The Challenges of the Rain Dear

Before this year I had underestimated how difficult it would be to produce a

product and make sales. I had heard many success stories of this course and I

was completely optimistic about the year. Having heard of how much groups like

OHSO Eyewear have made and how successful they have been it painted an

unrealistic expectation of how I expected the year to pan out. Throughout the

past few months our group has been confronted with so many challenges and

obstacles that we needed to overcome. Our product has been a challenging

product in so many aspects ranging from packaging, sales, manufacturing and

transport.

Some of the major challenges that we have faced:

Logistics:

As our product is fairly large we had to invest in packaging that would

accommodate its size. We had approached many companies to help us distribute

our product but Aramex has offered us the best deal with the size and weight of

our products. The transport costs of our jackets are quite substantial at R107.79

per unit. The product has been very challenging to store as it takes up a lot of

space.

Manufacturing:

Let us not forget how difficult it was to prototype this product. Looking for a

manufacture that was willing to take on this task did not come easy. This product

is subject to a lot of technicalities that have been challenging to overcome. We

have had to make some design changes to the jacket to reduce the risks of the

jacket, such as eliminating the press-studs and resorting to a sewn on hoods. All

of these decisions have helped us learn and have contributed to the evolution of

Rain Dear.

Selling:

As our product has been quite costly for the average consumer people have been

reluctant to make irrational purchases. The rain jacket is evidently a seasonal

purchase making it difficult for consumers to see it necessary to spend so much

money on an item where the rainy season is nearing to an end. For this reason

we have also marketed it for Summer rains and targeted individuals who value

self-expression and their unique identity.

All in all I think it is safe to say that Genesis Group E have made it through some

tough challenges. We have learnt so much from all these roadblocks and have

managed to grow as a group through them. This year is about learning how to be

a successful entrepreneur and I know we can say that we have done a lot of that.