Indirect Competitors

The following brands have been identified as indirect competitors of Sequoia, for a variety of reasons.

These brands are indirect competitors of Sequoia. Asos and Boohoo are online clothing retailers that have a limited tall offering, but this is not the focus of the brand. H&M provide a competitiveness in their brand aesthetic and sustainable business considerations.

The tall ranges provided by Asos and Boohoo provide competition for Sequoia due to their commerciality and brand awareness. They also share a consumer audience in terms of age, but Sequoia will differentiate themselves based on individuality, specialism and sustainability that these brands don’t offer.

H&M shares a similar brand aesthetic and minimalist approach to Sequoia, however they do not directly compete due to the lack of sizing catering by H&M.

The price range of Sequoia will be similar to some collections by Asos and H&M, but will be at the higher end due to sustainable considerations and the higher production costs incurred as a small business.

Summary Asos (As Seen on Screen) is one of the leading online fashion retailers. They sell both their own brand collections as well as styles by a large variety of other brands from high street retailers to luxury brands. They stock tall apparel of their own label and other brands.

Vision The world’s number one fashion destination for twenty-somethings

Product Sell a combination of their own brands (ASOS design, ASOS edition, ASOS white, ASOS Made In, ASOS 4505, ASOS collabs) and other brands and designers. Newness is important – between 2,500 and 7000 new styles arrive every week (Smith, 2017) Stock 2,800 tall styles Price wide price range from around £5 up to £400 Boohoo is an online only fast fashion retailer who sell fashion items at low prices. They are considered one of the lower priced online retailers and have a reputation for heavy promotional activity. Their target audience of a young consumer means they are very active on social media. lead the fashion e-commerce market globally, in a way that delivers for our customers, people, suppliers and stakeholders Take inspiration from trends worldwide Drop over 500 new products every week (Boohoo, 2021) Tall offering grew 12% YoY in 2020 (Marci, 2021) H&M is an originally Swedish brand who operate online and offline worldwide selling womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and home furnishings. The brand has a neutral aesthetic and is working towards more sustainable practices. Our vision is to lead the change towards circular and climate positive fashion while being a fair and equal company (H&M, 2021) Women focussed fashion Good range of basics and neutrals Wide offering from cheap basics to more premium items to suit a wide customer base Sizes XS-XL

£2 - £70 £3-£200 (pricier items are part of a premium range)

Consumer 20-something fashion lovers (5’9” + for tall section) mid teens to early twenties (5’7” + for tall section Younger women in lower and middle working class

Distribution Channels

Online and mobile app Online and mobile app 4429 physical stores, and operates in 52 online markets

Promotion Instagram: 11.2M followers Twitter: 1M TikTok: 535.7K Instagram: 7.1M Twitter: 539.3K TikTok: 485.8K Instagram: 36.7M Twitter: 8.1M TikTok: 689

Strengths •Offers one of the biggest ranges of tall clothing •Wide range of price points • Stocking a range of brands allows for a huge variety of styles to suit the different fashion tastes of lots of consumers •affordable •growing their catering for tall women • keep up with trends and always offering something new to customers • sustainable considerations • mix of basic, wardrobe staples and fashion items • clear neutral aesthetic

Weaknesses •different brands could result in sizing inconsistencies •only 30% of women’s shoes are available in bigger than size 8 •issues around sustainability •doesn’t always give models height which makes it difficult to predict fit before ordering •recently faced a scandal in the media over ethical claims that could negatively impact their brand image • potentially confusing brand positioning - some collections value/high-street and some much more luxury • inconsistent sizing sometimes difficult to navigate and not always inclusive

Table 7: Indirect competitors - high street fashion retailers with some tall offering and/or a similar brand aesthetic/ values

These brands represent different markets that Sequoia will be operating within. The Tall Exchange and The Tall Society are both online communities that promote confidence and create a platform to celebrate tall women. Both also have product based elements alongside the community. The Sequoia brand aims to create a similar community space alongside the clothing collections, which makes these two organisations competitors. Glossier and Moons and Junes have been identified as brands that aim to represent more than just the product they sell, holiding values of empowerment and using a retailing brands as a platform to address important issues and open conversations. They are competitors because the Sequoia brand will aim to operate in a similar way, building up a brand that stands for more than just the physical product.

The Tall Exchange and The Tall Society both aim to build up the marketplace for tall women through their activities. The Tall Exchange is more product focused with the resale of tall clothing whereas the Tall Society focuses more on the community and encouraging tall women to unite.

Glossier and Moons and Junes provide examples of how brands can successfully create a community and involve their consumers in their products to create a brand- consumer relationship. Although the product content of these brands is not competitive to that of Sequoia, they way they operate as an overall brand sets a benchmark for consumer-centred practices and female empowerment.

Summary The Tall Exchange is an online resale platform for tall men’s and women’s fashion. It is currently more established in the US than the UK. The website also has a blog with stories from tall women that aim to inspire both buyers and sellers. The Tall Society is an online community that has been created to unite and empower tall women and encourage positive attitudes towards height. They hold virtual and physical events for networking and to open conversations

Vision Be an online community to allow sales and resale of new and preloved tall fashion (The Tall Exchange, 2020) Create a community for tall women to unite Glossier is a beauty brand that began as a beauty recommendations website. Now they sell their own products, with their consumers at the core, aiming to enable conversations and develop relationships with customers, building a brand that is more than just the product. To give voice through beauty and to help democratize an industry that has forever been top-down

Product Reselling women’s and men’s fashion and accessories targeted at tall consumers Range of brands including high street and luxury Development of UK website is quite limited Service based - using online platforms to create a positive community and inspire and empower women Also sell ‘merch’ style products including hoodies, hats, mugs and phone cases with tall society branding/slogans

Price Varied Distribution Channels

Online website, different areas for different countries/markets $20- $62

Have a website and Instagram page - products sold through website

Consumer Tall men and women Tall girls and women who potentially feel insecure about their height

Promotion Instagram: 2382 Facebook: 1059 likes Strengths • sustainability focus encouraging resale of products • specific service focucs Weaknesses • limited product availability particularly within the UK •could do more to build community Instagram: 34.2k Facebook: 18.8k likes • good engagement on social media platforms •use hashtags to create unity •scope to develop a clearer brand aesthetic Focus on skincare, makeup, body care and fragrance Design and select products based on what consumers tell them they wish existed Relatively narrow product range of 40 SKUs Offer bundles/sets of some products

£8 - £70

Operate mainly online via their website, and also have three stores: New York, Los Angeles and London Originally millennials demographic but now more based on psychographic factors of someone who understands the role beauty plays in their life (Danziger, 2018) Instagram: 2.7M Twitter: 108.4k •clear brand aesthetic •consumer-centred approach

•some products are quite a high price point for target consumer •very few stores limits ability to test products and use in store experiences Moons and Junes is a Copenhagen based, inclusive underwear brand. They are consumer centred, focusing on creating products that people actually want, and creating an inclusive community with a safe space to have conversations about body image. Empower women to feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin by providing them with high quality, well-designed underwear. Products go through a series of focus groups and fittings with 50 people Currently available in 4 sizes, but bras are designed to fit different body styles and shapes Clear representation of each size product on different body types, stating measurements

£22.86 - £53.35

Own website and sell via 7 other online marketplaces across Europe, and in 6 physical locations across Europe and the US. Women of all sizes and ages

Instagram: 28.6k Facebook: 1890 likes • encourage body positivity • good representation on website and social media •could further expand sizing range so all styles can be suitable fo different body types