Good Quality ≠ Good Brand

Good quality & brand names are not necessarily equal.

In our parent's and grandparents' generation, people bought clothes which were the best they could afford so that they would last. I still remember as a child, when we went shopping for clothes, one of the decision factors and often the most important was whether it would last.

This concept of fashion was turned on its head by the advent of fast fashion in the last few decades, where clothes are not supposed to last. It's ok if they last just one season, then thrown or sometimes given away! The entire fashion industry spent millions of dollars convincing us that this was okay or even desirable and definitely "cool"!

And thus were born many big brands that invested more and more in marketing. The world could not get enough of their stuff and thus began the race to the bottom putting us on the precipice of the ecological disaster. These are undoubtedly good brands - great marketing, distribution, awesome operating capabilities, fantastic sourcing, solid growth forecasts, darlings of the investors and so on...

But to step back a bit, for our parents and grandparents quality and price were directly correlated. They often bought their clothing from boutiques that made items specifically for their local market. The price of clothing was a function of labour and fabric + trims. It didn’t include the marketing costs of public relations, celebrity sponsorships or extravagant fashion shows. Good Quality was visible and tangible. Well-made items were simply more expensive. Clothing, in general, was expensive. The average household spent nearly 17% of their income on clothing post-WWII. Today we spend less than 3%.

Therefore today we see two very different aspects that may sometimes be the same and sometimes not; but good brands do not necessarily mean good quality and vice versa. But the pandemic, increasing focus on sustainable fashion and local manufacturing harks back to the earlier times as a new generation of buyers is increasingly conscious of the quality of the stuff they buy and are not just persuaded by the marketing of big brands (which may still appeal to many or most).

This is the market segment or niche for new fashion startups and small midsize brands who would not otherwise be able to compete with an H&M, Shein or Zara.

Know your customer and deliver quality clothing. Don't over-invest in marketing or inventory. Keep a tight handle on your costs.That's the simple sweet formula for success. Your thoughts?