White stuff benefits from not being too age-specific and having clothing styles that cater for a variety of shapes and sizes, and has been seen to increase its digital foot print since 2019 and began selling clothes through the online retailer Next and Marks & Spencer, a strategy that helps them further reach their consumer (Mintel.com, n.d.).
In September 2021 they had a subtle rebrand, featuring a new logo which is pared back handwriting and a sleeker design to better present its modernised products (Fish, 2021) The brand focuses on perfecting the basic items year in year, they are not particularly a fashion forward brand, but what they do works for their consumer. However, there are multiple opportunities to create new ranges and follow trends to appeal to a wider demographic
White Stuff are a part of a competitive and saturated market, therefore need to be innovative when creating new styles and staying up to date with the latest trends in order to meet its customers demand The brand is a multi-channel fashion lifestyle brand with a strong retail presence in the UK and Germany within the fashion market (Incite, n d )
After nearly two years of disruption, the global fashion industry is again finding its feet Companies like White Stuff are adapting to new customer priorities, and digital is providing a new area of growth. The industry still faces significant challenges amid supply-chain disruption, demand changes, and persistent pressure from the bottom line (McKinsey, 2021). The fashion industry is characterised by short product life cycles, volatile and unpredictable demand, variety in products, long and inflexible supply processes, and a complex supply chain (ResearchGate, n.d). The fashion industry forms part of a larger social and cultural spectacle known as the “fashion system,” a concept that embraces not only the business of fashion but also the art and craft of fashion, and not only fabrication but also consumption (Steele, 2018).
Using a directional map, it’s clearly seen where White Stuff falls in comparison to its competitors (Figure 1). The Directional map compares price and quality, White Stuff falls into the same area as some of its closest competitors, Seasalt, Fat Face and Jigsaw. Primark and H&M are shown on the map to help identify where fast fashion retailers fall, these are both brands with an extremely fast fashion cycle with a quick reaction time As well as targeting a similar age range: they also offer unique products which do not follow fashion trends. Each competitor has a similar or wider product range to White Stuff
White Stuff’s target consumer has changed over the years as the brand has become more lifestyle focused. 35-50-year-old age demographic with an average income of £40,000 per annum. The brands sales are predominantly from womenswear, however, there is a consumer for menswear (Main, 2016). The average price of a garment is £47 meaning that it is targeted towards the C1 – A2 socio-economic class grade (NRS, 2016), moving up the career ladder (Mintel, n.d). The women who buy into the brand are “ yummy mummy ’ s ” , women who are conscious of dressing well but also comfy for day to day life. The consumer is quirky, bohemian and well-travelled, hence the positive response to embroidery and pattern, which add an exotic feel to the products The geodemographic of the consumer is upmarket suburbia (Main, 2016).
The White Stuff consumer does not directly follow fashion trend which is one of the motivations for buying from the brand which sells different clothing. The functional benefit from the products purchased are the quality, attention to detail, practicality and comfort, which gives the consumer the value needed to justify their spending. The details such as unique prints allow the customer to feel different and part of the White Stuff family (Main, 2016)
White stuff operates a buying and merchandising model focused on generating desirable products, short lead times and low stock level, with their supply chain standards and arrangements under constant review by management (Retail Week, n.d). In 2019 the brand committed to use fair trade cotton, within the first year they committed to sourcing 100 metric tonnes of Fairtrade cotton in the first year and to growing that volume year on year for three years (Common Objective, 2019). White Stuff has a long fashion cycle, meaning from designing a product to actually seeing it in store takes between 2-1 years, unlike brands like Primark who have a fast speed to market rate and are able to get products out within a matter of weeks. White Stuff consumer however is not a fast fashion consumer and does not require a fast fashion rate speed to market, this is an area in which the brand needs to improve in order to be more fashion forward and trend reactive
For brands to get new styles into stores more quickly, fashion companies need to improve international collaboration, tap into consumer insight and start to digitalise the value chain (McKinsey.com, n.d). Brands like Primark and H&M react fast to run-way trends and have implemented a successful fast fashion cycle and are producing replicas of fresh-off-the-runway items and selling them in-store within a matter of weeks. These brands understand that this speed is what their consumer wants (McKinsey com, n d)
Fast fashion is manufacturing, design and marketing method that focusses on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing The garment production of fast fashion leverages trend replication and low-quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to end consumer (Stanton, 2018) Today’s fast fashion brands produce about fifty-two “micro-seasons” a year, according to author Elizabeth Cline, this started when Zara shifted to bi-weekly deliveries of new merchandise By replicating streetwear and fashion week trends as they appear in real-time, fast fashion brands can create new, desirable styled weekly. The brands then have massive amounts of clothing and can ensure that customers never tire of inventory (Stanton, 2018)
Zara is one brand that has been seen to pioneer the fast-fashion industry since the 80s, they were the first to develop a short cycle method of quickly reacting to changing trends, using agile supply chains based on sourcing production close to headquarters to speed up its “lead times” to about three weeks, (The Business of Fashion, N.D). Zara’s success proves the theory that id a retailer can forecast consumer demand accurately, far enough in advance, it can enable mass production under push control and lead to well managed markdowns and higher profitability (Loeb, 2013)
Today for the fashion industry, the speed of the production cycles is more important than the cost because short lead-time allows the flexibility to adjust to rapidly changing fashion trends in this market (Backs, 2021). Demand forecasts are made much closer to the selling season and can be driven by realtime data from the points of sales, this fast fashion approach therefore benefits from lower demand uncertainty. Fashion products are produces in smaller quantities and are offered to the consumer for only a few weeks (Backs, 2021)
To summarise, the focus of a fast fashion strategy is on reacting more flexibly to consumer demand and offering more fashionable products. The concept of fast fashion has come to the fore in recent years driven by increasing globalisation and digitisation, both of which are responsible for the spread of trends (Backs, 2021)
When choosing between two fashion cycles and supply chain strategies, several factors must be considered, including the preference and purchasing behaviour of the consumers and the nature and strategies of competitors The relationship of these factors gives a rise to a multifaceted market structure, requiring an appropriate tool for the evaluation of these strategies (Backs, 2021).
If White Stuff was to develop a short fashion cycle the brand would be able to be more trend reactive and react better to their consumer demands. It is clear that White Stuff’s consumer is not directly trend focused however they are driven by pattern and practicality. In order for the brand to maintain its high trust levels and satisfaction rates with its consumer White Stuff will need to implement a strategy that put the consumer at the centre (Mintel.com, 2019). The brand has recently expressed a want to reach a younger consumer with a similar mindset to the brand (Midlifechic, 2022), to do this they need to develop a more modern and fashion forward buying approach. A suggested strategy is still maintaining the core pieces such as the classic striped tee and their ‘Jodie Ponte Jeggings” but also introduce the system of bi-weekly deliveries of more consumer trend driven items. The introducing “micro-seasons” into the brand strategy will allow the brand to be more micro-trend reactive and will help ensure that the brand remains innovative and a leader in its market.
White Stuff is stuck with an outdated supply chain that only t older consumer who has herself grown with mportance to the brand. They need to show o serve a new consumer who are viewed by future of White Stuff relies on the brands nd reactive in their supply chain by hion cycle This will enable the brand to be sumers wants and needs whilst also consumers loyalty by still producing the sumer knows and loves The brand should be rategy that allows them to remain strongly ndustry, keeping the brand at a competitive orefront of the consumers mind, a shorter w this.
er fashion cycle the brand will be at a as White Stuff would be able to respond g trends whilst also responding to consumer eds to be incorporating the wants and needs onsumer, they want to remain informed about heir wardrobe up to date, but also able to obe that is built to last. White stuff recently tating that their aim is to create a “ more l experience. We want our clothes to last and be worm season after season which is why ghtfully with unique details that don’t chats Stuff, 2021), this suggests that the brand is h to seasonal drops as each collection is well o enable the consumer to build a capsule eeds to listen to its modern White Stuff collections should see trend influence nd with a reactive lead time.
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