challenger brands: h&m vs. gap
DESCRIPTION
Challenger brands like H&M have won the hearts of many fast-fashion shoppers. What must Gap do to reinvent themselves against such challengers?TRANSCRIPT
HOW DOES H&M BEHAVE LIKE A CHALLENGER?
Lighthouse identity — H&M is very clear in who they are. Fashion can be affordable.
Symbols of reinvention — They partner with high-fashion brands like Jimmy Choo, Versace, and Karl Lagerfeld.
They take risks — launched the “Conscious Collection”, an environmentally sustainable product line.
Sacrifice — They do one thing and they do it extremely well.
Use advertising as a high-leverage asset — They never forget the primacy of the idea. Ads are incredibly simple: high-fashion product plus low price.
2,799 big-windowed stores with navy awnings that call out: All is safe. You're in a gentrified neighborhood. Come inside and buy cotton twill.
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HOW CAN THE GAP BEHAVE MORE LIKE A
CHALLENGER?
Sacrifice — they can’t be all things to all people.
Break with their immediate past — take some risks and re-invent themselves:
• Redesign the store interiors• Make shopping a brand experience,
e.g. a traveling GAP sponsored barber shop
Overcommit — Get back to the core of the brand by honoring their American heritage:
• Collaborate with relevant American brands like Converse, Timberland, Patagonia, e.g.
• Reaffirm who they are through appropriate personality endorsements, music partnerships, etc.
Assume thought leadership — All-American doesn’t have to be stagnant. Make it relevant.