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In February of this year, my team at ENKI ENKI and I were preparing for a sales campaign in Milan. It was a good time for the brand. We recently crossed 160 bulk accounts. Our pre-fall campaign was a success. And with the upcoming major collection sales, it looks like we’ll be celebrating our best season to date. The team was encouraged.
Then on February 24, Russia launched a major military offensive against Ukraine. The country was plunged into war and business came to a sudden halt. The market was paralyzed. In the first month, no one talked about business. Instead, we focused on our team of 120 people, spread across Kyiv and Cherkasy, making sure everyone was safe.
For some, it was literally about physical existence. One of the members of our group was stuck in Bucha, hiding in the summer kitchen, Russian soldiers occupied her family’s house. Our head of merchandise went to Gostomel, another small town northwest of Kiev, to help his parents escape. We didn’t hear from him for three weeks until they managed to escape to Kyiv.
The next two months were spent picking up scattered businesses and trying to pull things together. We moved our offices and warehouses to the western part of the country. In June, we relaunched the sample studio in Kyiv. Our headquarters opened in August. Today, managing the company is mostly a virtual experience – managing a team spread across Ukraine, but also Italy, Spain, Canada and the US. Thanks to covid we are prepared for this.
As the whole world watches the atrocities taking place in Ukraine, we have received a mixed response from the wider industry. Amidst the flurry of supportive statements, the industry has become increasingly wary of working with Ukrainian brands. How do we produce? Can we deliver on time? Will we ever survive? Our showroom Rainbowwave was brilliant in helping us navigate through turbulence. We have discussed with each customer and made sure that our promises are fulfilled. The trickiest part was convincing international suppliers to put our orders back into production. We have about 30 and rely heavily on each of them. I have spent countless hours on Zoom. With some we had to go to the factories to make sure the business was here to stay.
Making a product is hard, but delivering it to customers is even harder. Our direct-to-consumer sales, our main source of cash flow, are suffering due to shipping delays. Customers increasingly choose to buy from our retail partners, which is faster and easier for them.
Every designer I know in Ukraine is dealing with a constant stream of potential risks.
This season, we missed our sales forecasts by 30 percent. But we are fulfilling all our obligations. And with the exception of two or three labels that canceled their autumn/winter orders, we’re back in the game. As I write this, our team is developing two pop-up projects scheduled to launch later this year, one with a British flagship store, the other with a hip concept store in Asia.
And still the sky is not the limit. There is no doubt that running a Ukrainian fashion business is a tough road these days. Every designer I know in Ukraine is dealing with a constant stream of potential risks. Ukrainian retailers are also under investigation. They are opting to sell their old stock to the rest of the country as their delivery capacity is dwindling. It may sound surreal, but for many people, shopping is one of the few sources of happiness left.
But with terrible challenges come opportunities. I traveled to Italy the last two months talking to big people in major production companies. All were impressed by the resilience and flexibility of Ukrainian businesses, as well as our commitment to providing high quality at a competitive price. This is my biggest discovery of this difficult season.
Given the alarming inflation across Europe, keeping production costs down is crucial, and global companies are looking for alternative suppliers. Here Ukraine can benefit. When the war ends, the country is likely to emerge as a major production hub for the luxury industry, not just mass market players like Inditex and H&M.
Ienki Ienki is 100 percent produced in Ukraine. With our hard-working people and the know-how to make and produce high-quality clothes, Ukraine could one day be the base for luxury brands such as Balenciaga, Fendi and Thom Browne.
The last six months have been difficult, but I am confident that Ukraine will win. Now our main goal is to win this war. Then we will win the industry.
Dmitriy Ievenko is the founder of Ukrainian outerwear brand Ienki Ienki.
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