AN EXAMINATION OF VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK by Vana Babic Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, European Studies, University of British Columbia, 2005 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION In the Faculty of Business Administration © Vana Babic 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2009 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Vana Babic Degree: Master of Business Administration Title of Project: An Examination of Vancouver Fashion Week Supervisory Committee: ________________________________________ Dr. Michael Parent Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Faculty of Business Administration ________________________________________ Dr. Neil Abramson Second Reader Associate Professor of International Strategy Faculty of Business Administration Date Approved: ________________________________________ ii Abstract This study proposes a close examination of Vancouver Fashion Week, a biannual event held in Vancouver, showcasing local and international talent. It is one of the many Fashion Weeks held globally. Vancouver Fashion Week can be classified in the tertiary market in terms of coverage and designers showcased. The goal of these fashion shows is to connect buyers, including but not limited to boutiques, department stores and retail shops, with designers. Another goal is to bring media awareness to future trends in fashion. The paper will begin with an introduction to Fashion Weeks around the world and will be followed by an industry analysis. Lastly, there is a close examination of Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) itself, identification of the weak areas of VFW and recommendations for future shows. Keywords: VFW: Vancouver Fashion Week (Subject of Study); Big Four: refers to the four big Fashion Weeks in the World held in New York, London, Milan and Paris. iii Executive Summary Vancouver Fashion Week was founded by Jamal Abdourahman in 2001. He founded Vancouver Fashion Week, from here on referred to as VFW, after his experience working for Fashion Weeks in Milan Italy, and Paris France. VFW is currently running two shows per year and despite some success the organization faces a myriad of problems unless addressed could jeopardize the future of the organization. Problems with VFW: - Lack of Budget: there is a very small budget for VFW. As a result of this they look for services to be offered for free or in exchange for advertising space. o DJ‟s were hired for free o Set was designed for free o There was no accountant for VFW - Lack of sponsors: there is high sponsor turnover and no big-ticket sponsors that contribute large amounts of cash to the show. This past season the largest sponsor was the BC Cosmetology Association, for $15,000. - Labour is based on volunteers: there are no employees for the organization, and therefore VFW suffers from high turnover and volunteer dissatisfaction. - Reputational effects and stakeholder relations: Includes venues that work with VFW who are dissatisfied with management and the state of the venue after iv completion of events. As a result some people are reluctant to work with VFW. This negative reputation can severely affect the organization. - Transfer of knowledge is non-existent. There are no lists of suppliers, vendors or practices in place. Every new volunteer is given a task but with little guidance. There is a lot of pressure to meet tight deadlines but there is no direction given. Recommendations: - Attracting large scale sponsors for funding of show. An accountant should be hired to keep checks and balances of show expenses and revenue. - Hiring a key team that guides incoming volunteers and knows the core operations of VFW. - Documenting procedures and lists of vendors etc. This should include procedures on contacting sponsors, designers, etc. It should also include templates for all communication from VFW to stakeholders. Lists compiling all previous designers, design agencies, venues, etc should be made available for incoming volunteers. - Working on reputational effects through PR and the key team that handles all relations. v Dedication Personally, a big dedication goes to my mom who was always encouraging of my studies, and for beaming with pride just when I needed her to. Also to my second parents my aunt and uncle (Teta and Tetak) for being there for so many years. Lastly, to my friends who understood that I needed to bail on our plans to do school work, and for taking me out when I wanted to forget about school. vi Acknowledgements This thesis encompasses a year of hard work, and a dream that has been alive for over a decade. I have many people to thank for their support both in my personal life and in academia. First the academics: thanks to my Professor Michael Parent, for to the point feedback, a good sense of humour and for humouring me while I was making him read about fashion. To the Associate Dean Bukszar for being an inspiration to get into the MBA program in the first place. Thanks to Lisa Siew for being the first to give me the good news that I got in to the program, and being a great help along the way. Klara Sinclair has been a wonderful person to lean on and ask career advice from, and Michelle helped in making a great resume. Also a big thank you to my professors this year I have learned a lot from all of you. vii Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. x List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... xi 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Global Fashion Weeks, and Vancouver Fashion Week .......................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose and Organization of Paper ......................................................................................... 2 2: Fashion Weeks and Vancouver Fashion Week ........................................................................ 4 2.1 History of Fashion Weeks ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Goals and Successes of Fashion Weeks .................................................................................. 8 2.3 Vancouver Fashion Week ..................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 History ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 Raison d‟être ............................................................................................................ 20 2.3.3 Organizational Structure .......................................................................................... 20 2.3.4 Stakeholders ............................................................................................................. 21 2.3.5 Participants ............................................................................................................... 26 2.3.6 Financials ................................................................................................................. 26 2.3.7 Current Strategy ....................................................................................................... 27 2.3.8 Product Strategy: ...................................................................................................... 28 2.3.9 Research and Development Expenses ...................................................................... 29 2.3.10 Structure ................................................................................................................... 29 2.3.11 Decision Making ...................................................................................................... 31 2.3.12 Manufacturing .......................................................................................................... 31 2.3.13 Labour ...................................................................................................................... 32 2.3.14 Risk Profile ..............................................................................................................