Branding the man: why men are the next frontier in fashion retail

With a recession comes deep cuts in operational budgets and retailers were no different in the darkest days of 2009. Marketing departments shrank and even mammoth retailers were working with skeleton crews of marketing managers or in some cases, one lone VP doing the lion’s share of work in wrangling vendors and pushing promotions.

Many think marketing is expendable. Some think it’s just hanging a sign in your window that says, “Mother’s Day Gifts, ”or throwing a cocktail party. But marketing is strategic and it doesn’t need to be brain surgery to ensure an impact on your business.

I know many retailers who spend hundreds of thousands (and even millions) of dollars on complicated, long-winded campaigns and in-store drivers with marketing mechanics that are so overblown and unnecessary that the only people who are driven are the marketing assistants who have to put it all in motion. It’s not Las Vegas folks, it’s a department store.

Good marketing is consistent and message-driven. The consumer believes and understands the value proposition — whether it’s a luxury retailer or a discounter.

As a consultant, I often receive queries from clients who, having long ignored the need for a proper marketing plan (or having assassinated their entire marketing team) come seeking a quick fix.  But very often what I discover is that a brand’s marketing (or lack thereof) is a kind of Rorschach for the dysfunctional inner-workings of a company’s vision and corporate strategy.

A well-oiled machine does not lie: a company that is functioning well on the inside is usually running well on the outside too. It is able to spring into action and react to the changes in the market. In order for great marketing to occur, there cannot be a disconnect between corporate and retail: if store employees are not given credit and transparency into the executive suite then you might as well blind-fold them.

As a consultant, my job is not to drink the Kool-Aid.

Often I’m faced with an organization where senior executives are either completely blinded or in denial to their company’s shortcomings. We’ve seen this happen with many big name retailers in 2009 and even in 2010.

376 companies per day sought bankruptcy protection in the first two quarters of 2009. Which ones sacrificed long-term strategic marketing for short-term gain?

Gottschalk’s, Max Factor, Circuit City, the list has grown long of brand’s that were long in the tooth and should have known better. Who was driving? Why didn’t we suspend their license especially with so many employees who had to be the casualties?

Of course, it wasn’t always simply a lack of marketing strategy. But the most successful brands are keenly aware of innovating their product, optimizing their retail experience (both online and bricks and mortar) and making their people — the talented folks who are in the trenches building the brand — their most strategic investment.

In these competitive times, there is no room for mediocrity.

Have you ever examined Google’s job application process? While at times their human resources strategy seems to include the use of Tarot cards and Scientology, it speaks of a company that weighs each hire very carefully, balancing employee development with employee rate of return.

Marketing and brand strategy isn’t so much about the numbers as it is about the alliance of great product, great people, and a vision for how to make the consumer a key part of the equation in building the brand’s ultimate deliverable: satisfaction and allegiance.

---

Serge Gainsbourg’s reputation as a singer, lover, and all-around bad-boy is legendary. As husband to actress Jane Birkin and father to singer-actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, Serge had the je ne sais quoi that most men only dream about.

To top it all off, he was a short little chain-smoking Jewish man and women loved him for it. His Mod, louche style was pure Parisien, from his trim Levi’s jackets  and striped Breton sweaters to his long loopy scarves; bell-bottomed tuxedo pants paired with velvet blazers.

And then there were the shoes.

Gainsbourg allegedly disliked wearing most shoes and if he could have had his way, would walk the streets barefoot. His “69 Années Erotique” duet-partner (in more ways than one) Jane Birkin had just the thing for him: a pair of crisp, white Repetto dance shoes, a model called “Zizi Homme.”

Gainsbourg was smitten and throughout his life had dozens of pairs of the supple shoe, and the Zizi became as much a signature of his look as a cigarette.

Since 1947, Repetto has provided hand-made dance shoes to every major dance company but has also been adopted by the fashion world. In 1999 Jean-Marc Gaucher, a former executive from Reebok, took over the reigns with bold plans to make Repetto a major player in luxury fashion. Limited-edition collections have been created with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Veronique Branquinho. Hedi Slimane, Martin Margiela, and countless other designers have designed shoes in homage to the Zizi Homme.

Three years ago, on a trip to Paris, I made a bee-line to the Repetto boutique on the rue de la Paix.  I had become obsessed with pictures I had seen of Gainsbourg, lolling around his apartment in his exquisitely white (and diminuitive) Repetto’s.

Their legendary comfort is true: the shoes are the closest thing to walking barefoot. Made from the softest of calfskin, Repetto ballet shoes ar not for urban trekking — the soles are wafer thin. But for lounging at your corner watering hole or holding court in a pied-a-terre, there is nothing more chic.

Repetto shoes have limited availability in the U.S. Try www.farfetch.com, or better yet, book a ticket to Paris.

Boutique Repetto

22 rue de la Paix, 2eme. Tel: 01 44 71 83 12.

51 rue du Four, 6eme. Tel: 01 45 44 98 65.

---