Shape Shifting

Fashion retailers are changing the way that they operate, appear and interact with the consumer in order to differentiate themselves away from, well…themselves.

Brand strategy in a technologically savvy and highly differentiated industry like fashion, is now as much about disrupting core constructs as it is about solidifying them. Self-disruption requires a strategic move that could end in self-cannibalisation, and yet it is sought after in the hope that the overall result reaps growth, or even survival.

Within the fashion sphere technology and social media have catalysed disruption across the industry. Business models, consumer channels, and supply chains are changing to keep pace with technology. The impetus to self-disrupt is very current with technology shaping consumer expectation and purchasing behaviour.

The H&M group
H&M illustrate both the beauty and the beast of the self-disruption concept. Organically created brand & Other Stories is performing very well. Founded in 2010, & Other Stories has exploded thanks to its direct-to-consumer market, built from a chic Instagram community into successful bricks and mortar stores. Considering H&M's broader portfolio, there is a danger of self-cannibalisation of sales to its Cos brand through the success of & Other Stories. However, whilst one H&M group pollutes another, their calculated pay off has proven successful, the group now access a larger bandwidth of consumer ages through an extended product range (e.g. cosmetics).

Cos & Other Stories boast chic and elegance. The launch of H&M Home appears to be an effort to affiliate these terms to the H&M stores. Heavily and sophisticatedly advertised via social media along with direct social shopping channels and independent stores in key locations, H&M Home appears to be an effort to self-disrupt H&M, by innovating product lines through its existing portfolio. Further to this, its placement in Cos and & Other Stories signals the move to improved brand-perception, by disrupting its current offering and brand perception. 

Luxury brands
Luxury fashion powerhouse LVMH is seeking to acquire Tiffany in a move to broaden its "hard jewellery" market share. This acquisition could poach part of its current portfolio – Fred, Chaumet, Bvlgari. Should the acquisition prove fruitful to market share, especially in the US, the luxury appeal isn't totally self-sufficient in a country of unique seeking consumers. Indirect overexposure of luxury brands has led to mass consumption and reduced appeal. Accordingly, luxury players are self-disrupting by engaging direct to consumers via social channels. Activity that is entertaining, interactive and stylish are the social media campaigns that reap the highest returns for luxury customer engagement.

So, what of the future? 
For the fashion powerhouses we envisage internal innovation units and incubator innovation to test concepts before risking the cannibalisation of brand image. Doing so will enable established brands to respond quicker to trends, test new business-models and engage new markets.  Whilst the M&A of LVMH provides growth acceleration, it's inflexibility and risk profile to acquiring inefficiencies could inhibit innovation beyond the short-term. It is increasingly important to question the traditional operating model within fashion and disturb the status quo to provoke agility.

Brands need to innovate to shape-shift in a market of perpetually changing consumer expectations and divergent purchasing behaviours.

Kitty Soos