Project narrative
A Shareholder's Meeting coincided with my first year graduate review. At the time, I considered the scholarship package UCSD had awarded me as equivalent to the funding a promising start-up business might receive from venture capitalists. The commonality centered on a comprehensive set of resources, including, but certainly not limited to capital, that would incubate the start-up while it matured. Of course, the institution doing the incubating had a stake in the start-up's development, and rightly monitored its progress. The Department of Visual Arts at UCSD formed such a committee to evaluate how my work was progressing after a year of incubation. The committee was made up of Professors Faith Ringgold, Lev Manovich, Elizabeth Newsome and Ernest Silva. A Shareholder's Meeting documents their interactions with two representatives from my company who worked (or attempted to work) from a script that looked like this:
To our shareholders:
Since opening the Company’s virtual doors nearly a year ago, I have witnessed Contraposto carve a small, but equally significant niche in the home decorations market. Because we’re a privately owned company, with only a handful of employees we’re small—technically. What we do is significant, because we have remained true to our original vision of giving a particular type of consumer concentrated cultural information and products—creating a substantial barrier for larger, watered-down retail chains to enter our market. We have established a solid base of customers throughout the United States and built and maintained a highly competitive e-commerce brand and platform.
In the coming years we expect to benefit from the continued adoption of online commerce around the world as millions of new consumers connect to the Internet for the first time. As online shopping experience continues to improve, consumer trust and confidence will increase, driving further adoption. And, if we at Contraposto do our job right, we can be uniquely positioned to serve these new customers best and benefit as a result.
A Recap of 1999
During 1999, our relentless focus on customers worked:
• We introduced a fully interactive website that has become the hub of our sales. The site promotes customer’s browsing, while it highlights our three- part product line and facilitates online order taking.
• We established and marketed a core image through direct marketing.
• Our distribution center has the capability of filling orders nationwide at a competitive pace.
• We exceeded our expectations for employee retention—boasting a 10 percent rate of attrition.
• In part because of our core infrastructure, we were able to grow revenues each quarter, while shipping 95 percent of our holiday orders in time for the holidays.
I’m tremendously proud of everyone at Contraposto for his or her tireless effort and positive attitude. If you shareholders would like to thank this incredible team at Contraposto, please feel free to send an e-mail to mail@contrapostohomedecor.com. I will personally compile and forward them to the company. I know it would be appreciated.
The Contraposto Platform
As stockholders, you own a piece of Contraposto’s platform. What is that?
The Contraposto platform is comprised of brand, customers, technology, distribution capability, deep e-commerce expertise, and a great team with a passion for innovation and a passion for serving customers well.
Our vision is to use this platform to build and maintain a niche-market lifestyle company, driven to provide its customers with fashionable goods and information. We won’t do this alone. We’ll listen to our customers, invent on their behalf, and personalize the store for each of them. If we capitalize on the quality of our platform, the result will be one of mutual benefit for both customers and shareholders.
Goals for 2000
In the year 2000, Contraposto has four major goals: growth in both the number of customers and our relationship with them; expansion of our existing product line and the introduction of new lines; entering into strategic relationships with respected companies and groups; and finally, driving toward profitability in all such areas. Allow me to comment briefly on each goal.
Growth and strength of customer relationships
We will continue to invest in introductions to new customers, as well as retain the loyalty of existing ones. The following are a few of the methods that facilitate this:
• The introduction of several lifestyles features to our site. Customers will be able to browse an online magazine (Contraposto Living), where interest and lifestyle issues will be available.
• Contests and giveaways will reward customers who send us photos of their Contraposto Home.
• An Electronic greeting card service (contra e-cards) that allows customers to send email greeting cards with selected images from the Company’s website. Links will allow the recipient to access Contraposto’s site with the click of a mouse.
Expansion and introduction of product lines
We are working to create new advancements in the home decorations arena, while striving to maintain the look of the Contraposto aesthetic—Classic Beauty, Contemporary Style. The following introductions and expansions are to take place within the next year:
• Introduction of the Augustus Caesar Motion Detector to the Vila Series of Garden and Outdoor Décor: Equipped with a motion sensor and voice box, the 21 inch Augustus Caesar will announce” Et Tu Brute?” when ever it detects an intruder.
• Introduction of a new series of paintings and prints titled, The Renaissance Series. This addition of screened paintings and prints allows the customer to choose their favorite paintings from art history and re-commission the painting, using hindsight and their better taste, in a different style. For instance, one might commission David’s Oath of the Horatii to be repainted in the style of a Post Impressionist.
• The introduction of the Outpost Collection of non-western inspired soaps and candles: Drawing from the great achievements of world culture, we want to expand the territory of our products to embrace a multi-cultural aesthetic.
Entering into strategic relationships
Through our platform, we are seen as an attractive, young enterprise to several companies operating in arenas that spill into the domain of home decorations. We are particularly interested in the art display and sales industry in Southern California, and are working hard to establish a mutually beneficial alliance with various companies. In the past, these relationships have generally consisted of our making, or having the future right to make, a minority investment in the companies (or vice versa) and the entry into commercial agreements which vary in scope from custom installation consulting to the sale and commission of objects from our catalog.
These investments and commercial arrangements are attractive to us for a variety of reasons. First, our customers receive access to a wider range of products and services. Second, we are able to generate revenue from the strategic partners because we help them to sell Contraposto goods to those outside our traditional customer base. Third, we have the opportunity to participate in the future success of our strategic partners as a result of our previous interest in such companies. We believe that our strategic partners are also well served as a result of the opportunity to grow their customer base quickly and build brand recognition. Any future suggestions concerning strategic partnerships are greatly encouraged. Send all contact information to suggestions@contrapostohomedecor.com.
Driving toward profitability
Each of the aforementioned goals contributes to our long-standing objective of building the best, most profitable, highest return on capital, long term franchise. So, in a way, driving profitability is the foundation underlying all of these goals.
For the Record
Contraposto is a new company, and this is our first letter to our shareholders. We would appreciate your comments and criticism. As the Company is still in its infancy, there are drastic improvements that must be considered. But we keep this outlook and would ask you to consider it: the current online shopping experience is the worst it will ever be. It’s good enough to attract tens of million of consumers to the web, but it will get so much better. Increased bandwidth will result in faster page views and richer content. Improvements in home Internet use will allow several home shoppers constant connection to the Net. We’ll also see a significant growth in wireless access. Finally, we are participating in what is a multi-trillion dollar global market, in which we are virtually miniscule. This is an amazing virtue. We have an unconstrained market opportunity and a foundational technology that drastically improves every day.
We strive to maintain diligence in our commitment to our customers, our stockholders, and each other. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
Brian Goeltzenleuchter
Founder and President
Contraposto Home Decor
c (pronounced /k/) website