Fashion designer’s epidemic monologue: Slow down and make some “corrections”
“Previously, we paid more attention to offline brand experience. There were no features online and it did not conform to the style of short videos. Therefore, it was difficult to promote online and traffic could not be effectively gathered.” YIAN brand designer Lu Enhua faced the problem , is not a one-person battle. Affected by the epidemic, offline sales in the apparel industry have not yet fully recovered. While a large number of apparel companies have been affected, independent designer brands are also facing choices. Some personal clothing brand stores are selling discounts, and more clothing designers are choosing to rethink like Lu Enhua and Ge Le (founders of independent designer brand Page3): Are they too dependent on offline channels?
The problem of shutdown
During the epidemic, many clothing brands were forced to suspend the operations of offline stores or shorten their business hours. However, the shutdown of offline physical stores has not only affected major clothing brands, but also experience stores of designer brands and personal clothing stores have been affected.
“The epidemic has hit our offline physical experience stores relatively hard. Now we can only try to reduce expenses as much as possible. After all, we are an emerging domestic designer brand and are relatively niche. The details will depend on the sales in the following months. “Lu Enhua told a Beijing Business Daily reporter.
Lu Enhua is an independent brand designer who has held many catwalk shows at China International Fashion Week. Currently, he designs independent brands including THE YIAN STUDIO and parent-child series, including regular sales models and advanced customization, dresses, and cashmere sweaters. , cotton and linen antique products.
However, it is not just offline physical stores that have been shut down. In order to prevent and control the epidemic and ensure the health and safety of partners, audiences and staff, the China International Fashion Week Organizing Committee announced that the “2020/2021 Autumn and Winter Fashion Week” originally scheduled to be held in Beijing from March 25 to 31 China International Fashion Week will be postponed and the new date will be determined based on the epidemic situation.
“Because the brand itself is relatively niche, the postponement does not have a big impact on me, and the postponement of fashion week is also responsible for the public.” Lu Enhua said.
In fact, in addition to designer brands, many individual clothing stores have also begun to sell clothing at low prices and discounts. An owner of a personal brand clothing store said that although the store is currently closed, the rent has not been “suspended” and he sells some clothing at low prices through Moments to recirculate funds.
Cheng Weixiong, a textile and apparel management expert and general manager of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., said that small stores cannot purchase on credit due to small purchase volume and dry up cash flow. Selling at low prices can recover some capital. After all, survival is the only way.
Embrace traffic
“Compared to the past, many publishing activities were canceled during the epidemic, and more creation and thinking about online traffic were increased. In the past, we paid more attention to offline brand experience. Online videos were mainly in the form of records, without characteristics and It is in line with the current short video style, so it is difficult to promote online and the traffic cannot be effectively gathered.” Lu Enhua told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that the next step the brand decided to focus on is online promotion, hoping that online traffic can be supplemented offline. ”
Similarly, Geler, who built Page3 with his own hands, was once very anxious in the face of this crisis. Later, he gradually became calm and seriously reflected on the problems in the entrepreneurial process-the brand relied too much on offline.
In fact, it is not just designer brands that are rethinking online traffic. Recently, many clothing companies have begun to try new methods of online sales. As early as February, companies such as Mulsanne Group, Cabin Group, and Peacebird launched sales methods such as communities and mini programs. In March, Semir also launched an all-employee marketing campaign, using online stores and community promotions to promote sales growth.
Cheng Weixiong said that physical stores are just a point, and the service circle they face is relatively limited and will be affected by physical distance. If the online port is opened, the user group can be reached in a more diversified way, without being limited by time, distance, region, store area, season, etc., and the demand for experience services can be infinitely amplified. Therefore, it is imperative to build omni-channel stores, and it will be particularly important in the future to provide online and offline experience services around brand users in specific business districts.
Lai Yang, vice president of the Beijing Association of Business Economics, believes that it is a general trend for clothing sales to shift to online. However, because physical stores will still bring income to companies, there are also uncertainties in online sales, making it difficult for many clothing companies. Determined to completely transform to online.
Rebranding
“Niche brands have two sides. On the one hand, they are small and easy to turn around. On the other hand, they do not have more funds or resources to support their development, and the risks they need to bear are relatively large. In the epidemic, niche brands can survive If you succeed, you will be eliminated if you can’t survive,” Cheng Weixiong told a Beijing Business Daily reporter.
Affected by the epidemic, almost all factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have stopped working. Gele’s spring series of clothing cannot be shipped. Although the design of the summer series has been completed, the construction period is still being communicated. “In fact, regardless of whether there is an epidemic or not, starting a business is not easy. The current situation is a good opportunity for designer brands to reflect on. “Gler said.
Lu Enhua told a Beijing Business Daily reporter: “During the epidemic, brands can slow down and make some ‘corrections’. This ‘correction’ includes not only a re-understanding of online traffic, but also a rethinking of brand positioning. Brands In the future, we may develop more adult clothing, because in terms of purchasing power, adult clothing is better than children’s clothing, especially designer clothing. This is also in line with my idea of leading my personal clothing brand from a niche to the public in the future. ”
Lai Yang believes that niche brands will be impacted during the epidemic, but they are much smaller than traditional clothing companies with a large number of stores. Rethinking during the epidemic is also a good time to rebrand.
In Cheng Weixiong’s view, self-rescue is inevitable under the epidemic situation. Online promotion is one of the ways to recover costs. In addition, it is necessary to tighten revenue and expenditure, divest bad businesses and suspend cash investment. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the company’s internal operational learning, training and improvement to lay a solid foundation and improve internal skills. Beijing Business Daily reporter Qian Yu, Bai Yang Li Meng (picture provided by YIAN)
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