The biggest change to Hanifa’s operations is switching to a fully ready-to-ship model, versus a past pre-order model. With no pre-order period, where the brand could produce only a committed number of SKUs, the company has fronted the entire new collection (which Mvuemba says is “expensive but necessary”) and plans to use real-time performance data to determine production cadence and inventory investments. Having inventory overhead also shortens lead times for purchases to be fulfilled, and gives the brand space to ship items by sea rather than air, which cuts costs.
“We thought it was really important to come out the door swinging,” Mvuemba says. “People want their things when they want their things.” It’s also invested in new customer service and logistics partners, with brand plans to build data analysis into its production cycle to ensure that it’s responding quicker to what’s selling. Mvuemba hired a brand strategist, an art director and a PR firm to help steer the comeback story. The brand has always been bootstrapped, but she says she’s open to outside funding if the right partner comes along. She’s also open to the right retail partners, but that right now, the direct-to-consumer model is the best fit thanks to production and shipping timing.
Her focus above all, she says, is her customer. Mvuemba comes back time and again to the importance of data, and how much she wants to spend the rollout of this collection listening to feedback. She hopes that the brand’s core customer — the company has a legion of longtime loyalists who were sad to see it go — returns, and that the brand can grow its reach. By category, she’s excited about expanding the brand’s shoes and outerwear, both of which are steps in building a more complete ready-to-wear label, which is her main goal for next year. Scaling, Mvuemba says, will come at the right pace.
“I used to say I want it to be as big as LVMH. And with this year, I just had so much time to reflect and I’m OK with the pace that we’re going,” she says. “I just want to have a globally recognized brand that a lot of women can identify with and that we can continue to create these beautiful, amazing pieces. I’m so excited to show them this new era of the brand. We’re sharper, we’re clearer, we understand who our girl is, who our customer is, and I’m excited to give them more.”
