5 a brief history

Juicy Couture was established in 1995 by founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, who transformed and developed the brand with just $200, from a maternity line into an iconic, fashionable athleisure brand (Kim, Cameron 2020). Over the past 25 years the brand’s success has fluctuated, initially it caught traction in the early 2000s with the aid of promotion from iconic celebrities of the time. Juicy Couture received endorsement from icons such as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and J-Lo, who at the time were large fashion influences for the typical Juicy Couture consumer (see FIG 2). In order to push promotion, Juicy Couture were the first brand to innovatively ‘gift’ these celebrity icons their products, specifically the velour Juicy tracksuits. These celebrities would be pictured wearing them, with the aim to ultimately increase the brands popularity and increase sales. These celebrities would now be labelled ‘influencers’, and many brands now adopt this method of promotion to market their own brand. This type of marketing was how Juicy Couture engaged their consumer of the time, who were the Millennial generation and essentially the brand’s “core, legacy customer” (Taylor 2020).

Juicy Couture’s success meant they were able to distribute their products to upscale department stores such as Saks on Fifth avenue, therefore reaching more consumers. Juicy Couture continued to expand, in 2003 the company was sold to fashion designer Liz Claiborne for $226million (Kim 2019) and in 2004 they opened their first brick-andmortar store in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas (Brannigan 2020). The brand’s growth meant that net sales doubled from 2006 to 2007 and by 2008 there were 100 Juicy Couture stores globally and total net sales of $605million (Kim 2019). The brand expanded their product range to fragrance and jewellery as their success peaked.

The 2008 recession changed consumer priorities, consumers could no longer afford the premium Juicy Couture prices and the brand’s aesthetic did not connect to the fashion trends of the time. This led to sales falling 11% year-over-year in 2009 and eventually the original founders, SkaistLevy and Nash-Taylor left the company as they agreed that “Juicy was no longer our vision” (Skaist-Levy, Gela-Taylor, Booth 2020). In 2013 Juicy Couture changed hands and was sold onto Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for $195 million (Kim 2019). ABG eventually went on to close down all flagship stores in 2014 as the brand’s success still dwindled.

However, in 2016 Juicy Couture made their return to the fashion market, collaborating with Vetements, debuting their Spring 2017 collection in Galaries Lafayette, Paris (see FIG 4). The collection reignited interest in the brand and reengaged Juicy Couture consumers. The following year Juicy Couture acquired a new creative director, James Mizrahi. With the help of promotion by the original Juicy Couture figurehead, Paris Hilton, they debuted a new collection with a product range priced from $30 to $400. The collection was available for consumers to purchase from the Juicy Couture website or at Nordstrom or Bloomingdales (Kim 2019). From this, Juicy Couture were able to reach a wider market and regain recognition. Since collaborating with Vetements in 2017, Juicy Couture went on to collaborate with Urban Outfitters to create exclusive, wearable collections ranging from $39 to $199, taking inspiration from current trends in order to remain contemporary (Fashion Network 2017). The collaboration has enabled Juicy Couture to expand their audience and regain popularity. To further grow their market Juicy Couture launched their first runway collection in 2018, the collection debuted a wide product range including outerwear, dresses and luxury Juicy Couture tracksuits (see FIG 5). Juicy Couture’s success still remains prevalent. In 2020 the athleisure market dominated the fashion industry, accounting for 40% of all online sales for that year (Marci 2021). The increased demand for athleisure, combined with the ‘Y2K’ (the year 2000) trend craze has resulted in Juicy Couture’s increasing success during 2020.

FIG 4. Vetements X Juicy Couture velour maxi dress, From: matchesfashion.com FIG 5. Juicy Couture Fall Ready-to-wear 2018, From: Vogue.com