In fashion, worldwide clothes designers target global markets. There is a lot of attention for young brands that tends to offer inexpensive design clothes. H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and Joe Fresh. These brands bring to the mass market products like: expensive cashmere sweaters and fashion trendy clothes designed by designers like Missoni for Target, Jill Sander for Uniqlo or Stella McCarthy for H&M. How can they do that? It's a combination of optimization of sourcing, lower margins, worldwide distribution as direct retailers and very aggressive marketing.
For example , one of my customer was traveling to Korea recently and she really wanted to visit the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas , in order to visit some factories located in a semi-war zone. This give you an idea of how determined are lower price brands to cut their costs and keep their margins up.
The medium class customer can afford designer clothes at discounted prices and especially in Western hemisphere, luxury brands are not so "exclusive" as they used to be. Also upper class customers are shifting their shopping budget from Gucci, Prada to discounted designer clothes.
Nowadays you can buy a jacket at 70 usd or 7,000 usd : of course it will be a different product , material and making, but these new brands are able to redesign high fashion styles, in same colors and present them in their stores 2-3 months later. Speed of execution is key for selling the right product when it's still trendy. If, instead, this style is presented 1 year later, even if at very affordable price, it may not sell well as fashion changes quickly (especially in trendy women clothing)
Luxury brands are instead very strong in markets like Asia, as they love labels, and new rich countries: Arab countries, Russia etc. These markets are fast growing and quick money making, where people feels more confident if they have a Prada or Louis Vitton bag or a very expensive watch that shows a status symbol of being successful.
Last time I was in HK, I saw a long line of people outside the Chanel store at 10pm on a week day. When I walk on 5th or Madison Ave, I barely see customers inside the luxury brands stores.
So basically human beings are the same everywhere, once they reach success, they want to show it to the World......but once they feel confident, they will stop looking at the Logos and instead start looking to what they really like and fits the best.
follow me @tommasorulli
