Comments on: Do consumers care when your apparel brand started?

By: Paul G. Gagner

Paul G. Gagner — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:49:51 +0000

Consumers care about values. Trying to leverage a brand’s heritage can have the opposite effect by portraying a brand as a has-been and one not relevant to the needs of today’s consumer. However, if you focus on the brand’s values – quality, sustainability, reliability, value, etc. then these are the attributes a consumer cares about and relates to – and these values can come from a 100 year old brand, or 1 year old brand. If the 100 year old brand has consistently upheld these values then this speaks volumes – but still, the focus should be on values, not age. It’s kind of like talking about demographics vs. psychgraphics. In my opinion the latter is much more relevant for understanding, and predicting, consumer behaviors.

By: doubleb

doubleb — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:02:08 +0000

Hmmm, tough call.

I often see people in their late 20′s/early 30′s wearing Airwalk and Vision Streetwear kicks, probably oblivious to the fact that they’re not the same companies they were back when we were kids. I think they like the heritage aspect for sure.

Hollister plays to a similar space too. Even if people didn’t wear it 20 years ago (because it didn’t exist!), it has a perceived heritage among those that don’t surf, but like to emulate the lifestyle. Hollister, an incredible case study, can be said to have a classic surf feel, especially with some of its vintage gear. People resonate with that. Even if it’s not authentic to the core surf set.

Then there’s the guys who want the latest and greatest before you have it and once you do, they don’t want it anymore.

There’ll always be those that prefer the Stones to <>, but some people will want a mix of both.

By: antipop

antipop — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:53:10 +0000

Probably not much for teens floating in the trend tides but for many other markets I believe consumers do care. A consumer in the outdoor lifestyle market looking for a dependable shell, may make a decision about a jacket based on whether or not they believe the company has a significant amount of experience, history and r&d to produce a reliable product. At higher price points they may also want feel secure that the company will be around to back up the product in the future.
While they may not care about which year, I bet the they care about an established reputation.

I would also speculate that the “innovators” and “early adapters” would probably care more. I my opinion these are the people setting trends, doing research and looking for something new. They maybe more core. I would guess that as the curve rises and falls post early adapters, the concern about start dates begins to drop off.

Just my 2 cents
apop