Success Stories
Uzbekistan

Uzbek Designer Boutique Fashions Stylish Sales Figures

Since opening for business four years ago, the clothing and accessories boutique Human House has established itself as one of the premier designer outlets in Uzbekistan and is now building a strong international reputation. With the help of EDP, they enjoyed a 113% sales increase in 2004.

Human House represents local Uzbek designers who produce prêt-a-porter clothing and this collaboration has been instrumental in establishing the Uzbek fashion industry. Their goal was to build the prestige of Uzbek fashion and to introduce their goods to the international market. Today, the gallery is well known both in Uzbekistan and internationally, with Human House having participated in the annual Russian Fashion Week in Moscow, Christmas Fairs, and other international shows. Recently Human House participated at the Import Shop Fair, held in Berlin in November 2004.

In its early days, Human House was the sole player in the Uzbek designer fashion market. However, as the market developed, several strong competitors emerged and began to steal market share. In order to maintain and strengthen its market position, the company turned to the USAID EDP.

Nigora Aikhodjaeva, relationship manager at the Tashkent EDP assisted the company in identifying the following strategic issues: lack of knowledge of marketing, accounting systems, forecasting, financial planning, exporting, and managing suppliers. To combat these issues, Mrs. Aikhodjaeva developed a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) to outline a growth strategy for the company. One of the most important strategies was to improve their marketing function. Jamil Maksudi, Uzbek EDP marketing specialist, developed a comprehensive marketing plan, which through mechanics such as a new loyalty program, has already resulted in a significant increase in their customer base.

As a result of the collaboration between Human House and the EDP specialists, 2004 sales grew by 113% and revenues by 126%. By making customer service a priority and working to keep a broad selection of fresh products, the gallery has been able to successfully expand its customer base.

“Craftsmen from different regions of Uzbekistan, producing unique goods, have great problems with sales,” says Dina Malkova, Commercial Director of Human House. The products are usually sent to Tashkent to be sold through art galleries on a contractual basis. This process is time consuming and designers do not receive regular payments. To combat this issue, one of the main objectives of the Human House partnership with their designers is to provide adequate support and a stable income. To further this support for the industry, the gallery is planning to open a Human House design school where apprentices will learn to create exclusive designs in preparation for careers in both industrial design and custom tailoring.

Human House has succeeded in a difficult market. Sales have steadily increased, as has quality of merchandise. The company now has a solid reputation. And although when they first opened for business, nearly 90% of business was from foreigners, Uzbek interest has grown significantly, currently making up 40% of their client base.

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