The rise & fall of nasty gal

Maddie Daley, Morgan Zaslavsky, Ines Aldana, Megan Boynton, Elsa Lobo

HISTORY BRAND IDENTITY THE RISE INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP THE FALL LOOKING FORWARD INSIGHTS

- 33 years old - San Diego California - Dropped out of public high school to begin home schooling - Hitch hiking, dumpster diving & stealing - 23: Security guard at San Francisco’s Academy of Art - Based on the success of ebay store, Nasty Gal was created - Revenues increased rapidly

SOPHIA AMORUSO

brand identity VINTAGE AESTHETIC UNIQUE CLOTHING TREND SETTING GIRL POWER

the rise

- Began selling clothes on ebay in 2006 in her bedroom - Find clothing by raiding second hand stores, estate sales, and then sell them at a higher price - 2008 she launched the Nasty Gal website - Many new investments - Forbes list of Americas Richest Self Made Women - In 6 years, 100 million in sales

- This specific style in the fashion industry was thriving when it came out.

Party dresses and funky patterns let girls be girls and wear what was on their minds.

- Loyal following (2.5 million on Insta) - Product was sold to edgy Gen Z and millennials that wanted to stay ahead of the curve.

- Nasty Gal also invested heavily in paid e-commerce acquisition, an expensive way of attracting customers.

- With thousands of brands vying for eyes on Facebook and Google, paid acquisition works best when advertising something very targeted — like a subscription service for razors — or something that has a very high margin, like mattresses or couches.

industry

leadership - In 2015, Sophia stepped down as Chief Executive - Taken over by Sheree Waterson - Did not create a positive work environment - Prioritized fame over running her business “I didn’t love having 8 people reporting to me and asking me over and over if we’re hitting targets. I am a creative. I am a brand builder. I am a rain maker. I am a pretty good marketer, but that’s not something I want to do everyday.”

the fall - Opened 2 brick and mortar stores, leased a distribution center, & spent a fortune on marketing - Filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy - Employees were quitting - Reducing prices from 50% to 70% off the website - Brand awareness began to dwindle when the founder distanced herself for its mission

looking

forward

- Bought by Boohoo.com for 20 million

- International opportunity for the brand

- Wanted recognition in the US

- Boohoo has proven much better with production planning and logistics

- Website was running within 2 weeks after the deal - Core team of Nasty Gal (15 employees) remain in LA

“ This is a distinctive brand with a fiercly loyal customer base and we are commited to preserving that as we move forward into a new chapter� - Carol Kane

insight - Reflection on past brand identity - Negative impacts of leadership - The company Boohoo - Looking Forward - International opportunity of new brand identity