News
Master in Management student creates niche in textile industry with his brand
Jean-Emmanuel Kouadio, a final-year Master in Management (PGE) programme student at SKEMA, and his business partner Anatole Landon have founded Clublab, a “textile design and identity lab” incubated in and supported by SKEMA Ventures. The student is already supplying clothing to established restaurants.
Jean-Emmanuel Kouadio's entrepreneurial spirit is strong! At just 24, this student from SKEMA's PGE and MS® Supply Chain Management and Purchasing programmes has taken a leap into the textile industry. A few years ago, the young man had already attracted media attention by launching his own brand of personalised socks, Art de Vivre.
These days, his ambition is to create apparel for the employees of Lille's top restaurants and, more generally, of all companies. "The goal of our workwear personalisation lab is to help companies with creating clothing that is aligned with their brand image," explained Jean-Emmanuel. Very careful about both supplier sourcing and the quality of the textiles used, Jean-Emmanuel Kouadio selects fabrics from France and Portugal.
A reputation built by word of mouth
Our student reveals that there is significant demand in this line of work. Currently, he has about 15 clients and is developing his business only through word of mouth. "We don't do any prospecting. What we want is to make clothes that look good, whether they're for corporate events, committees or seminars," he said. Recently, the entrepreneur, who joined SKEMA via the ESDHEM programme, made outfits for the highly popular Nū restaurant in Lille.
