reasons for clothing brand failure
It’s well known that building a successful clothing brand long term is no easy task, and comes with many challenges, in this article we are going to break down a few of the most prominent problems that can make or break clothing brands longevity.
Understanding where the most critical problems can occur is crucial to avoiding them and therefore improving the success of your brand.
In no particular order, here are our most important reasons for brand failure to understand and avoid :
WEAK DESIGN
With the vast array of clothing brands on the market today, it’s shocking how few of them truly prioritize professional design & creative process, it’s almost as if emerging brands believe they can sell almost anything printed on a cheap blank shirt and expect massive sales.
However, excellent design in a market which is incredibly oversaturated by cheap fashion, is like finding a diamond in the rough, and it is one of the most powerful tools that can be used against competitors.
If you’re able to carve your own style which is unique, and work with industry creatives with professional intentions for the finer details of design, you’re already ahead of most competition in the market.
Focus on each little detail of the garments you’re offering such as the way the garment fits, fabric selection, stitching details, graphic print & embroidery details, and of course prioritize creativeness with each design.
The list could go on forever, the point is to emphasize quality, creativity & attention to detail with everything you offer.
INCONSISTENT BRANDING
The value of a strong brand identity & guideline plan is often overlooked by startup brands, yet remains to be one of the most critical factors in the longevity & success of a clothing brand.
Consistency is of upmost importance when you are trying to captivate an audience and build a strong community.
Think about some of your favourite brands, you would likely be able to describe their specific brand identity based on details such as graphic & garment design style, color palette, brand messaging & voice, logo & trademarks, or even the style in which they shoot marketing campaigns.
The point is to give your audience a sense of something that they can strongly relate to, and offer products that are consistent with that identity.
The more people understand that they can rely on your brand for a specific style & consistency, the more of a community you will build, and therefore repeat customers.
POOR QUALITY CONTROL
Offering garments which are low quality or lack lustre will ensure a fast fall to the bottom of the endless barrel of emerging clothing brands on the market.
This market is overly saturated with too many brands offering extremely poor quality garments in order to cut cost at the expense of the customer.
Typically the customers who are willing to spend more money on quality clothing are themselves enthusiasts, they will understand that you have delivered them a garment which is made of cheap material, low quality graphics, sizing inconsistencies or any other quality issue.
Never try to cut cost at the expense of your customers, doing your own quality control after receiving the garments from your factory will ensure that you are delivering the things you claim to, and never deliver a disappointing order to your customer.
Take a good look over each and every garment for quality control details such as consistent measurements & fit, color consistency, graphic print quality, seams & stitching quality, material quality, etc.
Holding your brand to high quality standards will create the standard of which your brand is perceived.
INEFFECTIVE / LOW QUALITY MARKETING
There are many mistakes which can be made when it comes to marketing a clothing brand, however our opinion is that the most important factor for successful marketing is authenticity.
Authenticity in marketing is key for clothing brands, as the goal is to build a strong community of customers which relate to the brand & products, therefore consistent & authentic marketing content should be a top priority.
Even if you’re offering a high quality product (which you should be) you must do everything possible to display the product in such a way that it aligns with your brand identity & community.
Choosing to opt for self produced marketing instead of hiring an agency will not only save a lot of money, it will also ensure the vision of your marketing campaign aligns with your brand.
Only you as the brand owner, as well as your team will truly understand the vision, identity & tone of your brand and nobody else (even expensive marketing agencies) will be able to achieve the result that you are looking to achieve.
It’s important to note that while self produced marketing content is the most authentic and organic approach to marketing, you must still emphasize quality.
Capturing high quality photo’s, utilizing unique shoot locations, hand picking models which fit your desired brand persona, fitting & styling the model are all examples of personal touches which you can implement to achieve an authentic result.
FINNCIAL MISMANAGEMENT / OVER-EXPANSION
Poor financial management is unfortunately a very common cause for brand failure, which can be easily avoided by implementing simple strategies to ensure that you & your team are not overspending.
Often times after a brand finally has a successful collection launch which sells well and exceeds targets, a brand is tempted to invest EVERYTHING back into another collection production without understanding which bills may be approaching meanwhile.
You might have a business loan that has a payment due, you may be forgetting about operating expenses for the future, or maybe you want to treat yourself personally on something extravagant due to the success of your collection.
Understanding that success is not always ensured for every collection you release is important, as well as truly understanding the numbers behind the business of your brand operations.
Every brand wants to expand as quickly as possible, and you will, but first understand where your business capital needs to be in the future to keep afloat, instead of instantly investing everything into new production.
Take the necessary time to create a financial budgeting plan in order to manage cash flow properly & ensure steady & sustainable growth.
Tip : Always underestimate revenue, always overestimate costs.
POOR MARKET RESEARCH
Conducting market research should be one of the first steps you take when creating a brand identity & business plan, however this is again often overlooked.
Understanding your target audience, the market in which you want to fit, trends and competitor analysis are just a few of the many deep understandings that you must undertake before you should even attempt to launch a successful line.
Without these insights, you may end up with a full inventory of product stock that doesn’t meet the consumer needs within your market, or fail to identify important opportunities within the space.
LACK OF UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)
Your brands unique selling propositions are the fundamental reasons why customers should choose your brand & product over the competitor, this is essentially what sets you apart.
We read a lot about the lack of USP in failing brands being a problem, however it is not necessarily always a lack of USP, but rather a lack of defining & clearly communicating the USP to consumers.
What this means is, you as a brand owner might understand that one of your USP’s is a good price point for exceptionally high quality garments, however you haven’t communicated this effectively enough to your audience to drive sales.
A brand USP could be based around unique style of graphics which are not offered by any other brand, it could be price point or garment quality, or it could be based upon sustainability efforts, and much more.
Whatever you define as your core USP’s, ensure that you communicate them effectively through your marketing efforts, in order for your audience to perceive the value & see a reason to purchase from you over other brands.
Disclaimer : this is not business advice, only reiteration of our own research & experience working with clothing brands. Use information at your own discretion.
