Filth Clothing and Accessories

Filth Clothing was established in October 2008 as a Close Corporation, founded by four young
entrepreneurs, with the intention of providing South African consumers with a quality product made
by local designers. Identifying a shortage of competitive South African brands, the focus was to
appeal to the segment of the market supporting international designers. The goal therefore was
to establish a powerful ready to wear street brand in touch with fashion and quality, which could
compete with international brands being imported.

Since its inception in 2008, Filth Clothing developed a cult following of young energetic
individuals. With very little advertising or marketing and remaining fairly underground, the brand
grew daily. This was generated by the first men’s summer T-shirt collection aimed to hit the target
market in December 2008. Producing only 100 units and reaching customers only through word of
mouth, the range sold out within a month. All aspects of the production process was outsourced,
a CMT working out of his garage in Athlone, a graphic designer and printer in Woodstock, Cape
Town.

After a very successful summer, the Filth team set their sites on the next range. Incurring problems
with our production process and realising potential, the brand set out to locate and upgrade to a
more suitable CMT and printer. Due to circumstances faced by the four founding partners
concentrating on their respective academic studies, the next collection was only possible the
following summer season. With much anticipation the brand released a second collection for
summer 2009/2010, diversifying into a men and women’s range.

Accommodating an increase in demand, the collection incorporated more designs, an
improvement in fit and quality and an increase in volume. A production run of 300 T-shirts was split
into a mix of 200 men’s T-shirts and 100 women’s T-shirts. The collection consisted of 12 men’s and
7 ladies designs, combining a mixture of one-liners, graphic and logo tees. Releasing the summer
2009/2010 catalogue online, after acquiring the filth.co.za domain, Filth Clothing far exceeded
expectations and increased market share.

The entire production process from sourcing fabric locally to manufacturing took place in Cape
Town, South Africa. Our production period of 6-10 weeks took place at an industrial factory in
Cape Town. The manufacturer employed approximately 100 workers and as the garments were
handmade, they displayed superior quality and workmanship. However due to the latter, the
brand was not able to market the product at a competitive retail price. Barriers to entry occurred
in search of appropriate distribution channels.

The focus remained on independent retailers, however the brand could naturally be stocked in
large chain stores or department stores. Independent retailers, due to economic circumstances,
wanted a brand with international credentials and could not afford to stock exciting new brands.
The retail offer price, due to high costs incurred during production, was not affordable compared
to competitor prices.

The brand has been approached by numerous parties proposing possible business ventures, to list
a few; a fashion designer wanting to launch and export a lingerie and bikini collection under the
brand name Filth and an importer hoping to establish his footwear products under the name Filth.
At present, the brand has released two very successful collections receiving a huge response from
the target audience. By breaking into the market and creating demand, we have revised our
initial business model to accommodate the powerful brand name. A revision of the initial partners’
contract is under negotiation, with the intention of dissolving and forming a new partner’s contract
with those interested.

The brand driven by South African designers can take advantage of their unique geographical
position and deliver products inspired by a melting pot of diverse influences. The brand is now in
negotiation with an international distributor, W.E Trading, to outsource production and determine
distribution channels internationally. The partnership offers various advantages through trade
secrets and applies a scalable strategic plan. Outsourcing production to more cost effective
manufactures will speed up the process, allowing us to compete on a global platform and to
penetrate respective markets worldwide.