Retail is not dead, bad brands are dead
David Jones, Jeanswest, Bardot and Collette. Retailers are being challenged by the economic climate and shutting their doors, but The Content Division’s Brittanie Dreghorn argues that brands that have evolved their promise will do more than just survive.
“Retail is a damning place to be in 2020,” or at least that’s what they say.
News outlets globally are reporting how retailers en masse are closing their doors, be they fashion, food or accessories.
Australian Retailers Association chief executive, Russell Zimmerman, accredits the downturn to a number of factors, some outside of brands’ control, and some well within their own backyards.
Interest rates, consumer confidence and increased rent costs are among the few aspects Zimmerman says are “good reasons” why Australian retailers are doing it tough.
So the answer is to ‘lean in’, but not too far, otherwise you might fall.
I get the point the article is making that some brands handle change better than others but firstly Aesop….my apologies of it is me but I have never heard of them and so will they still be a great example to use in 5, 10, 15 years……?
Perhaps they will but it’s a bit early to judge I would say.
More relevantly, you cannot deny that no matter how good a brand/company in a declining market is, it is still going to do less well than before. No doubt there were brilliant horse and carriage companies in the early 1900s, frantically adjusting to the arrival of cars but it did nothing more than stave off the inevitable for a period of time.
Thanks for your comment, Mark. Assume you’re not Aesop’s target market – so that’s ok. You are right though, for brands making products that are redundant, they could just be waiting for the inevitable. Alternatively, they could completely pivot. It’s a matter of producing something for the audience rather than for the sake of producing.
Mr Hall-Smith you are unqualified to comment here if you haven’t heard of Aesop.You obviously don’t travel very often because their beautiful,minamalist,always on brand shops are in nearly every major city in the world.
They are a great Australian success story and been in business for at least 25 years.
Agree on this point, their London stores are particularly cool.
Mr HS is a recruiter, not a marketer though, so his “civilian” commentary is what it is.
Refreshing and well said. A lack of customer centricity will kill most businesses/brands, including retailers.