Gappt — Mhanaj

Challenge

400+ brands.
No framework to judge them.

Wilford is building a curated luxury marketplace — a platform where brands are selected, not just listed. The challenge was commercial and curatorial at the same time: which brands deserve a place, and why?

I was brought in to research and evaluate over 400 luxury fashion and jewellery brands across multiple markets. The brief was broad. There was no existing scoring system, no template, no prior research to build on.

400+ brands across fashion, jewellery, and accessories spanning global markets.

"Calendly's research shows that reducing scheduling steps from 5 to 3 increases conversion by 40%. Every unnecessary field is a lost booking."

Competitive research — Calendly

Process

Week 01

Brand Discovery

Mapped the luxury brand landscape across fashion and jewellery. Identified key players, emerging names, and niche specialists across global markets.

Week 02

Framework Development

Built a scoring and evaluation framework from scratch — criteria included brand positioning, market presence, product quality signals, digital footprint, and alignment with Wilford's curation ethos.

Week 03

Evaluation & Scoring

Evaluation & Scoring Applied the framework across 400+ brands. Each brand assessed against consistent criteria, with notes, flags, and tier classifications.

Week 04

Analysis & Recommendations

Synthesised findings into a structured report with commercial recommendations — which brands to prioritise, which to monitor, and which to exclude.

Key Features

Simplify the hard parts.
Standardise everything else.

Brand Landscape

Prioritising emerging brands with commercial momentum I focused on brands that were emerging and gaining significant traction on social
high engagement, growing communities, strong visual identity.
Cross-referenced against physical presence: how many stores, what markets, what stage of growth.

Identified emerging brands with strong social proof but limited distribution — high potential for a platform like Wilford
Assessed brand maturity against marketplace readiness
Mapped where the gaps were between brand ambition and current reach
Recommendation — Prioritise emerging brands with proven social traction over established names with saturated distribution

Marketing Position

Finding mutual wins, where Wilford solves a real problem Focused on what wasn't working for brands in their current positioning
Gaps in reach, discovery, and client access. Identified where Wilford could come in as a genuine solution, not just another platform.

Identified positioning gaps that Wilford's model directly addresses
Mapped opportunities that benefit both the brand and the platform
Highlighted where current channels were underperforming for the brand
Recommendation — Lead conversations with the problem Wilford solves, not the platform itself

Jewellery Segment

Focusing on high-value clients with expansion potential Within the jewellery segment, focused on brands that would benefit most from Wilford's curation model
clients whose product quality and brand story warranted a wider, more targeted audience.

Identified jewellery brands positioned for growth but lacking the right platform
Assessed alignment between brand values and Wilford's client base
Prioritised brands that would strengthen the overall marketplace offer
Recommendation — Target jewellery brands at growth stage — they benefit most and bring credibility to the platform

Commercial Recommendations

Recommending major names, and getting traction Delivered a tiered recommendation of brands to approach, including major names.
Received positive feedback indicating several were already considering expanding their client reach, making the timing of Wilford's approach commercially strong.

Recommended priority brands across tiers — immediate targets, monitor list, and exclusions
Validated recommendations against brand appetite for expansion
Identified where Wilford's timing aligned with brands actively seeking new channels
Recommendation — Move quickly on tier one brands — market appetite is present now

WilfordLuxury Brand Market Research

400+ brands. No framework to judge them.