Tia Riaz

THE FOUR PILLARS…

PURPOSE

Behind the latest releases of new trainers and the constant additions to online fast fashion brands, a brand’s purpose is what draws in its consumers – not just its external image. When a brand decides to prioritise change, whether that may be through taking a more sustainable approach towards fabric sourcing or perhaps to donate 20% of sale proceeds to charity, that is what engages the consumer and makes them continue to purchase from them. Many people may not have the means to donate to charity on a regular basis; however, through purchasing from a brand like Two Blind Brothers, with 100% of proceeds going to charities for the visually impaired, the consumer is still making a significant change. Furthermore, this exemplifies how a sharing economy works. As explained by Simon Lovick, a sharing economy is a system in which “assets and services are shared between private individuals”. An example of this is through entrepreneurship and startup’s such as Two Blind Brothers as revenue is constantly being turned over and placed into the business to increase its growth.

A brand philosophy is what makes each brand unique and allows them to continue generating sales. Although not all consumers research a brand’s mission statement before purchasing from them, many consumers who shop regularly from a specific brand may find themselves questioning a brand’s ethics, values and overall mission. In some instances, European fast fashion brands like Stradivarius have chosen not to share very much information regarding their brand vision, mission or values but Bershka, who are also part of the Inditex group alongside Stradivarius, have included their target on their website as stated: “to be characterised by young adventurous people who are aware of the latest trends”. Additionally, Stradivarius stated that they are “fully aware” that new trends are always near so as a result, they are “constantly hunting down the latest trends”. From how vague the brand’s mission statements, visions and values are, it seems that both brands are entirely focused on generating profit compared to creating greater good in the fashion world. 

This may come across as pejorative to some yet both Stradivarius and Bershka allow the younger generation to explore fashion in an entirely new, affordable way as they are consistent with their new releases and are incredibly quick to produce clothing that mime pieces off the runway. Both brands have clearly communicated on their websites that they create specifically for the “young generation”, also known as Gen-Z ,which encourages Gen-Z consumers to continue purchasing from them and stores alike. Social media plays a part in this engagement as does the layout of their online stores – a simple, minimalistic and easy to navigate website captures Gen-Z’s consumers attention instantly.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.bershka.com/us/company.html

Lovick, S. (2020). What Is The Sharing Economy? https://www.businessbecause.com/news/insights/6736/what-is-the-sharing-economy.

https://www.stradivarius.com/gb/company.html

https://twoblindbrothers.com/pages/about-us

THE FOUR PILLARS…

PROFIT

In today’s capitalist society, a business is often made to create some sort of profit throughout its growth as a company. Revenue, capital, income, and profit are words that are heard on a daily basis when placed in a brand or company’s work environment – the sole purpose of a business, is simply to make money. Unfortunately, profit is usually the most important factor in a business; this results in the business prioritising money over the care of its people. The luxury fashion industry is worth approximately $100 billion, as it stands, in 2022. Meanwhile, the fast fashion industry is worth close to $100 billion, currently standing at $99 billion, with growth at a “compound growth rate of 8.8%” according to The Business Research Company.

Global retail sales are expected to reach $29 trillion by the end of 2022, outperforming other sectors within the fashion industry – contrary to this, those working within the industry such as journalists, photographers and stylists aren’t profiting in the same way as retail. As of 2020, the fashion publishing company Conde Nast discovered $600 million in revenue after losing $120 million in 2017, emphasising the decline of journalism. Retail continues to grow year after year with the exception of COVID-19 in recent years.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, brands have had to find new ways to engage their consumers through social media whilst also competing with other brands. Cynthia Sakai, the founder of EvolveTogether, took matters into her own hands to help others by producing trendy face masks during the pandemic, stating “brands will need to be very clear about how their products fulfil both emotional and functional needs”. Her concept drew attention by being shared on social media and allowed the business to grow whilst being able to help people everyday.

For a brand to become successful, it needs to be balanced in order to thrive. Creative Directors factor in every area of a brand to make sure it’s aligning with their mission statement and the brand’s image; however, profit needs to be taken into account alongside this. The Creator Director’s job is to ensure campaigns are in line with a new collection’s image whilst maintaining profitable growth but they have marketers, designers, merchandisers who support them with each sector. The Creative Director, as the name suggests, directs the team towards where the brand should be in the near future and what it should look like – commerce is largely targeted by accountants, buyers and merchandisers, and e-commerce specialists. They both work together to achieve a certain brand image and to maintain it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fast Fashion Market Analysis, Size And Trends Global Forecast To 2022-2030. (2022) www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com.

Grechko, I. (2020). How The Nap Dress, Masks & Tie-Dye Helped These Fashion Brands Thrive In The Pandemic. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/12/10244533/top-fashion-brands-covid.

The Business of Fashion. (2018). Want a Job in Fashion Journalism? https:// www.businessoffashion.com/articles/workplace-talent/want-a-job-in-fashion-journalism/.

Total Retail Sales Worldwide (2018–2022)

https://au.oberlo.com/statistics/total-retail-sales.

THE FOUR PILLARS…

PEOPLE

Consumers are one of the main reasons why fashion is evolving, constantly and consistently. In the age of social media, now more than ever people are what makes a brand go viral and widely-known world-wide just by the tap of a button. The power the consumer has is incredibly important, specifically Gen-Z.

Gen-Z consumers become aware of a brand often through social media such as Instagram or Pinterest, platforms which displays multiple images of garments if the consumer has chosen to look at them, therefore a brand’s social media presence should be strong to avoid getting lost in the sea amongst other brands’ social media accounts. The Gen-Z consumer is ‘willing to shop across channels, have an appetite for high-quality items and are eager to stay on top of cultural trends’ as Vogue Business have discovered. They want to be able to fit in with others around them yet still want to have their own sense of style; as a result, new trends are forming through the consumer’s expression of clothing. What was once someone’s unique sense of style has now become everyone’s sense of style – social media captures this perfectly. Images are shared of an influencer’s outfit and a sea of consumers will shop everywhere to get the top the influencer is wearing. Gen-Z tend to focus on being more careful with their money since more awareness is being brought to the subject. This could be seen as a negative for brands in some instances as the consumer wants to purchase pieces they know will last for years to come rather than shopping for the sake of it. Of course, there are still some consumers who make less calculated decisions and purchase a number of items at a time but the majority are weary of the amount of money they are spending.  

On the other hand, it could be a positive for brands as the consumer is aware of how many garments end up in landfill; the consumer is more likely to support a brand that has the same ethics as them. Forbes claims “two-thirds of consumers say they will pay more for sustainable products”.

Diversity is now one of the biggest deciding factors in whether or not a Gen-Z consumer will support a brand or not. A brand should be using their platforms in a correct way by featuring models from an array of cultural backgrounds, genders, disabilities and more. Any form of discrimination from a brand or any lack of diversity is immediately noticed by the Gen-Z consumer, such as Abercrombie and Fitch. The Netflix documentary, ‘White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch’, demonstrated how quickly a brand will be picked apart by its consumers until they fix their diversity model. This emphasises just how much power the Gen-Z consumer has..

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Petro, G. (11th March 2022). Consumers Demand Sustainable Products And Shopping Formats.  Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2022/03/11/consumers-demand-sustainable-products-and-shopping-formats/?sh=5fe11ec6a062

Vogue Business (2021). Gen Z shopping trends uncovered. Vogue Business.

https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/gen-z-shopping-trends-uncovered-pay-pal.