Below are a few ideas from the Transworld Business site. I’m always checking this site for the latest in the action sports world. I came across this article called ‘A Checklist for New Labels & Small Brands’. Some interesting concepts:
I’ve been chanting for the last few months, and maybe longer, that our current economic environment represents a great opportunity for new and smaller brands. At an ASR seminar in September, somebody actually, finally, asked me, “What do you mean by that exactly?”
My answer was that if you were a specialty retailer, and were still standing, you weren’t likely to succeed by relying on big, national brands as much as you use to. I think I cited four reasons this was true.
1.) A lot of that product has become available in different channels cheaper than you can afford to sell it.
2.) A specialty retailer can’t differentiate itself (which it has to do) by carrying the same product everybody else carries.
3.) The percentage of revenue large brands get from specialty retailers is declining and even though those brands may be supportive, specialty retailers are simply financially less important to them then they use to be.
4.) The size of some of the offerings from the large brands makes it tough as a smaller square footage store to carry and effectively merchandise a selection from that brand that meets customer expectations. And of course, we’re not talking about just one brand.
I think I’ll add a fifth. If those big national brands are the focus of your store, then you risk being defined by the brands you carry, and I like to think it should be the other way around. The specialty retailer should give credibility to the brands they carry.
Reach Jeff Harbaugh on Facebook or through jeffharbaugh.com.
