BUYER BLOG
oodji - Chronicle
1998
The company was founded under the registered trademark OGGI , which means ‘ today ’ in Italian language . A team of 20 members started designing collections for young women who wanted to look stylish and fashionable . The apparel was made at the local factories in Saint Petersburg .
1999
OGGI opened the first ten 100 m ² stores in Moscow and Saint Petersburg . The collections expanded to 600 designs per year . The fashionable , high-quality clothing at affordable prices became extremely popular among young female customers following which the company started developing rapidly .
2002
The company started operating 150 stores in Russia . The first 400 m ² stores were opened and apparel collections expanded . Moving production to China allowed the company to reduce prices .
2005
The company became closer to the fashion world by opening a design studio in Paris . The international team of Russian and French designers started developing new collections together .
2008
OGGI operated 300 stores in Russia . New stores were opened in Ukraine , Belarus , and Kazakhstan .
2011
The company launched the men ’ s apparel collection . The clothing range expanded to 5,000 designs per year and the first 1,000 m ² stores were opened . Due to its venture into the European market , the company changed its brand name to OODJI . The first store with this new name opened in the Czech Republic and Poland .
2013
The company ’ s turnover reached Euro 380 million . The OODJI brand stepped into the future by launching an online store . Young people welcomed the wide range of clothing , the service and affordable prices . Online sales became popular among customers .
2015
The company had 2 , 500 employees and 350 stores in 7 countries . The company ’ s presence expanded worldwide .
2016
The brand ’ s collections were made available in Germany , England , France , Italy , and Spain besides the online platform of Amazon Europe .
An oodji store
FACT SHEET
oodji Stores Russia : 252 Ukraine : 28 Kazakhstan : 5 Armenia : 2 Poland : 15 Czech Republic : 4 Belarus : 5 Kyrgyzstan : 3 Moldova : 5 Slovakia : 2 for every season … For every style in each season , we have at least 6 months to develop samples , place orders and start production . Lead time thus is not a big challenge .” What ’ s more , the suppliers also need not spend big from their pocket when it comes to PD and innovation as most of oodji ’ s collections ( style , colour and look ) are developed by its France-based designer office ( for men ’ s line ) while that for the women ’ s is handled by the Russian office .
Going forward , Nipun plans now to increase the Bangladesh office ’ s turnover ( from the current US $ 20- 25 million / year ) substantially in the next two years . Being in sync with this goal , oodji is mulling to shift some knit orders from Uzbekistan to Bangladesh provided manufacturing cost is compatible . “ I am also planning to develop some good suppliers for outerwear as we have sizeable outerwear collection , which so far is sourced from China ,” says Nipun adding that Russia , in near future , will turn out to be a very exciting export destination for Bangladesh .
For Nipun , Russia would be one of the biggest markets for apparel in another 4-5 years and he hints at the local manufacturers to target the same . This is all the more probable with an increasing number of Russian buyers already flocking Bangladesh to source their requirements !
“ There are already 6-7 prominent Russian buyers in Bangladesh , including names like Austin , Gloria Jeans , and many more who are coming soon ,” concludes Nipun on a positive note .
22 Apparel Online Bangladesh | July 2018 | www . apparelresources . com