Traditional Retailers: Pulling Yourself Back from the Brink

We all accept that the paradigm of the brick-and-mortar store and the major brands are in a condition of slow decay, on their way to unequivocal collapse. Ever since Zara, H&M, and ASOS hit the dance floor competing retailers have been in a state of bamboozled hysteria. 

Revisionist advice and contradicting opinions are only serving to further agitate a corporate climate fueled by fear and self-preservation.

The cry is Reinvention! Reinvention! We must reinvent ourselves, or we will die! The consumer has changed! Innovation! We must innovate new products! Transform our identity! We must become the next Zara, the new H&M or the future ASOS! We must become more ethically aware and lifestyle conscious!

Yes, the consumer is changing. Yes, evolving with the times is fundamental to success. But no, the path to success is not about superimposing someone else’s identity on to your own. Zara is successful because Zara is the very best Zara, just as H&M is the very best H&M, and ASOS is the very best ASOS. 

Many of the pillars of the traditional industry are built on the qualities required to survive and flourish, they have just lost their way. 

Levi Strauss

170 years ago Levi Strauss did not just create the first pair of jeans they created the “denim” lifestyle, AKA Americana. Throughout American history a pair of Levi’s have been at the nexus of social change and events: first, as the preferred workwear for gold miners, farmers, and cowboys; then, with the release of Lady Levi’s, the first to design and make a pair of women’s jeans; eventually the uniform for the rebellion of the 1960s; and finally, the chosen garb of the punk, rock, and grunge movements. 

Marks & Spencer

Not only is Marks & Spencer the global leader in ethical sourcing, Marks & Spencer pioneered ethical sourcing before it even existed in our lexicon. Sustainable practice was not an isolated department or an appendage slapping on a label to prove an altruistic spirit. Sustainable concepts and values grew organically from the essence of M&S: “British quality goods’. This term defines something beyond physical make, it expresses the conviction: we make products any Brit would be proud to wear. 

Patagonia

For Patagonia’s consumer, spending time in nature is not just a hobby it is a vocation. From the very beginning, Patagonia understood that they must imbue their company with their consumers’ values. It is not enough to make beautiful, high quality, functional products. They must use the most sustainable materials and manufacture with most sustainable processes. Additionally, they must 100% transparent, reporting any problems that occur and publishing their remedial efforts. As a company, Patagonia has fulfilled all expectations. 

To this day Levi Strauss, Marks & Spencer, and Patagonia continue to nurture their original, authentic ethos. They have all benefitted from their individual identities, but neither corporate ethics or embracing consumer lifestyle is sufficient for success. 

To develop a solution we must look beyond value systems and physical products. It is imperative to examine and rebuild the system from the ground up. First by looking at the individual company, then by examining and realigning the supply chain. 

The solution is not some great gimmick. 

To survive and prosper, in this new commercial landscape, retailers and brands must take a step back to identify who they were and become, again, what made them successful in the first place. 

Success is a 6-step process.

Define who you are and become that. Who-you-are not only defines you, it is your greatest asset. You never leverage who-you-are. Just as a madam running $1000 a night call girls will not increase revenue by bringing in $5 hookers, so to a successful designer brand must never increase volume by selling men’s Y-front knit briefs in at K-Mart.

If your business is designing, making and selling garments you are in the garment business. Your goal is not profit. Profit is the bi-product of well-run garment business. Support departments are important, but they exist to support the garment people. When you forget why you are in business and think that business is all about profit; when you allow the accountants and other supporting acts to take over, you are taking the first step down a slippery slope. Think General Motors and General Electric. They decided that lending money to their consumers so that they would buy their products was more important than the product themselves. Remember the result: GM’s bankruptcy and GE’s near bankruptcy.

Ensure that, support departments aside, everyone in the company, from the CEO down, is a garmento. Each and every garmento must understand their valued role in the garment process. 

Find the best factories and actively develop them to become seamless parts the process.

Provide the tools necessary for both the company and its factory suppliers to carry out their responsibilities.

Communication. To be successful all insight, knowledge and ideas must be collected and unequivocally shared throughout the system. There must be a continual flow of conversation and information between each entity in the supply chain. From managers on the shop floor to designers and factories, no one party is more important than the other. The aggregation and exchange of information are fundamental to success. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, working towards the same goal. 

Do not become stagnant. Change is an ever-ongoing process. However, during the course of change, you must never forget just who you are.

Garmentos! Wake up! Your industry needs you!

By Emma Birnbaum and David Birnbaum