NAU啟示錄

via : treehugger, May 3.
Today is a very sad day. For Nau announced they are winding up. The Portland, Oregon based outdoor lifestyle apparel company has been unable to secure the necessary venture capital to continue operations as a start-up business.
Having got off the phone today with Ian Yolles, one of the original founders, I doubt very much there has been a dry eye in the Nau house. Obviously as the capital investment market lost its courage in the face of current uncertain financial times in the US, things became, as Ian put it “tenser and tenser.” But he had nothing but praise for the staff of Nau who have shown, “an amazing commitment and spirit right up to the end. There has been this strong sense of hopefulness....” He pauses, then continues, the emotion palpable even down the phone, “... that something good would happen.”
But alas that has not been the case. The only long shot now, is if someone out there, as yet unknown to Nau, but with deep pockets, and a passion for doing “business unusual” may step forward and breath fresh financial life into the company. We sure hope a knight in shining armour will appear.
The BusinessFor there was nothing wrong with their operations. In their first year of trading they actually exceeded sales expectations. They engendered incredible customer loyalty. And it's easy to see why. Their product was exceptional value. Mostly because the quality of materials and construction detailing was quite incredible (I speak from experience, having spent a decade on the factory floors of outdoor companies.) Plus their designs were functional, sharp and enduring.
In other aspects of the business they also achieved more than was planned for.Like how, at end of a purchase transaction customers were asked to select from a array of Non Profit enterprises, to who 5% of their purchase price would be forwarded. Nau were initially concerned that customers might find this extra step a burden, so put in an easy option: ‘Let Nau decide.’ But only 7% did. 93% of their customers were, in Ian’s words, “... interested enough to engage, to pause for a moment, to participate in civil responsibility.” And in less than a year Nau were able to donate $223,000 through this customer-directed giving program, they tagged Partners for Change.
One of the other greatest unknowns was the whole ‘ship-to-you’ model, (whereby goods were sent direct from a warehouse to the purchaser, rather than taking them home from the retail store). According to Ian, “everyone said it was a crazy idea. We projected that about 20% of customers might go for it, but the figures show that 45% opted for ‘ship-to-you’.”
The Rough End of the PineappleSo, no it wasn’t that the business model itself was flawed, rather that it ‘lived in interesting times.’ As Ian saw it they fell victim to the three consecutive blows:“1. evaporation of the venture capital market2. retail businesses going through big challenges at the moment, very skittish3. for all our successes, we were still an ‘early start-up. A risk.’ ”
The DreamsAnd things were sure moving forward. They’d only opened their Los Angeles store 10 days ago. Another four stores were planned for this year in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and another one in Portland. They were due to relaunch their revamped website on Tuesday next week. A television program about Nau is scheduled to air soon on Sundance Channel. Media pre-release viewings of their Fall 08 collection were all set for this coming Monday. And this was to have included a line of bags and travel accessories.

NAU是綠色行銷（企業）最美麗的錯誤示範!
太大膽激進的構想,　未能獲得創投業者進一步的投資,　關門大吉!