In yesterday's post we looked at the umpteenth copyright infringement case regarding a fashion product. Yet at the moment there's also another type of copying mania in the fashion realm: it seems indeed that, after copying actual products, brands have moved onto replicating specific business models. Up until last year luxury houses seemed indeed to be more interested in collaborations with hip labels such as Supreme, but at the moment they are more intent in recreating the hype surrounding it with the hope of generating new sales.
In July Burberry announced for example that it was going to follow a model that has done wonders for Supreme: each Thursday the streetwear brand releases new products, included limited edition designs that prompt consumers to line up outside its stores. Starting from this month, Burberry implemented a new system with regular drops of designs from its B Series collection. The products will be available on the 17th of every month exclusively through the brand's Instagram, WeChat, Line and Kakao (the latter are two popular mobile messaging platforms in Asia) for just 24 hours (starting at 12pm UK time).
The idea for the brand, currently led by creative director Riccardo Tisci and CEO Marco Gobbetti, is to create expectations, get consumers excited and keep products fresh. The final hope is to successfully apply the Supreme "drop" model to the Burberry products, possibly obtaining the same results Alessandro Michele got at Gucci, a brand that got revamped enough to rise the interest of a younger generation of consumers.
In many ways there is nothing to get surprised about this new Burberry strategy as the drop model is indeed followed by retailers in all sorts of fields as it keeps consumers interested in the new selections of products they may find on offer, from T-shirts to lipsticks passing through food.
The drop model can work magnificently to test a new item and get immediate feedback or build instant hype: limited seasonal specials seem to fly off the counter whenever they become available at cafes and fast food chains, or think about Danish chain Flying Tiger and its monthly selection of cheap products that regularly changes according to the season to ensure consumers will come back. This was the same technique employed decades ago in shops like Fiorucci that seemed to have a wide range of products at affordable prices and a stock that rotated quickly and that therefore prompted consumers to visit the store at least once a week. That said the drop model seems to be more successful with limited and affordable goods and it is worth highlighting that this month's first Burberry drop featured a 350 Euro T-shirt.
Burberry went through several changes in the last few years: one of the main disruptions in its delivery schedule - the "see now buy now" model - didn't seem to guarantee an immediate rise on sales, besides reports about the company destroying millions of pounds worth of unsold stock last year didn't play in Burberry's favour as well (will the monthly drop help them planning and creating more targeted collections to limit waste?).
While this new experimental disruption may bring new and younger customers especially from Asia, it must be said that there are differences between Burberry and other brands using the drop system: Burberry is indeed a traditional fashion house, a heritage brand based on seasonal collections released at specific times of the year; Supreme is a smaller company and its drops revolve around a variety of products released in limited supplies rather than on huge quantities; often these items get resold online and in other outlets, something that contributes to generate a hype, a phenomenon tangibly represented by the lines in front of the Supreme stores.
In the case of Supreme, the drop is just one component of its hype: last year the brand founded by James Jebbia collaborated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York, producing Supreme-branded metrocards that went instantly sold out. This year the brand approached Post Studios, The New York Post creative agency, and launched an advert that caused a supreme (pun intended) frenzy, a New York Post promotional cover wrap that became a must-have. In a nutshell, while the hype sells, Supreme has consistently tried to weave its reputation in the fabric of the city where it was founded and where it is based. Supreme is part of the local DNA and that's why people may be willing to identify with it.
Burberry thinks that the drop may be the chance to bond with consumers, but its monthly offer of products represents a commercial need to create a frenzy and an interest online outside of the main seasonal collections. Time will tell if this is just a social buzz or a good marketing strategy, but it is hard to see how a monogrammed T-shirt with the new logo designed by Peter Saville can save the brand. Like Supreme turned to New York's MTA or The Post, Burberry may have to do the same, trying to engage with local British institutions and real people. London Oyster Card anybody?
Comments