Bembi – clothing for happy children!

We have interviewed Victoria Khitruk, Bembi owner and CEO.

How did you started? How did you come up with an idea of establishing your own business?

Success story of Bembi began in 1998. The first investment in overlock sewing machine and two rolls of fabric amounted to $100. The first product range comprised of diapers and children’s undershirts, and the first sales channel was the local market in the city of Khmelnytskyi.

At that time I was receiving a second education, and I was so inspired by the words of the teacher on enterprise economics that I decided to take a risk and start my own business.

The first attempts at business were quite successful, and Bembi received some positive reviews. This gave impetus to further development: we became more systematic, gradually expanding the range of clothing and increasing our production capacity.

Going beyond Khmelnitsky was in 2003 thanks to participation in Baby Expo trade fair, where we found the first regular customers, many of whom cooperate with us until now.

In 2008, the company started to build its own store chain and distribution network to cover all regions of Ukraine.

In 2014 we opened an office in Poland. It is still our outpost for conquest of Europe. From there we ship products to Belgium, France, Germany, and Baltic countries.

After 20 years, we have worked our way up from home sewing to a modern enterprise with sustainable sales channels.

How do you position yourself?

Now Bembi is the largest children’s clothing factory in Ukraine. Production facilities are endowed with modern equipment and occupy about 7,250 sq. m. Our range covers the age from 0 to 9 years and comprises about 5,000 SKUs (2,500,000 units per year).

As a market leader in our segment, we are constantly developing, following global trends, taking into account the specifics of local markets.

Our principles (responsibility, honesty, constant desire to change and develop) help in building harmonious relations with partners, consumers and employees.

We position our products as the gold standard of children’s clothing made in Ukraine. Our slogan is “Clothing for happy children!”

How do you create your collections?

Any design is created to evoke emotions in end customers. We are professionalis, so we think both in terms of market demand and global fashion trends. Due to our own chain of brand stores and participation in Ukrainian and international trade fairs, we know end customers well and create collections that fully satisfy the demand.

A team of 10 designers from Ukraine and Poland, a huge experimental workshop and a highly qualified team of technologists are working on the creation of collections under the supervision of art director. This year we started cooperation with New Fashion Zone design bureau.

Within the annual International Young Designers Contest, we have announced a grant for design of spring casual collection of clothing for children aged 4 to 9 years. The winner has been selected, and soon we will show you the results of this collaboration.

Where do you buy fabrics and garment accessories?

We purchase fabrics from leading Turkish and Polish manufacturers. All fabrics comply with Oeko-Tex Standard 100. If a product is labeled as Oeko-Tex certified it is completely free from harmful chemicals and safe for human use. To attain Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, the fabric has been tested and certified to be free from harmful levels of more than 100 substances known to be harmful to human health.

Since our products are designed for babies, we are very attentive to the quality of all materials. To make patterns, we use paints that do not contain any heavy metals; they are fairly durable but completely safe. We use garment accessories that are nickel-free and Oeko-Tex sertified.

What is the structure of Bembi’s sales?

The structure of our sales includes distribution (60%) and retail (40%). In Ukraine products by Bembi are sold at more than 1,000 stores.

We export mainly to Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Germany, France and other European countries.

What does recognizing of Bembi TM in Ukraine and abroad mean for you?

I have always been motivated by the desire to make children’s clothing made in Ukraine a global brand, behind which will be the trust, admiration and loyalty of the most demanding consumers. As it happens, there is a stereotype in Ukraine, which we fight all the time from the foundation of our company: Ukrainian products are not of good quality, not of good style. This biased view is sometimes paradoxical: while foreign brands are forgiven any mistakes, Ukrainian brands should be both of mega-quality and mega-price.

For me, recognizing of Bembi TM is recognizing that products made in Ukraine are cool. We invest very much in making it not just words: high quality standards, following the latest trends, sensitivity to market needs.

What plans do you have?

To strengthen positions in the European market, open new Bembi stores in Ukraine, and develop our own online store to be even more acceccible.

As for the product range, we are planning to expand the teenage age. After analyzing the demand, we have realized that teenagers’ clothing is a special category that is bypassed by most Ukrainian manufacturers. Now the demand is met by foreign brands that very often do not comply with the standards and requirements for children’s clothing.

In 2019 we launched a school wear line. As for the coming season, we will offer an updated collection with improved models and an inclination to casual style and convenience.

In 2020 we are focused on increasing production efficiency, i.e. reduction of time from design to sales.

You are a regulat exhibitor at our trade fairs. What brand new products and collections have you prepared for BABY EXPO 2020?

Summer 2020 and Autumn 2020 collections are slightly different in approach from our previous collections. We have prepared 11 capsule collections dedicated to topics that are very popular in children’s fashion today. Such approach has some benefits for end customers, i.e. they can choose topics and designs; create fashion looks by combining items from the same collection. Such approach also has some benefits for sellers, i.e. increase of average purchase amount, coverage of various customer segments and customer loyalty.

Prepared by BABY EXPO team