A wedding dress has a long journey to make. From fabric to trim, through the hands of tailors, shipping to the store, and to the dressing room with the bride. A wedding gown is lovingly crafted, patiently fitted and tried on for hours. Nothing should go wrong for its debut. But what if lipstick, makeup or even stains from food or drink get on the dress? Normally this is a nightmare, but a new emergency stain remover kit “CL4WD” (Cleaner for Wedding Dresses), has hit the market and is distributed by businessman and industry insider Jens Kaffenberger. We’ve talked to this bridal fashion specialist about his idea, the product, and its added value for bridal retailers.
Mr. Kaffenberger, you have launched an emergency stain remover kit for the bride. How did you come up with the idea?
Through a personal contact to the producer of the “CL4WD”, my wife, Meike Buschening-Kaffenberger, got a sample in her bridal shop for testing. The result was so sensational and convincing that we recognized the potential for this product in the bridal industry. After further discussions with the manufacturer, the unanimous opinion of all those involved was that the combination of extremely high cleaning expertise along with the experience and contacts of nearly fifteen years of bridalwear retail is perfect for marketing the “CL4WD”.
Tell us a few details about the product …
The “CL4WD” removes stains from make-up, lipstick, red wine, chocolate, even gravy sauce. The spray is easy to use – can be used directly and everywhere. It has a tremendously fast depth effect. Simply spray the stain, leave for fifteen seconds and dab with a microfiber cloth and rub gently. In addition, the “CL4WD” is biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
What benefit does the product have for brides?
Clearly: no longer having the fear of getting spots on her dream dress on her most beautiful day. Just think about how fast a stain inadvertently gets on the dress when congratulating or eating. The problem is that the wedding photos or the wedding dance is still yet to take place. With the “CL4WD” emergency set, you can easily and quickly remove these stains and everything looks great again.
Do you have an story for us, about when the CL4WD saved a dress?
Oh yes! The worst ever emergency was by a customer of my wife. She was on her way to church and wanted to put on her lipstick in the limousine. Out of excitement, the lipstick broke off and left three stains on the front of the dress. The bride was crying – certainly not with joy. However, since she had the “CL4WD” emergency set with her, her escort was able to quickly remove the stains. She was able to walk radiantly into the wedding ceremony.
What sets your product apart from UK and US competitors?
In addition to the already mentioned very simple application and enormous depth effect, the “CL4WD” offers further advantages. The “CL4WD” is solvent-free and without chlorine, so there is no fading on colored fabrics. Thus, the “CL4WD” can be used not only on bridal dresses, but also on evening dresses. And a key difference is that there are no water marks on the clothes after use.
Why does the Cleaner 4 Wedding Dresses belong in every bridal shop?
The “CL4WD” must not be missing, as every bridal shop can offer all brides a piece of additional security on the day of the wedding. After the very first stain, every bride will be infinitely grateful to her bridal shop for offering such a product. With the sale of the bridal gown, the responsibility for the dress goes from the retailer to the bride. With the “CL4WD” emergency set, the bridal shop accompanies the bride until the day of the wedding. Since stains can happen not only to the bride, but also to the groom or wedding guests, our best retailers now sell three emergency sets per bride: one for the bridal couple, and one each for the emergency baskets in the men’s and ladies’ restroooms.
In addition, “CL4WD” is very useful at the bridal shop itself. Every bridal retailer knows about the problem of make-up edges or lipstick residue after trying on the bridal gowns. Where once expensive cleaning was necessary, the “CL4WD” resolves the problem quickly and effectively.
Even at fashion shows or photo shoots, small stains on the clothes often can’t be avoided – “CL4WD” is an efficient remedy in these situations.
What feedback have you gotten from the industry?
The feedback is consistently positive. Our retailers report that the emergency kit is very well received by the brides, and that they are very grateful for such a product. After the official launch of the ABC Salon at the end of January, some 150 bridal shops are already offering their brides the “CL4WD” emergency kit. In addition to Germany and Austria, the “CL4WD” is now available in eight other European countries. Also, the number of reorders from our retailers indicates that the product is very well received and selling well. The feedback, which makes us particularly proud, is that some retailers already recommend “CL4WD” to other bridal shops.
Where can we see the product in action?
We attend trade fairs, such as at the ABC Salon in Munich or the European Bridal Week in Essen. There we can demonstrate the benefits of “CL4WD” first-hand on bridal gowns. Also, the trade fairs always provide sufficient time to exchange ideas in personal contact with our specialist dealers to further optimize the product for the specialized trade. We also make appointments with interested bridal shops on site to introduce ourselves. What makes our distribution special is the almost fifteen years of experience in bridal fashion retail. The distribution is from a specialized trade for specialized trade.
Are there any special marketing campaigns?
At the fairs, we’ve offered “CL4WD” packages in different sizes with attractive perks. Even at future trade fair appearances, we will certainly always offer something special
for our retailers.
Do you support the bridal shop when promoting the product with POS material?
To support we have “CL4WD2” flyer with the product’s characteristics, as well as a recommendation from the brand ambassador, Meike Buschening-Kaffenberger. In addition, the high-quality “CL4WD” display is available. This allows us to present 13-14 “CL4WD” emergency kits in the counter area. But, it is also much more important to experience the benefits of the “CL4WD” emergency kit. Therefore, we recommend to show the brides the application and effect of the “CL4WD” live. But since we are still a young company, the feedback and the wishes of our retailers are very important to us in order to be able to offer further supportive POS material in the future.
Are there any minimum purchase quantities for the specialized trade?
Yes, there is a minimum order quantity of 10 “CL4WD” emergency kits. This is not so relevant at first, because 95% of the new customers choose our retailer starter set to begin with. This includes 20 emergency sets, 1 studio bottle, and 1 “CL4WD” counter display. We keep a small minimum order quantity so that our retailers can order even smaller quantities of the product, even in the case of short-term shortages.
Are other products planned?
Yes, there are more products in the planning. But I do not want to tell too much about that. It remains exciting in any case.
More about Cleaner4WeddingDresses can be found here.