The women’s fashion label Nove, founded in January 2020 shortly before the corona pandemic, has to give up. In a letter to her customers published on the website, founder Janina Waschkowski explains how this could happen.
“After an amazing start, Nove has consistently had stable sales, which I’m very proud of because it seemed to be a testament to the concept behind it – having a wardrobe that adapts to the body at all stages of life,” explains Waschkowski .
But then followed what many small fashion brands can sing a song about – since the beginning of the pandemic they have had to struggle with supply bottlenecks in material and production, as small suppliers in particular were badly affected.
After months of continuing to work and juggle, the political and economic situation worsened, leading to exponentially increased material costs. “Some of our key suppliers were forced to increase their minimum order quantities in a way we couldn’t keep up with, and one of our key producers had to close its shop,” said Waschkowski.
“Nove’s margins have always been calculated as tightly as possible to ensure we offer the best quality at the lowest price. I have always believed and still believe in the idea that sustainable business can be possible. But now Nove is financially unsustainable. In the last few months I’ve tried to equalize as much as possible, but today I have to tell you that I can’t keep that up any longer,” adds Waschkowski.
She ends by thanking all of her customers and pointing out the Ciao Nove! sale to minimize backlogs.
Nove came about when Waschkowski was pregnant with her first child and couldn’t find clothes to wear beyond the pregnancy. Also, most of the maternity clothes on the market were made from basic or inferior materials, as the clothes were intended for one purpose only – to be worn during pregnancy and not beyond. So Waschkowski decided to offer clothing that would adapt to the changing body size of women.