 22% per month on clothes. The same percentage is spent by women with an income of 40-60 thousand rubles, but they go shopping once every three months,” says Yadernaya from Y-Consulting. The problem is that this market share is limited and highly competitive, she adds.

Producing 12 capsule collections a year also corresponds to the global trend towards ultra fast fashion, the expert adds: “Planning an assortment in advance and for the season is difficult, expensive and freezes funds for a long time. In addition, rapid rotation of the assortment stimulates sales at full price; due to the limited circulation, they do not live to sell out. This is vital for small business margins.”

Following their concept, the Golomazdin sisters remain the main faces and models of the project. “I always thought that it was bad when a company has two faces, on which both the idea and marketing are tied,” says Ivan. It seemed that from the point of view of future investments it was unprofitable because it did not scale well, he explains. The company tried to use models. But at the end of 2017, Khokhlov spoke with potential investors - he does not name names and says that the company is considering the possibility of attracting investment in a few years. And I heard another opinion: it’s good when the company’s image does not depend on a hired person who can get up and leave.
Until now, the founders of the brand themselves are models for most of the filming. This gives a result - the things that Irina and Marina were wearing are sold out faster, but the entire burden falls on them. “Here we are talking on Saturday, and I swore to myself that from 2018 I would not work on weekends,” Irina laughs, “this is the fifth one in a row, and I have worked on every one of them.”

Developing 12 collections a year, selecting fabrics, filming, working in the office for 10-12 hours due to overlapping schedules in the Yekaterinburg and Moscow offices - all this is very exhausting, the sisters admit. “We try to control everything, but with our volumes it’s just crazy. Now we need to learn how to transfer responsibility, but it’s quite difficult,” says Marina.
“For three years, none of us bought either cars or apartments, although every year I ask Ivan: when will I buy myself an apartment? And every time he promises me: in a year everything will definitely be done! We invest everything in the development of the company. It's already clean water interest: we’ve made a big mess, now I want to find out what will come out of all this,” concludes Marina.

“12storeez” is an online store that sells clothing and accessories from the rapidly growing popular domestic brand of sisters Marina and Irina Golomazdin. Creative and classic models presented on the pages of the virtual boutique, allowing customers to choose original wardrobe items at attractive prices. Today to follow fashion trends it is not necessary to attend shows, go to shopping centers, after all, just look at the resource. Here you can easily choose products that can highlight the individuality of the owner.

Transform your wardrobe by visiting the official website of 12storeez Com

Those who want to look stylish will not be disappointed with the models presented in the virtual catalogue. Twin sisters are different, but harmoniously complement each other in life, create products following classic and modern trends. This helps visitors find the ideal option for the buyer in the list of products sold.

Well-thought-out navigation of the official website of 12storeez Com and the original design of the resource help you navigate the assortment. The visitor is surrounded by care from the first seconds of being on the site. Consultants are available 24/7 to assist in your search suitable clothing, you only need to leave an online message, which is processed instantly.

Each product is accompanied by several photos, with the help of which the item is viewed from different angles. The image on the 12storeez Com website is accompanied by detailed description, where the parameters, color variations, fabric composition, cost of the model are indicated, and advice is given regarding the care of the product. Those who want to highlight their taste and style will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of 12storeez clothing, including:

playful tops, strict and sophisticated blouses or shirts, organically combined with skirts, will emphasize the advantages of the figure, hiding flaws;
dresses for everyday wear or important occasions, guaranteeing the girl the admiring glances of others;
knitwear (jackets, sweaters, sets) that provide comfort;
Originally tailored jackets, trousers of different widths and lengths will create an attractive silhouette;
scarves and handbags will help complement the look.

Seasonal collections are regularly updated with new items. Every month, women will be able to find models that will complement their wardrobe, refreshing their look. 12 unique stories created over 12 months will transform women who love and value themselves.

Benefits of online shopping for women's clothing

Today it is not difficult to become the owner of products that can satisfy the needs of the most demanding customers. In a couple of clicks, visitors can place an order for the product they like. Those who prefer comfortable shopping without leaving their familiar surroundings choose models that are delivered in a short time using the customer’s preferred method. The actively developing company attracts every year an increasing number of fans of the 12storeez brand, who list the following among the advantages:

monthly updating of collections with daily additions to the range, allowing you to transform your appearance, declaring the taste and style of the owner;
for creating women's clothing materials and fittings of excellent quality are used;
The quality of each item is carefully checked before shipping;
24/7 online support helps you navigate the variety of models, and customers who place an order can monitor its status;
prompt delivery to the specified address.

The online store 12storeez.com is the official resource of the new Russian clothing and fashion brand 12STOREEZ, which embodies the idea of a wardrobe consisting of the right base and well-thought-out color scheme.

The creators of the brand, twin sisters Marina and Irina Golomazdin, believe that instead of following seasonal fashion, it is better to create your own wardrobe style for every twelve months, where things are easily combined, and each new one fits in and becomes a harmonious addition to the wardrobe, helping to refresh your favorite looks and create new.

The brand does not create seasonal collections; new items are released every month, twelve times a year. Hence the name: 12 stories, 12 mini-collections. The online resource, through which the concept of a harmonious wardrobe is promoted without effort and expense, was launched in 2014.

In addition, the company has 7 stores and showrooms in Moscow, as well as one store each in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Brand models are produced in Russia, Italy and China. You can order and make purchases in the official online store, an overview of which is presented below.

Site's home page

A visitor who comes to the resource for the first time will note the freshness and novelty of the design, as well as minimalism, in which all elements draw the user’s attention to the brand’s collections. The buttons for managing and navigating the site are specially made translucent so that the most relevant things are always in the foreground. Home page, depending on new collections, consist of 2-4 banners with high-quality photo selections.

It can be seen that the store actively promotes social communication in popular resources - the Facebook, Instagram, VK.com and Pinterest buttons are always in sight.

The menu button is usually located at the top left.

By clicking on the menu button, we call up a translucent window with a list of all sections, including the directory.

The function fits perfectly into the general concept of minimalism - for those who are interested or don’t have enough social network buttons, go to the search menu necessary information: news, blog, technical information, as well as a product catalog.

How to use the catalog

Despite its conceptual nature, the resource still positions itself as an online store that offers a certain range of products.

On the pages of the main sections and niche categories (each of which can be accessed using the menu in the left column), there are filters and sorting options: here you only select sizes and reset filters, which is explained by the regular updating of the catalog - new arrivals on the site are published almost every week .

Product cards are implemented in the spirit of the general design: large photography, product name, price. To find out detailed information about the product, go to this page.

Product page

Product description - several photographs, there is also technical information.

There is no gallery as such, you can simply view images of the product from different angles.

In addition to still images, there are also one or two animations showing the use of the item using the model as an example.

Below on the page is a selection of other recommended offers from the store.

The options for choosing colors and sizes are quite easy and simple. If you are at a loss with your size, you can call the size guide.

A brief overview of the product contains information about the availability of the product in showrooms, terms of payment and delivery, etc.

The brief description consists of a few sentences about the features of the model, here you can read tips on how to wear this or that item, and you can also find out where the product was made.

How to buy a product and place an order

The process of buying things on the site is practically no different from most of the ways people usually buy goods on the Internet. Firstly, select the size of the item, secondly, select the color (if there is more than one option), and thirdly, click on the “Add to cart” button.

In a pop-up window you will see confirmation of the selected product. If you have not finished viewing the products on the site, you can close the window.

You can find a list of selected products through the button in the upper right part of the site. From here we move on to placing an order.

Before you start checking out, first check the list of products; if you wish, you can edit it (add or remove copies of one article, change color or size, or simply delete your order).

The personal data form is required to be filled out - without this, you will not be able to continue the order, as well as enjoy all the pleasant bonuses on the site in the future. In addition, select a delivery method by clicking the button with a drop-down list of options.

Selecting an option courier delivery, fill out the form with your residential address, please note that in this case the payment terms differ from the pick-up option.

Pickup is possible from several nearby showrooms and stores, however

You must pay for your order using this delivery option on the website. by bank card- this is the only option.

We also draw your attention to the offer from the online store to use a discount when ordering using a promotional code. You can find a promotional code (discount coupon or any other offer with a valid validity period) on our website.

Copy the promotional code (a combination of numbers, letters or a special promotion code word) and enter it into the line as shown in the screenshot below. Don't forget to apply the promotional code before confirming your order.

After clicking on the “Pay for order” button, the page will reload and you will receive a notification that the application has been processed, and a little later you will receive a message at email O further actions. You can also check the status of your order by calling the multi-channel phone number. Happy shopping!

In a year, one designer (provided that he works for only one fashion house) releases at least four collections - and we have not yet counted the endless “capsules” and collaborations. And sisters Marina and Irina Golomazdin, the creators of 12Storeez, release exactly a dozen - one mini-collection every month. This is where the name of the brand comes from

The history of the creation of 12Storeez is simple and even banal in its own way: Marina and Irina started by simply ordering things from a seamstress that they lacked in their wardrobe. And those around them constantly asked where these trousers, dresses or shirts came from, and since demand always creates supply, the girls decided to launch their own project.The first collection, they said, consisted of the most current items that they had previously ordered for themselves: cashmere coat dresses, lace skirts and silk raincoats in pastel shades. These things were sewn for them by a tailor with whom Marina and Irina had been friends for many years, and 12Storeez only started producing its own products over time.

By the same principle - “we will dress others in what we ourselves would wear” - the Golomazdin sisters still work:"We are taking on new collection, as soon as we realize that again there is “nothing to wear.” We needed a new dress for a party - let's design a dress. First we sew a sample and wear it ourselves - then, if everyone likes everything, we put it into production.” And since new parties happen every weekend, and not twice a year, you need to replenish the assortment with this concept several times more often. Therefore 12Storeez does not have large seasonal collections, but there are many small ones - new “capsules” twelve times a year , every month. Hence the name 12Storeez: 12 stories, 12 mini-collections.

Marina and Irina do not have a design education: in childhood, their parents decided that girls should become musicians, so they studied piano at a music school for 10 years. But Marina and Irina failed to produce either singers or pianists: they, in their own words, were always too shy for the stage.Therefore, work became their main school. After graduating the University of Economics, the Golomazdin sisters first worked as managers in fashion stores, and then their paths diverged. Irina became a stylist and shopping consultant for VIP clients (personal shopper), and Marina became the director of the fashion department of Cosmopolitan Shopping magazine, to which she devoted a total of 8 years.

“We don’t take fashion seriously, we don’t operate with such concepts as “fashion industry”, and we don’t look at anyone. We just make clothes for our own pleasure, which, fortunately, are not only liked by us.”

What we like most about the 12Storeez brand is, perhaps, the simplicity with which its creators themselves treat their brainchild. They directly say that they do not consider themselves designers, they are not going to start fashion revolutions and conquer the world's catwalks. But this does not mean at all that the Golomazdin sisters have no ambitions at all, they just look at their brand from a different perspective. Instead of talking breathlessly about their love for the mysterious Martin Margiela, British young rebels or Japanese avant-garde artists, girls admire Zara and H&M - because they are dynamic, recognizable, globally successful brands. And they dream that 12Storeez clothes will be worn by girls all over the world.

To be honest, the brand and its founders are still far from achieving this goal. But at least they really try to make their stuff accessible to everyone. more of people. The most expensive items in their range, cashmere coats, never cost more than 30 thousand rubles, and the price for other items of clothing is 6-8 thousand.

You can buy brand items in showrooms 12Storeez in Moscow and Yekaterinburg.

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