Fashion means exuberance, newness, getting away from boredom, making customers dream, shocking society. Shock-of-the-new is a trigger in society and in the mind of customers who drive society. It has to be seen, become a buzz, incite a craze in people to know more. Developed countries have mastered it, maintained it. So 21st century fashion communication is not only provocative, it stimulates the deep desires and fantasies hidden in the customer?s mind.
Hundred percent FDI will create shock-of-the-new: When FDI opens up for multi-brand retailing in India, international multi-brand stores will create shock-of-the-new, sustain and change the colour of fashion retailing here. To avoid getting blasted away, Indian multi-brand retailers will have to market the intangibles of fashion in retailing and branding. Anybody can do apparel business with five basic elements: fabric, limited texture, colour, cut and fit, but a fashion brand is created only when fabric transforms into an imagination metaphor with the infusion of visual art effects. International mass fashion brands like FCUK, ZARA among others have no designer name. They compensate that at every customer touch point with regular changing fashionable merchandise at the retail through visual merchandising, fa?ade, shelf and fixtures interwoven with visual art.
India allows upto 51% FDI in single brand retailing today, and 100% in the cash and carry business. A few shock-of-the-new examples: from 1991 to 2004, consumer electronics brands arrived from developed countries and almost knocked Indian brands out of the market. WTO regulations in 2004 resulted in foreign automobile brands marginalising most fully Indian sedans, so they?ve become taxis. A brand sustains an idea by bringing in change, and at the same time retaining, year after year, the core that creates the shock-of-the-new. Take Apple, the brand that has sustained an element of shock-of-the-new in all its products from the first Apple machine in 1976 to Mac computers, iPods, iPhones and iPads today. On August 9, 2011 Apple nudged Exxon Mobil to be crowned the world?s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of $337.2 billion.
Indian vs international brands: Living in a truly liberalised atmosphere with access to worldwide media, Western marketing tactics have proliferated here making Indians more brand conscious. In a recent dip-stick study we found Zappers below 30 years believe international brands to be trendy, fashionable, with new designs of better quality styling. The 31-45 years Compromise generation sees wider options in international brands and is ready to spend in their economy products. The 45+ Retro generation prefers to buy Indian, but for better quality can shift to international brands.
Shock-of-the-new has a positive impact on society?s drivers comprising socio-behavioural clusters of Flamboyant, Novelty seeker, Critical, Techy and Gizmo lovers. The trends they set spread to society?s followers, the Low key, Sober and Value seekers. As driver behavioural characteristics are growing in India, we can expect drastic changes in fashion retailing when the Cabinet gives the green signal for 100% FDI in multi brand retailing.
Retail stores are multiplying like mushrooms in India, but they do not follow fashion?s diktat. Localisation is always required, but you cannot localise something that is not part of your culture and competence without first learning its function in depth. Take the case of French Galleries Lafayette opening a store in New York?s Trump Tower with $8 million yearly rent in 1991. They failed to localise according to American customers, and had to close shop within three years.
Every fashion category requires the association of imagination. It?s like looking at a single image created from multiple mirror images. In India, we don?t follow any established fashion code, but invent fashion in a sporadic way. For example, putting a cosmetic product in a sophisticated container with a Bollywood expression cannot create hedonism. The two are not complementary as Bollywood is an ephemeral world while a brand has to sustain.
PUB Reflex: When FDI opens up 100%, global lifestyle brands with huge brand pull will enter to indoctrinate the retailing system in India. If allowed to source freely, they will offer multiple international brands at aggressive, multi-layer price points. They can crash the price very low as they know volumes will be very high in India. To ride the shock-of-the-new wave, Indian multi-brand retailer must ignite the PUB Reflex, which Provokes the customer to understand so she buys (https://indianexpress.com/news/the-pub-reflex/780514/0). It?s certainly possible to compete and sustain as is evident when China opened 100% FDI. Chinese brand Li-Ning managed to dislodge all international brands in sportswear in 2004 and became second only to Nike (16.7% market share). Li-Ning?s 14.2% market share came from leveraging subtle nuances of Chinese heritage to build a brand globally.
Fashion advertising driven by visual art: Fashion marketing is very different from FMCG marketing, which is more technical centric with a price boundary that requires rational and functional superiority. Fashion marketing is driven by visual art and continuously empowered from backstage. Pierre Berger, manager-partner of haute couture designer Yves St Laurent says, ?I?ve always watched what Yves would do, and never interfered with his actions. From backstage, I would collect the nuances of his creativity to highlight for marketing and to strengthen the brand YSL we created.?
Fashion marketing?s real job is to magnify visual art to become larger than reality. Fashion reflects desire, self seduction, projection and high spirits, not customer need. Supply chain or production cannot replace the lack of visual art in backstage fashion marketing of intangibles. Mass fashion started in the West since the 1980s while following the impact and doctrine of haute couture. The latest retail marketing innovation is the totally new departure made by H&M which, while being a mono-brand retail is co-branding H&M with reputed designer brands like Lanvin and Versace among others to give consumers a multi-brand experience. Even WalMart?s private label Metro 7 induces fashion intangibles. The more fashion associates with visual art, the more intangible it becomes, and can accordingly command its price. What shock-of-the-new can we expect for fashion brands when 100% FDI opens up for multi-brand retails in India?
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top managements. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com
