Alex Assoune
Alex Assoune is the founder, owner, and Chief Executive Officer of Panaprium, the global digitally-native sustainable fashion brand.
He is a graduate engineer, originally from La Réunion in France, an island in the southwest of the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mauritius.
He moved to Berlin Germany at the end of August 2019 to build Panaprium as an international brand.
He always wanted to have a positive impact on the environment.
He planned his field of study and professional life in a goal-oriented manner. He previously worked in engine development to make vehicles more economical and greener.
Watch the video below to learn more about how it all started.
Alex Assoune and the fashion industry
He saw Andrew Morgan's documentary “The True Cost” in 2016. He heard about the collapse of the clothing factory outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed more than 1,000 people and seriously injured thousands more. At the time of the collapse, the factory was producing clothing for major Western clothing brands.
With increasing price pressure and growing competition in the fashion industry, clothing manufacturers have to lower prices to prevent losing customers.
This trend emerged in the late 1980s as a new business model for the fashion industry: "Fast Fashion", trendy, inexpensive garments that were manufactured at lightning speed in supplier factories and traded in thousands of chain stores worldwide.
To keep prices down, Fast Fashion cuts manufacturing costs while employing workers and farmers from the poorest countries in the world.
Alex Assoune never thought much about where clothes came from. But he was shocked when he started learning more about the people and places behind the labels his my closet.
He sees with Panaprium the opportunity to promote innovative, ecological and durable products.
He wants to be great and build a fantastic clothing brand that gives him a creative alternative, personal satisfaction and fulfills his purpose.
His passion is to work on it and do everything possible to positively influence the clothing industry and our consumer behavior. Human rights violations such as child labor and forced labor can no longer exist.
He wants to help the world and as many people as possible through Panaprium. He works to improve people's health, ensure the workers in the production chain have good working conditions, protect the environment and change the fashion industry.
He makes sure that Panaprium's mission is focused on a core task that is bigger than the company. Panaprium is about much more than just profits. It's a socially conscious company.
The fashion industry is putting pressure on resources, polluting and degrading the natural environment, its ecosystems and causing significant negative social impacts at local, regional and global levels.
Environmentally friendly clothing and awareness of a sustainable lifestyle are very important to Alex Assoune.
In our consumer-driven society, the concept of a circular economy has become a priority due to demographic change and the scarcity of resources.
Collection, sorting, reuse, recycling, and energy efficiency are important elements for the transition to a sustainable and circular fashion industry. This transition depends on enabling technologies and creativity-based innovation.
Read this article to find out why Alex Assoune supports sustainable fashion.
Alex Assoune skills
His social skills range from teamwork, organizational talent, willingness to learn, resilience and flexibility. He is a sociable person who seeks to talk to customers, thinks and acts in a service-oriented manner.
He already convinced potential customers with his business idea many times, tested prototypes, and received positive user feedback.
He has been observing the fashion industry since 2017. Numerous athletes, teachers, coaches, artists, and brand ambassadors already partnered with him on his project.
The development of innovative solutions will continue to be his passion. He is highly motivated and ready to take responsibility for the success of Panaprium with enthusiasm and commitment.
Through his college studies, he has in-depth knowledge in the scientific areas of:
- 3D design,
- CAD,
- construction and product development,
- software and web technologies,
- materials science and engineering,
- production technology,
- manufacturing measurement technology.
He worked as a software developer from 2010 to 2019. Together with a dedicated team, he created innovative solutions for the automotive industry.
He worked independently, future-oriented and customer-oriented in demanding customer projects, take lots of responsibilities.
His main focus was the creation of specifications, coordination with business partners and clarification of customer requirements.
Through experience in product sketching, customer specification, strategic and technical planning, catalog of requirements and business contracts, he brings a very diverse knowledge to make Panaprium work.
He already has a very high affinity for Web 2.0 and social media formats. You can find him on social media at:
He works regularly with athletes, bloggers, artists, photographers, stylists, graphic designers, production managers, accountants, and lawyers.
He gained a lot of knowledge of the fashion industry. He has been observing the market since 2017 and working on prototype development in close cooperation with experienced textile experts.
He acquired a deep knowledge of running a fashion business by studying specialist literature, online videos, and courses, as well as detailed step-by-step instructions on:
He is a unique person who loves to design unique clothes. He works towards building a sustainable future with a clear vision, a distinctive style, and strong values.
He learned to recognize what type of clothing makes people feel comfortable and confident.
He uses innovative fabrics and materials to design attractive items that are worn forever almost every day.
He investigates the effect of contrasting colors (dark/light, red/green, black/white, gray/blue) and creates emotional products that are associated with activity, strength, joie de vivre, self-confidence, vitality, and creativity, as well as optimism and happiness.
He participated in the Performance Days fair in 2019 in Munich, meeting with other designers, product managers, and learning about the latest trends and innovations in the functional textile industry.
He also took part in the event Expert Talking Day MODE of the Berlin creative industry consultancy, with fashion industry experts Sabine Hülsebus and Daniela Fleig, to exchange ideas on topics such as:
- sales
- marketing / PR
- production management
- cooperation with others
- networking
During his college studies at SIGMA University, he learned business administration from a 22-hour course.
During his professional career, he acquired a wide range of technological and commercial skills.
He attended a large variety of business seminars and courses:
- at the Chamber of Commerce in Berlin
- at the VHS for basic business start-ups, financing and bookkeeping
- at the VHS for tasks and techniques of operational and strategic controlling and budgeting
- at Start Effekt for branding, competition analysis, economic efficiency assessment
He also participated in the Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition (BPW) in 2019, as an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with other founders and to get feedback from industry experts.
He has a lot of various skills and self-confidence, making it easy for him to transfer responsibilities and motivate the entire team. He thinks positively and looks for alternatives when problems arise. He is also not discouraged by failures.
Alex Assoune with the rest of the managerial team at Panaprium strives not only for financial return, but also for the fulfillment of the company's mission, social impact, and sustainability.
Important management values for Panaprium are:
- communication between managers
- interface between company management and employees
- adequate internal communication structures
- transparency
- potential for personal growth
- employees motivation
- entrepreneurial thinking
- suggestions for improvement
- critical dialogue