Classic Rock drives Fashion Retail Sales

If you see an old rocker like me walking down the street wearing a Kiss, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Iron Maiden or Red Hot Chilli Peppers t-shirt with tour dates from the 70's, 80's or 90's on the chances are that the t-shirt was bought from youth a fashion outlet like Zara, Uniqlo, H&M (Zara interestingly don't even have a LinkedIn company page to tag...).

I am always fascinated with brand positioning and engagement. To me there's a real juxtaposition here. Do these three youth retailers really want me shopping in there buying cheap retro rock t-shirts? Or did they really expect youthful Asians who have never listened to, heard or even gone to a rock concert by any of the above to suddenly see these designs and want to buy and wear them?

The brand position for the rock bands is bizarre too, I can't imagine why any of these bands would want this brand association so I have to assume that it's a licensing deal whereby the retailers are allowed to use the imagery on t-shirts without approval.

Malcolm Maclaren would be turning in his grave if he saw the Sex Pistols on a Uniqlo t-shirt next to Mikey Mouse! I can't imagine Axel Rose or James Hetfield signing off their deals, and they're brands are in all three retailers! But clearly at this stage of their career money talks or it was a licensing deal that they had no control of.

What's more interesting is why the retailers would do it. Next to all these hard core rock bands are Mikey Mouse, Line, Peanuts, Marvel and Hello Kitty branded t-shirts. I just don't see the cross sell here at all. I may go in and buy a black hoodie after buying a Metallica t-shirt but I'm not going to be buying a Mikey Mouse or Peanuts t-shirt.....

Clearly it works as all three retailers market the designs heavily and every month they are bringing out new designs so there is clearly an appetite for this merchanise. Also there is no end to how this can be exploited. Bands like Metallica have decades of albums and tours in hundreds of countries that can be used as a design. The possibilities are endless.

Cleverly it has changed my buying habits. I would never go into any of these stores before but now I do go into check out their latest rock designs. I am seduced by the this because in decades past I would have gone to a music store like HMV or Virgin, Tower etc to buy a rock t-shirt. Now these retailers don't exist anymore as no one buys physical CD's anymore.

You can't really sell rock t-shirts in a digital way on itunes or through a streaming service. Spotify I have noticed are trying to do this. But it's just not the same and I can't imagine their sales, although clearly targeted and contexualised, work. If I'm listening to music I'm not buying t-shirts.....

I can go to an actual Metallica or Guns N Roses concert (as I have done recently to both in Singapore) and spend $100 on a tour tshirt or/and I can go to Zara, H&M and Uniqlo and get retro tour t-shirts for the same bands for $40. Bargain! My Sex Pistols sleeveloss top (which you need in the tropical heat of Singapore was only $20!). It's a no brainer.

Has it changed my brand perception of these retail brands? No. I still think they're for teens and 20 something girls and usually all their merchandise is light and fluffy, pink and whites. Hence my confusion as to why they're selling black hard rock t-shirts, not even soft rock or pop, no Coldplay or Take That, this is hard core stuff. Megadeath and Metallica are not easy listening. I did see The Beatles and Stones in Uniqlo which is going even further back.

Clearly this is a market to dads strategy!

Dad's come in accompnaying their daughter, daughter gets Mikey Mouse and other pink stuff and Dad see's a classic Guns N Roses t-shirt from the 90's Use Your Illusion Tour and says's I'll have that, reconnecting and recapturing some of that lost youth? Is that really it?

It shouldn't be also underestimated that many people making purchasing and design decisions are in their 30s and 40's. They remember these bands first time around. Maybe there's an element of I can't find these retro rock outfits anywhere let's fill the market. Then everyone else copies them!

H&M have created a "Rock Squad" brand around their designs whereas Zara and have just bundled them into their t-shirt range. I couldn't even find the rock collection on the Uniqlo website but could find Andy Warhol and Capitol Records collection which are definitely not aimed at teens!

Interestingly on the Zara website the Rock Squad brand can't be found and they now call it "Rock Star Ready" which would certainly be more applicable for teens than dads!

Retailers have often used iconic brands to market what would otherwise just be a plain t-shirt and certainly the range and depth of brands that Uniqlo use is extensive and they are the most advanced in this regard and very much make it a selling point. The others have shown how easy copying an idea is in fashion retail.

However if no one has an exclusive brand like Guns n Roses for example then there is even less differentation between the retailers. Why do I need to go to Zara when I can get a very similar design of Guns N Roses at both Uniqlo and H&M?