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General manager: André Ebakpole

# of employees: 13

# of stores: 2 [ Cocody Deux Plateaux,Free Shop store @ Airport Felix Houephouet Boigny] upcoming store in Marcory Zone 3

Contact: Deux Plateaux

Tel: 225-22-41-03-60

Airport Free Shop

Tel:225-22-58-63-90

Cell:225-08-64-72-00

E-mail:Abidjan@typhus.eu

1]Typhus Ivory Coast is attached to Typhus Inc which is a wallony based corporation.What was the driven factors that guide your investment in this particular market ?Do  you really feel that the Ivorian market was ready for this kind of product ?

I would like to say ,first and foremost that, by its very nature the Ivorian market was suitable to our kind of service and products. There was an obvious need [to us] that was not being met by any other local or international company in this market.To have the ability to personalize an already personal item ,that in so many ways say who we are to others around us, is something that is very valuable to our customers.

2]  Do you feel that more and more people are willing to partake in the creation process of what they wear and are no longer willing to be dictated a particular style by fashion designers ?

That is not the full situation, it is only a part of it. We can however affirm that customers express of lot of surprise and joy to have this responsibility bestow on them.The full picture will show that while some are very enthusiastic and good at creating their own personal master piece ,another group of customers would rather receive the help and counsel from our staff.

3]How does Typhus Cote d’Ivoire communicate and engage the general public and customers about their products and services ? Do you opt fully for a more traditional approach relying mostly on TV,Radio and Newspaper commercials ? or do you include the use of the new social media tools such as social networks[Hi 5 and Facebook are big in Cote d'Ivoire] Video sharing site [so are Youtube and Dailymotion] Mobile marketing ?

When it comes to our communication style and agenda, we have been relying mostly on word of mouth until now. We are however ,at this very moment, creating a mass communication campaign that will use the traditional mediums-TV,Radio-Newspaper and magazine-

4]What are you long term goals ? Is expanding in the whole of the Scows market part of you long term vision ?

Of course ,as an any ambitious company, we would like to widen as much as we can our network of stores in the District of Abidjan during  a first phase, then to the key Ivory Coast urban centres[Bouake,Man, Yamoussokro,San Pedro,Abengourou]. A second phase would see our expansion in the neighbouring countries [ Ghana,Burkina,Benin,Senegal,Nigeria,]

5]What were your main worries and apprehensions when entering this market ?

We must admit a little scepticism was inhabiting us.Would the products and services be embraced as much as we thought that they were needed ? I think the quality of the shirts and t-shirts,polos and other material ,the right pricing and the involvement aspect in the creation of the products are all factors that greatly helped.

6] The average citizen of Abidjan carries themselves in a very fashionable and cool manner.How do you position your product “par rapport aux” European urban brands which are highly sought after by the consumers and the knockoffs or low priced imports[ from Dubai and China] ?

I think we fit right in the middle,we offer a quality product in a price bracket that makes it accessible to almost everybody.

7]How do you keep your design fresh and trendy ?Where do you get your inspiration ?

We keep an eye on the local and international current affairs as well as any underground or emerging cultural trend. We then pick and choose and see how we can manifest what we saw and how we understood it onto the T-shirt.

8] Would you like to be approached by plausible financial partners,investors,suppliers ?

Yes ! it is very important to us to find people that would help us take our company to the next level,whether they are suppliers,investors,workers and commercial partners.

Thank you

Thank you

[Ivory Coast Private Sector]