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| (Founder and Director of Own It Intimate Wear) |
Letlhogonolo Letsolonyane is a South African entrepreneur
and "start-up" queen who
launched her luxury intimate wear brand called Own It Intimate Wear in 2016.
She has a strong background in retail and studied at the
prestigious London International School of Fashion. Her passion and technical
background shines through the impeccable craftsmanship of her intimate wear
range and the luxurious materials she chooses for her line.
The Own It Intimate
Wear range has been positively received by celebrities, bloggers and social
media enthusiasts as the brand has managed to use social media marketing
effectively.
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| (image by Andrew Berry; Own It Intimate Wear Instagram) |
The brand is available online and at the GEN-XYZ flagship store
in Parkhurst, Johannesburg.
Below is my exclusive interview with the woman behind the brand.
I have bought a few items from the range and intend on buying more as the
quality is amazing and the material looks and feels great on my skin.
How did the name
of your brand come about?
I decided to name the
brand Own It Intimate wear because I was becoming self-aware, I was at the
point in my life where I wanted to own my body, my health and my future regardless
of my circumstances.
What is Own It
Intimate Wear about?
The brand is about
self-love, fearlessness and confidence. As women, we often get criticized about
our bodies and a lot of other things. This brand stands up for the women who
are self-aware, liberal and confident in their skin.
What inspired the
leap into entrepreneurship?
I was stuck at my 9-5
and I could see that I'm only going to get where I want in 5-10 years so I took
it upon myself to take charge and be directly responsible for my own success. I
wanted economic freedom.
How would you
describe the landscape of your industry?
The clothing and
textile industry in SA is tough; manufacturing clothes here is even tougher. To
actually be progressive you have to price competitively in relation to
international brands and be aggressive in your marketing to try stay afloat. A
lot of businesses are closing down but you have to fight and understand your customer and feed their needs and wants and gain their confidence
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| (Own It Intimate Wear Founder and Director - Letlhogonolo Letsholonyane) |
Where would you
position Own It Intimate Wear in that landscape?
This company is a
start-up; it is not where I wish it could be because of many struggles like
funding and infrastructure. It's coming up though, I see my garments as affordable
luxury items perfect for the South African woman, the quality is exceptional and
a great price!
What are your thoughts on African Luxury Brands?
Luxury brands
definitely have their market, most of them stay afloat because of how the world
perceives them, they are powerful, their market always has money and is willing
to buy if the garments or products are good. To add on, they'll always have those
who aspire to be part of the brand so even the not-so frequent buyers will do
what they can to always make sure that they can afford them.
Would you consider
Own It Intimate Wear a luxury brand?
Not yet, affordable
luxury yes! Because of the amazing quality and fit.
How do you feel
about the saturation of low cost imports in your industry?
I think SA consumers
should get into the culture of supporting locally made goods, yes low cost
imports are cheaper and we as a country are going through hard times
economically which is a challenge. All these situations put consumers in
positions that lead them to cheaper alternatives...it is killing local business.
How do you remain
competitive with all the low cost imports in your industry?
To be honest, I try my
best to compete directly in price especially with brands like Top Shop and
H&M. It isn't ideal but I understand that the market is going through hard
times. I am however looking into increasing prices a bit as I'm using more
quality and luxury fabric and I'm investing more into my business.
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| (image provided by Own It Intimate Wear) |
How has social
media and technology impacted the way that you do business?
The fact that social
media is integrated is amazing. Social media advertising will always be my go-to; it works well for my brand. Obviously when I grow I will invest in other
ways of advertising but this has been a very beneficial and very rewarding (in
Rands) way to advertise.
What
brand-building activities have you engaged in for the brand?
I've engaged with
bloggers, photographers and customers in order to collaborate with regards to
having shoots together. We are planning to have activities and events at the
GEN.XYZ shop to interact with customers and collaborate with other brands; it's
going to be epic! In the past we've run competitions online and popped up at
other shops.
What would you
like to see more of when it comes to African Luxury Brands?
I’D LIKE TO SEE MORE PROUDLY SA LUXURY BRANDS
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| (image provided by Own It Intimate Wear) |
Do you believe in
the power of collaboration and have you ever collaborated with other brands?
YES! Two heads are
always better than one and yes I've collaborated with Gen.XYZ
Where do you see
the brand in the next 5 years?
I see my brand with
2/3 flagship stores around the country and I see myself having stock-lists
internationally.
You have also
launched a start-up academy; what is it about?
This Academy is about
assisting people in starting up their businesses from design phase, to business
registrations, manufacturing and retail.
How does one
register to become a part of the academy?
To become part of the
Academy, you need to send through a business concept that we'll assess and from
there we will send you a questionnaire to fill out to see whether we can assist you.
Where does the
passion for helping other entrepreneurs come from?
I love sharing
knowledge, I love learning, I love helping others. If I can minimize the
struggles and frustrations of people who don't know how to go about starting a
business then I would have done enough for that one person. I wish I had that
someone to guide me, push me, put me at ease and save me time, money and
frustration.
Do you believe
that you are a serial brand builder or a serial business developer? And why?
I think so, I can
easily adapt to the environments around me. I'm an implementer, I'm not good at
talking or sitting all day and plotting. I'm really good at waking up and
actively putting things into action, finding new ways to solving problems and
working with what I have. I build things from nothing that's my super power.
More Images From The Own It Intimate Wear Range:
Visit : www.ownitintimatewear.com for information on their range and The Start-Up Academy.
Instagram: @ownitintimatewear
Email: Tlhogi@ownitintimatewear.com
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