Jolidon

A true European hallmark of creativity!

Sirbu Ioana Tacoi Alexandra

Class 315

The Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest 5

CONTENT

1. Company profile page 3 2. Activity Domain.pa ge 5 3. Market .page 5 4. Headquarters ..page 6 5. Product page 6 6.Development......... ..........page 13 7. Human resources page 14 8. Liability and Competence.........page 14 9 .Promotion page 14
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10. Brand Values..................page 15 11. Opinions................ ...page 16 Bibliography.................... ..page 17

1.Company profile
Founded in 1993 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Jolidon achieved the leadership on the Romanian underwear and swimwear market and became one of the major competitors on the international market. The story of the Jolidons success looks like an American classic movie: one enterpriser, Gabriel Cirlig, identifies on the Romanian market after 89 two types of products needed, but not founded and that are the lingerie and the swimming suites. He starts with a few dedicated and ambitious co-workers a little business. The initial shop with 3-4 sewing machines, the minimum

logistic to work lingerie and 2 persons to sew became in 14 years a factory of which dimensions intimidates any European lingerie producer. Presently the group has more than 3300 employees and a chain of 133 Jolidon shops of which 65 in the main cities and commercial centers in Romania, 3 in Budapest- Hungary, 35 in all Italy and 10 franchise boutiques in France. In 2004 Jolidon made an important investment by taking-over its main competitor on the Romanian market, Argos SA, with more than 800 employees and more than 60 years of tradition in the field of underwear and swimwear. A well-known international presence, since 10 years Jolidon has been presenting its new collections during the most prestigious international underwear and swimwear fairs.SIL Paris and Lyon, Mode City are the fairs where Jolidon has been a constant presence since 1998. The underwear and swimsuits are exported widely in the whole world, the main destination being: Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Leetonia, Russia, Austria, Cyprus, Malta, USA, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Lebanon, Israel. The growth of the Jolidon exports determined the investments abroad, starting with Jolidon Hungary KFT in Budapest in 2000 and continuing with Jolidon Italia SRL, opened in 2001 in Milan, and with Jolidon France SARL opened in 2003 in France. The need to better serve its French clients made that in 2005 the investment in France continued with a new location-Lyon. The collections range produced by Jolidon and Argos is very wide, covering the different types of clients needs in lingerie and swimwear field. Through design and colors the collections join the international trends, being also a trend setter on the Romanian fashion. During the years Jolidon invested a lot in technology and design, and also in trade marks, collections and brands protection. The beginning of 2006 makes Jolidon as one of the most prestigious names in the world lingerie field, the Romanian brand recognition and value confirmation coming from the land of lingerie, France. In February 2006 in SIL Paris Jolidon gained one of the three prizes of excellence during the Ultralingerie event. The beginning of 2007 brings out the Jolidon value confirmation by the fact that the organisers had selected two products of two brands Joldion and Prelude for the promotion of Ultralingerie event. On the 15th of December 2006 Jolidon is taking-over the company named LCS Conf SAwho returned, after the assumption, at the name full of tradition Flacara. One of the most prestigious textile confections factory in Romania, with over 50 years history, more than 1000 employees and a prestigious brand name: Falla. At the beginning of 2007, the group Jolidon adds two more well-known Italian lingerie names: Infiore and Chiaro di Luna, by over-taking the company Emmenci which was founded over 25 years ago has became one of the most known lingerie producers in Italy. Since its founding, Jolidon concentrated over acquisitions and development in the textile industry, but for the last years the group has extended its activity in the field of financial investments, being the major shareholder with 58 % shares for Interdealer Capital Invest SAlocated all the time through the first 30 companies with the same field of activity. And Jolidon entered on the real-estates domain by taking-over the company Cetate SA Suceava. In the present, the group Jolidon is one of the reference names in Romanian economy, and that is the reason it gained on the 15th of November the International Trophy Superbrands.

The secrets of Jolidon success? Respect for brand clients, ambition, trust in own forces, desire to demonstrate that even Romanian can design and sell fashion at least as the same way with Italians and French. A young united team, full with enthusiast and high professional values. Each letter of the word Jolidon have a meaning:

J is for Jolidon
Worthy of an American screenplay, Jolidons story began in 1993 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Following the fall of communism, a clever entrepreneur realized that lingerie and swimwear were conspicuously absent from the Romanian market. Gabriel Cirlig hastened to fill this gap.With two people and four sewing machines, Jolidon was launched. Thirteen years and 3,500 employees later, the company has earned its rank as a major player in European lingerie.

O is for Open towards Europe

Jolidon is concretizing its European ambitions through a fine process of acquisitions. In 2004, it became owner of Argos SA, an 800-person company that brought Jolidon 60 years of expertise in the lingerie and swimwear industry.

L is for Leadership
In parallel to its rise in the textile industry, Jolidon was catapulted to the Top 30in finance when it became Interdealer Capital Invest SA, principal shareholder. And, with the acquisition of Cetate SA Suceava, the company made a noticeable entrance onto the property market. To crown its success, Jolidon was presented with the Romanian economys International Superbrand Award in 2006.

I is for International
10 years of presence in the spotlight at SIL Paris and Lyon Mado City, and a participation in Shanghai Mode Lingerie and Bodylook in Dusseldorf that attracted a lot of attention, all over the world, from Italy to Germany, from the U.S. to Japan and South Africa.

D is for Daring
An innovative and cosmopolitan styleR&D investments that guarantee the perfection of a product Made in Europe..Excellent value for moneyThese are the three terms of the challenge taken up by Jolidon, a leading brand on the world lingerie market.

O is for Originality
The richness of the collections is matched by the diversity of the products the fruit of an innovative and creative approach in line with the major trends in world fashion. While investing an increasing parts of its turnover in design and new technologies, each season Jolidon continues to put its trust in the European suppliers that guarantee the brand the best level of quality and creativity.

N is for Notoriety
Respect for its clientele and confidence in its lifeblood a young and motivated team united by a great sense of professionalismThese are the key values at the heart of Jolidons notoriety. Winner of the Excellence Award at SIL 2005, the brand skillfully managed to make its 15th birthday coincide with international recognition.

2. Activity Domain
Even if Jolidon produces only lingerie and swimming suits, just a small part of the clothing industry, Jolidon wanted to be the best of the best in this market. The company now produce different products for different needs, ranging from the low-end to the high-end in fashion lingerie and swimming suits. Their designs are simply a perfect combination of fantasy and creativity. The company makes products for men, children and women, in different sizes (from S to XXXL), different colors, which satisfy even the most exigent customer. Jolidon has made many collections over the years which we will discuss in a bit.

3.Market
At the start of the 1990s, the Romanian lingerie and swimwear market was still an unexplored area. The market only offered a scant selection, made up of limited imports and a single Romanian brand, Argos. Jolidon was born in 1993 out of a desire to reply to this need and, as a result, it contributed much to shaping the lingerie and swimwear market in Romania and to educating and influencing the consumers buying behavior on this segment. Currently, Jolidon is in full development on a market on which it holds the leading position (Source: Ziarul Financiar, February 2006).Jolidon holds almost 50% of the Romanian lingerie and swimwear market, giving it considerable influence over local developments in this field. In 2004, through the purchase of Argos, its main former competitor, Jolidon consolidated its product range and strengthened the position it held on the market. The Jolidon brands reputation is also sustained by its network of 50 brand shops all across the country, which will shortly increase to 70 stores. Turnover in 2005 totaled the figure of 20 million Euros, and the company is at present anticipating turnover to reach between 26 and 30 million Euros, thanks to the investment plan currently in place. Jolidon is a well-known international presence. Through its branch offices, in Italy, France and Hungary, Jolidon is strongly represented on these markets, using almost all the distribution channels, though it also has customers in all other European countries and on the other continents. For nine years, Jolidon has presented its new collections at the most prestigious international underwear and swimwear fairs.SIL Paris and Lyon, Mode City are the fairs where Jolidon is a constant presence.

4.Headquarters
The main headquarters is situated in Cluj-Napoca, in Romania, on the street "Tabacarilor", number 1. The company has evolved from the single building company which was at the beginning into a vast expanded company with 113 shops all over the world. 65 of these are found in important cities in Romania, 3 in Hungary (Budapest), 35 in Italy and 10 in France. All of these make available to customers the new collections and give them the possibility to choose their favorite design.

Besides these countries that have a company proprietary shops, it also exports to: Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Malta, USA, Canada, Japan, South Africa and Israel.

5.Product
All the collections produced by Jolidon and Argos are particularly wide, covering the different clients needs in the lingerie and swimwear field. Through design and colors, the collections contribute to international trends, also being a trendsetter in terms of Romanian fashion. Over the years, Jolidon has invested a great deal in technology and design, and also in trademarks, collections and brand protection. The lingerie collections are created and structured not only for the specific categories of consumers women, men (JD), children (Jolidon KIDS)- but also in accordance with their needs. These include casual lingerie, represented by the Linea Continuativa and Fior collections; comfort underwear through the She collection; functional lingerie(large size) represented by the Comfort&Lady collections; fashion lingerie represented by Jolie, Joligirl, Jolidon Fashion, which are refreshed twice a year with spring/summer and autumn/winter collections. Jolidons latest collection is entitled Prelude, a premium brand that blends precious fabrics and accessories with prevailing fashion trends, as well as the exceptional work of Jolidons designers. The swimwear collections boast the same luxury features. Jolidon is one of the few companies at international level that offers an exceptional variety of swimwear products on a yearly basis. Each year, the swimwear collections offer about 200 new models for women, men and children.

6.Development
Everything started in 1993 with 2 employees and 3 or 4 sewing machines. 1994 was the birth of the first Jolidon collection. After this a progressive movement towards forward was released. In 2002 the first shop abroad opened in Budapest, Hungary, which is called Jolidon Hungary KFT. One year later, another shop is opened abroad, this time in Italy, Milano. In the same year, a shop was opened in France, Jolidon France SARL. 2005 brought the opening of the Lyon shop of Jolidon. All of these made Jolidon in 2006 to have a turnover of 40 million Euros and in 2007, 60 million Euros. "The next year should be even better" said Mr. Carlig, founder of the company. "A turnover of about 80 million euros is expected from 2008" said further, Mr. Carlig. 2004 was an important year for Jolidon because it bought Argo S.A., a firm with a history in this domain for over 60 years and a number of 800 employees. Besides the 2004 year, 2006 was another important year for Jolidon, as it began to be recognized as an important firm in the domain, nationally an internationally. This observation was made by France, a really important trendsetter in this domain. Between the 2nd and 5th of February 2006 took place the "Salon International de la lingerie" in France, the most important fair in this domain, from which Jolidon received 3 excellence prizes. This happened after 9 years of participation to the fair. "ultra-lingerie" united over 50 famous brands of lingerie from all over the world: Nina Ricci, Versus, Lise, Charmel were only a few famous names that took place at the fair. Even if the jury was tough, Jolidon succeeded with it's crystal corset to surprise them and take home the excellence prize. In 2007 Jolidon took over 2 Italian lingerie firms: Emmenci and it's adversary, Lilly, which produced over 6 million products a year. Fantastic team work, creativity and fantasy are the base of this company which produce every year, regularly, 200 new designs for men, women and children. Soaring by 40% in the relatively apathetic lingerie and swimwear market in 2007, the Jolidon groups exports are increasing on both fronts- financial and geographic. The main destinations? Italy, France ,Hungary, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, followed by Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia and Austria. Coming in next are Cyprus and Malta, South Africa, Lebanon and Israel and United States. By covering the full spectrum of requirements of the world lingerie, swimwear and mens underwear markets, day after day Jolidon incites new countries to become destinations on its round-the world export itinerary. Having successfully bet on the excellence of style at great value for money, Jolidon is quite obviously one of the best performing brands of the last few yearsand one of the very few to have been able to pull off a 50% boom in retail sales last year.

7.Human resources
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Beginning with only 2 employees, Jolidon is today a company which has over 3300 employees. Each employee has special knowledge about the domain of the firm. The most important job is held by the designers, which, as I told you before, transformed vision into reality. Team work is appreciated at Jolidon and each employee checks one another. Jolidon stands out from the rest of the lingerie companies by the fact that it gives future employees the same chance even if they do not have experience in the domain of lingerie. Employees are not evaluated only by their specialty knowledge, but also by their morale standards. Eg..: punctuality, loyalty towards the firm, openness to new ideas. The company helps each employee to make the step from theory to practice.

8.Liability and Competence

First thing before all, Jolidon is responsible for their products quality, because, as it's customers, the company has the highest standards of quality in place. Each person has different shapes, sizes, tastes and preferences. The designers have a hard job ahead of them because if this. They have to create something that fits everyone and it makes it with a wow. The process of creating lingerie is very important and needs to be treated accordingly because each mistake can have serious consequences and customers may have to suffer. Since the won from the "Salon international de la lingerie" in France, Jolidon entered into the world of super-brands lingerie, making their products recognized as top quality lingerie products. As any other big company, Jolidon has financial responsibilities. E.g.: updated accountancy. It's financial status permits the firm a continuing rise.

9.Promotion
The most important promotion engine for Jolidon proved to be, over the years, the product itself. With the intention of meeting the consumers needs in the best way possible, through unbeatable quality and prices, Jolidon products themselves have been the surest means of achieving the fidelity of existing customers and winning new ones. The Jolidon and Prelude collections are being promoted through media campaigns in the printed press and TV, aiming at not only promoting the products, but also informing and educating potential clients. Jolidon believes that underwear and swimwear items are not merely fashion items. These products need to fit consumers, adapt to their size, age and contemporary trends, so that they feel as comfortable as possible and the best express the wearers personality. Other means of communication and promotion for Jolidon are the participation in various specialist international fairs and events, such as the Salon International de la Lingerie and Lyon Mode City, attended by professionals and experts from all over the world, in which Jolidon has constantly participated for almost ten years.

Mass-media Customers have a large range of in formations methods of gaining knowledge of the firm: the press, television, internet, financial papers, magazines. Jolidon has it's own web site which contain updated photos of collections and so forth. There are also catalogues from which they can order their chosen products. Jolidon is an important sponsor in the sports domain. It supports the Romanian volley championship and a handball team from Cluj Napoca.

A true European hallmark of creativity!

Jolidon three deadly weapons? Originality, quality and research. The design teams constant demand for newness is echoed in the superior materials fabrics, embroideries, laceselected from the bet European suppliers. The team is largely female, but one man has the good fortune of sharing in the creative gusto! On a constant search for totally new embroideries, unique prints or fabrics with special effects, the designers build fruitful collaborations with the suppliers in order to come up with the exclusive pieces that are Jolidons specialty. As passionate as they are fascinating, collaborations with the major fashion trend forecasting agencies Carlin International- allow the brand to anticipate consumer expectations. Attentive to their every desire, Jolidon brings these to life with extreme refinement. The secrets of Jolidons success? Respect for brand clients, ambition, confidence in its own abilities and a desire to demonstrate that Romania can design and sell fashion at least as well as the Italians and the French. Moreover, Jolidon is a brand that is being developed and contributed to by a young united team, full of enthusiasm and professionalism. This search for excellence was recently incarnated as a Dame aux Camelias in a Chantilly lace bustier on which sparkled myriad Swarovsky crystalIts sophisticated yet fragile beauty earned Jolidon the Ultra Lingeries Adventurous Use of Materials award two years ago. A true European hallmark of creativity!

10.Brand Values

11.Opinions

What think Gabriel Cirlig

How do you explain Jolidons success? Jolidon was built around a vision. Nothing else could have given it the strength needed for its development. Without this vision, it would have been, impossible to mobilize the inner resources of the entrepreneur and we would not been able to instill in our staff the enthusiasm necessary to build something truly grandiose. It is true that luck plays an important role in every activity, particularly where large scale, long-term project are concerned. It is true that fortune smiles on the brave, as the proverb says. What will be your strategy for the years to come? Jolidon is a global company that is growing at a very fast pace, but with a different strategies adapted to the different markets represented by its five brands. Nonetheless, all of these strategies ultimately have the same objective: to position Jolidon as a leader in European lingerie, both in the market and in the minds of consumers. What is the motto that guides your actions? We can do better! We must never forget to ask ourselves to do better. In every sense of the expression: do the very best we can, and do it better than everyone else .This is how Jolidon has always rejected stereotypes and the paths of least resistance. It is indeed important to us to refer to tradition, but our actions are not systematically based on it.

What they think of Jolidon

Gianfranco Aicardi, CEO of Fabrica Tesuuti Elastici Besana(Italy) It is a great pleasure to express our best and sincere wishes to Jolidon for their 15 years in business. Few companies have been able to achieve such important results in only 15 years. But it wasnt difficult, because they really know how to make very pretty intimate apparel. Congratulation and best wishes! Furio Annovazzi, CEO of Ilana (Italy) It is with great pleasure that we most sincerely wish you the very best success for the next ten years. We are very pleased about our collaboration with one of the best performing companies of these last few years, a company made prominent by its fashion content and its management, as well as its ability to hold center stage at the Paris fashion shows. Our collaboration with company that is expanding intelligently on the international level is proving to be a real success. Penny Parolis from PDL Distributors(South Africa) We must congratulate your company on the achievement of celebrating 15 years of Jolidon. For us at PDL Distributors in South Africa, Jolidon signifies the worship of the female form. This is truly achieved with your feminine designs that celebrate womanly curves. Jolidon lingerie and

swimwear offers iconic features of contrasting textures through layering of different fabrics and embellishment with crystals. Jolidon is Euro Glamour enhancing African Chic.

Personal opinions
Jolidon is a Romanian company which developed very well along the years. Beginning with only 2 employees and 3 sewing machines, Jolidon reached the 3300 employees mark and through it's products, it became well known company. What needs to be appreciated in this company is the large selection of lingerie and swimming suits. Because of this, I think that every customer will be satisfied, whether they are women, children or men. The products have different shapes, sizes and colors, so that every taste can be satisfied. We cannot forget that the company produces over 200 new models every year. The marketing and availability of its products is also important to its success. For us, the clients, the availability of the products is very important; the firm has its products in shops all over the world. Jolidon is known all over the world as a superbrand and the fact that it's recognized internationally gives the customer more confidence in their products.

Bibliography
Books: -Les 15 ans de Jolidon -Superbrands, an insight into some of Romanias strongest Brands 1.Volumen Internet pages:
-http://www.businessmagazin.ro/analize/comert/jolidon-isi-umple-sacosele-inue.html?5853;2682868 -http://www.zf.ro/companii/jolidon-afacerile-la-nivel-internationaldevanseaza-businessul-local-3104863/ -http://www.dailybusiness.ro/stiri-lifestyle/jolidon-a-inregistrat-in-romaniavanzari-in-crestere-cu-peste-47-la-8-luni-18476