Jon over at Local 604 lifestyle apparel contacted me a while back just to give the Vancity Buzz crew some tee’s. It was an awesome gesture and in return I decided to profile him and his company Local 604. Furthermore, he was also kind enough to send a few extras so we can give a few tee’s to the readers. The contest information can be found after the interview.
VcB: What made you want to launch your own clothing line?
Jon: The reason I started my own line wad because I wanted to start a business and a clothing line was conducive to my talent and ability. It has been a steep learning curve for me and the knowledge that I am acquiring is daily growing. I am fortunate enough to have amazing suppliers and a great group of friends that teach me something new about this business- especially about graphics and apparel design. The trick now is to turn my line into a more profitable business that I can put 100% of my energy into.
VcB: Does the name “Local 604” mean anything more than what it is?
Jon: Local604 means so many different things. To me, it is a company of individuals formed to voice their beliefs and follow their dreams in this hard-pressed industry without being distracted by corporate media.
VcB: Where can people buy your products?
Jon: Currently, we are only online at www.local604.com, where all of our products can be purchased. We are an exclusive brand and we only make limited quantity of each style so we are exclusive to maintain only internet sales for the moment. However, when our next line launches we will be running “pop-up shops” all over the lower mainland for our buyers that want to come check us out in person. If you are a member of our facebook group, we are going to start sending out on-line discounts and free shipping coupons- so be sure to log onto facebook and join the group!
local604 facebook group link
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=57824261469&ref=ts
VcB: Any chances of adding more lines to your products in the future?
Jon: Yes, we are currently sold out and our next line will be coming out on 06.04.2010 which is our 1st year anniversary. The line that will be coming out will be a “cut and sew” collection. All of the manufacturing (creation of fabrics, cutting and sewing) will be done here in Vancouver and the pieces will all be Eco Friendly fabrics, such and bamboo and organic cottons. We are really excited about this aspect and we hope that this will be a huge selling feature. In the mean time, there will be a few pieces coming out to fill that gap from now until then. One of them will be a re-make of one of our tops sellers, which was the “Local604 Does It Better” and the second will be a standard brand tee.
VcB: What are some of the challenges you’ve overcome and think you’ll encounter in the future?
Jon: The biggest challenge I have overcome was selling 350+ tees and sweaters in less than one year. The reason why that was so challenging was because we spent less then $200 on marketing and we relied on the good old fashion word or mouth. We found that word of mouth can be one of the best marketing tools, but in the end I hustled like I have never hustled before and we are currently sold out. Our next challenge is year two, it is going to be interesting to see the response of our new cut and sew collection. I personally think second year will be more difficult than the first year. When your business is brand new, people want to show their support in the brand, yet the second selling season is crucial because it has to be better than your last by 100%. Another huge challenge for us is turning local604 into a full-time business. Lets face it, I am just 1 of thousands that are doing the same thing. Yet we have come up with some unique marketing techniques and product ideas that will push us above the little guys and put us onto the level of being a household name.
VcB: What makes Vancouver such a special city?
Jon: I am not going to get into so much detail on this question because we are actually coming out with a shirt that is VERY similar to this question and I would hate to give too much away. Let’s just say Vancouver Is Special and we are fortunate to live in such an amazing city.
That concludes are interview with Jon, be sure to check out the cool tees at Local604.com and many thanks for giving us some awesome t-shirts. I’m also curious to know what their new shirt will look like…
Contest:
We are giving away 3 tee’s (2 L and 1 m). All you have to do to enter is to RT this link @vancitybuzz and or comment on the post by telling us why you like Vancouver. The contest ends Tuesday at midnight. I’ll contact the winners directly to get their information.
VancityBuzz.com
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