Benjamin Li
Mar 7, 2013

Esprit de corpse? To survive, HK-based brand must become a leader not a follower

HONG KONG - Like the foppish young man in 1960s hit single 'Dedicated follower of fashion', Hong Kong-headquartered retailer Esprit will continue to struggle to be taken seriously if it fails to establish its own identity in the competitive fast-fashion space, branding experts warn.

Gisele: Cool enough for young fashion consumers?
Gisele: Cool enough for young fashion consumers?

The retailer posted a first-half loss of around US$60 million, compared with net profit of US$72 million a year earlier. Hit by the upheavals and gloom in the Eurozone—on which it relies for 80 per cent of its turnover, having pulled out of the US—Esprit is the sick man of the industry. 

Campaign Asia-Pacific talked to a few branding experts in Hong Kong and Singapore to find out their view of the brand and the remedies it may take to save itself from going permanently out of fashion.

Benedict Gordon, managing director of The Brand Union in Hong Kong, said: "In a nutshell, Esprit is fast losing its esprit as a brand, and the company’s approach to marketing is pretty symbolic of this."

"They must have spent a small fortune on getting Gisele to be the face of the brand, but if so I’d say they haven’t really got their money’s worth," Gordon added.

Instead, he suggested that rather than running a standard advertising campaign, it would have been a lot more interesting to see something like a Gisele-designed (or at least inspired) range—the kind of approach that has worked so well for the likes of Topshop and H&M, and something that the supermodel herself has done successfully for the C&A brand in the past.

"Gisele is most certainly a high-profile hire," said Akshay Mathur, associate director of brand consultancy Flamingo in Singapore. But he wondered if a trendy 16- to 20-year-old will be impressed by a supermodel who is glamorous and beautiful, but not necessarily cool or fun.

"In my opinion, she embodies the wrong values for Esprit, and while this is new news for the brand, it fails to propel it forward," Mathur reckoned.

John Holton, co-founder and partner of Figtree Prophet, pointed out that people enjoy talking about things that are cool and contemporary.

"They need to be more innovative in their products, instead of following who sells what and then copying those items," he stressed. "Then they become a follower and not leader."

Holton cited Topshop, which is set to open its first store in Hong Kong's Central district in May, as an example. "They really know what it's about: Quick for turning things from catwalks to consumers' hands, being at the moment with a dash of Britpop edge to it."

He pointed to Burberry as another example of successful brand rejuvenation. Burberry used to be a classic yet somewhat old-fashioned brand. But when Angela Ahrendts joined the company as CEO in January 2006, with Christopher Bailey as chief creative officer, she turned the brand around from the 1950s and '60s to the 21st century. Still very British, Burberry is also cool, edgy and contemporary, a status it gained in part by working with young British designers.

Mathur echoed Holton's view and added that the high-street fashion category embodied values that revolve around dynamism, excitement and newness. 

He pointed out that successful brands such as H&M, Zara and Topshop are able to express these values through highly topical and relevant product offerings aimed at young consumers who are finicky and constantly in search of the next new look.
 
Mathur believed Esprit has lost its way solely through complacency. "They haven't done anything new and exciting in almost a decade," he said. "It remains the same plain brand it used to be at the turn of the century."  
 
In 2008, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Esprit developed a special 'Celebration 68/08 look', based on the design style of architect Ettore Sottsass, whose Memphis design for Esprit stores was so sensational in the beginning of the 1980s. The look was created to express Esprit’s motto: freshness, youth, spontaneity and sportiness. The brand's tagline was ‘Esprit de corps', however Holton said it was now more like "Esprit de corporate".
 
Gordon believed Esprit’s issues are more than skin-deep. "As a business, they’re simply not nimble enough to adapt to the trend for fast fashion, where people expect to be able to buy and wear the items and styles that have only just been unveiled on the catwalk."

He said that the fact that they don’t have their own manufacturing facilities means they can’t introduce hot new pieces within any one season. So when pitted against the likes of Zara and H&M, Esprit’s collections often appear outdated and struggle to attract the young fashion-conscious shoppers Esprit so desperately wants.

Holton attributed the success of competitors like Uniqlo and Zara in part to distinctive Japanese quirkiness and Spanish flair, respectively. Esprit must put the soul back into the business, he said. "Localisation and originality are very important to a brand—who makes the brand, what the brand stands for, what is its brand essence and philosophy? They will die unless they say something specific. No amount of ad dollars is going to make any difference."

Source:
Campaign China

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