my first failure in afghanistan .. professor eli zelkha
DESCRIPTION
Adventure story about the unlikely start & evolution of a fashion company, based in Kabul, Afghanistan and Boston, MA in the 70's.TRANSCRIPT
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Born & raised in Iran
Colgate, development studies, and idealism… hard winter
Spring fling trip to Florida with David Angell
Meet Archie, pre-med student, and #1 vacuum cleaner salesman
The Scheme & $5,000
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1,000 Wedding shirts $ 800
184 Afghan rifles (used) $1,800
1 Bengal tiger skin $2,600
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Guns Clothes
… and a Fantastic summer!
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US student visa delayed…Grad school deferred
Failure 1: Bengal tiger skin: Confiscated by US Customs
Failure 2: Guns: No one wants them
Failure 3: Wedding shirts: Quality a disaster
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Occasional clean wedding shirt sellable at boutiques
Collection problem NY Show Opportunity
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• Amateur city… Late night…
• Major backing by one key fashion pub…
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Retail hit: 35 stores nationwide
Bloomingdales
Bendell„s,
Many emerging new “boutiques”
…and TONS of more press
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Not Guns… Not Tigers…
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Bringing 2 worlds together: Production Nightmare
Mired in complex high friction negotiations
VS.
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Try raising purchase price…
Experiment w/ direct hire… 1 tailor on salary…
... to 3 tailors...
… to a team of 20 … in a rented house
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Shift to collaborative environment……. Transformative!
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Hire our first designer in Boston…
... and the editorial support rockets
Anne Sheldon
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... and the editorial support further rockets
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Development Dream: “Afghanistan, Iran of 100 years ago”
20‟s Dream: New York / LA fashion scene
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A team of close friends
Eli Zelkha KarimSaddiq Tom Pat Jim Anne Eli David EllynO‟DaySala Hathaway Sheldon Zelkha Angell Hessler
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Demand goes CRAZY!!
Yves San Lauren goes Ethnic…
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Enter the major European exhibitions: Pret a Porter, Igedo, London Fashion Week
Starting with press offensive…
The Sunday TimesElle German Vogue
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7 years of expansion in Kabul & Boston
Establishing clear leadership & retail following
Wealth effect
Strategic sloth and growing cost structure
Aging of the trend
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Iran revolution & fall of the Shah Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Logistical difficulties
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Failure to diversify production
Cataclysmic failure for Afghan teams…
Failure to build nest egg .. Family in jeopardy
Self worth in tatters
Unable to make a living!!!
Wandering the desert for a couple of years…
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Attempt at “salvaging” something…
A year of convulsions…
“Kick of the dying mule”
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Failure?
Opportunity
Chinese farmer