Ganni - Brand Analysis & Opportunity Report

GANNI GANNI GANNI

BRAND ANALYSIS & OPPORTUNITY REPORT - Nikitha Baiju

Nikitha Baiju N0965893 FASH30014 Contemporary Global Fashion Market Supervisor : Jo O’rourke

CONTENTS

GANNI Brand Analysis & Opportunity Report

Abstract Brand History Consumer Profile Marketing Mix Competitor Analysis SWOT Analysis Macro & Micro Trends Zepeto As a Platform The Vision Case Study - Ralph Lauren X Zepeto How Can Success be Evaluated?

Summary

ABSTRACT

This report aims to outline an opportunity and insight into the Danish contemporary brand ‘Ganni’, which includes an in-depth study the brand’s marketing mix, strengths, weaknesses, and marketing strategies. One of the key consumer shifts noted in the State of Fashion 2022 report is the “Metaverse Mindset”, which states that brands need to unlock new ways of “engaging with high value younger cohorts”, as majority of consumers spend more time online and experiment with virtual fashion (BoF & App Annie, 2022). Thus, this report identifies an opportunity for Ganni to collaborate with Asia’s largest metaverse gaming platform, ‘Zepeto’ to launch a capsule collection of the brand products as a first step in expanding in the Asian market. The initial stage of the project involved a poster presentation outlining the current position and marketing mix of the brand in the fashion marketplace which supports this report. Furthermore, published findings and primary data collected from consumers will be used to illustrate the probability of the endeavour to be a success with respect to the macro and micro environments impacting Ganni. The analysis will lead to a proposed marketing strategy that Ganni could implement to tap into the zeitgeist and expand its consumer base.

Fig. 2 : Ganni Fall 2021

Fig. 3 : Gucci X Zepeto

BRAND HISTORY Fig. 4 : Left to right: Ganni’s green seersucker dress, cherry bomb t-shirt & forest green floral tea dress have become viral sell-out products for the brand.

MISSION Copenhagen is the essence of the fashion brand, and Ganni sticks to its “Scandi Roots” to create products that serves to a new emerging segment of comfortable and affordable luxury (Edited, 2021). The Ganni mission ”fills a gap in the advanced contemporary market for effortless, easy-to-wear pieces that women instinctively reach for, day in, day out” ( L Catterton, 2017).

VISION Ganni’s value system can be depicted in three words - Quality, Authenticity, and Ambition.

Founded in 2000, GANNI is a Danish ready-to-wear women’s brand run since 2009 by husband-and-wife team CEO Nicolaj Reffstrup and Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup. It is recognizable by its unique and laid-back style and a popular alternative to the stereotypical Scandinavian style - dubbed Scandi 2.0. Formerly, a niche Danish cashmere label, Ganni turned into a cult favourite with a knack for churning out viral designs. It is a social-media-driven brand that is known to be an “advanced contemporary” brand, that feels like luxury, but is attainable, inclusive, has quality with eclectic styles. In 2017, a majority of the stake in Ganni was acquired by LVMH-backed private equity firm L. Catterton, further bolstering the brand into the global market (Lectra, 2021).

Ganni has seen a masive success during the pandemic, though the middle market was predicted to decline as “…fifty-five percent of fashion executives expect the mid-market segment to be worse off this year compared to 2020” (State of Fashion 2021), with 50 percent growth in revenue for the last three years. The brands’ wholesale accounts grew from 280 in 2015 to 546 in 2021 (BoF 2021), showing the potential the brand holds for expansion.

AUTHENTICITY: Ganni ensures that authenticity is maintained throughout their business - from design to campaigns (Klerk,2018). “Of course I get inspired by what is happening around me all the time, but equally, I am not looking in trend books. It has to feel natural.” said Ditte Refftrup to Harpers Bazaar.

QUALITY: The brand believes in creating garments that are not only luxurious, but also sustainable and inclusive; creating pieces that are timeless while pricing itself in the sweet-spot between high-street and luxury fashion. It certainly taps into this appeal, and its playful and contrasting designs give Ganni a distinctive brand image that makes it easily recognisable amongst its loyal followers.

AMBITION: Ganni explores and establishes itself in new markets without compromising on its roots and heritage. The brand wants #GANNIGIRLS to imbibe the Scandi sense of fashion into their own personal dressing style, as the creative director of Ganni, Ditte Reffstrup said “#GanniGirls is not one uniform persona or gender - they’re all the people who inspire us with their kickass energy - and it’s plural for a reason - everyone is welcome”. All the brands’ campaigns, pop-ups and collaborations encapsule this spirit of ambition.

CONSUMER PROFILE

DEMOGRAPHIC: Fig. 5 : Ganni Girl Consumer Illustration (Author’s Own)

Female, young adults aged between 25 – 30, Millenials and GenZ.

Geographic:

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, United Kingdom, USA, South Korea, China.

Income:

£2000 per month or more

Occupation:

inclusiv e

Students, Content Creators, Influencers, Stylists, Designers, Journalists, Editors, Photographers, Models

Interests & Hobbies:

Style:

Comfortable but stylish, versatile clothing, contrasting patterns and colours, Quality over price, prefers sustainable clothes, knows the next new trend, inspiration from celebrities & influencers

nt

Lifestyle: confide

In order to identify consumer profile (Fig. 5 & Fig.6), a pen profile can be constructed to identify and explore demographic variables, psychographic & behavioural variables, geographic variables and usage and benefit variables (Posner, 2011). This will help classify and characterise consumers to further study Ganni’s target market in order to improve and increase customer engagement and boost sales.

ss effortle

playful

free

Fashion, Beauty, Arts, Culture, Environment, Reading, Travelling, Shopping, Fitness, Museums, Embraces freedom and femineity, day festivals, weekend city breaks, Loves to travel; will travel to somewhere new every year, Appreciates contemporary art and loves interior design, Eco-friendly/ Sustainable lifestyle, Creative, Funny, Photogenic, Up-to-date with social media, Good listener, Work Ethics, Hardworking, Independent, Open-minded, Loving.

Is an early adopter of trends - loves to be wearing the newest collection as soon as it is launched, Uses social media for both business and sharing content with friends and family, Keeps up-to date with social and environmental issues.

Consumer Habits:

Will try and shop sustainably and local, but does have favourite brands who they’re is loyal to, Due to their job, they will interact with new brands using social media, for trend forecasting, Will consider the quality of products as well as the product trend, Will usually shop mid-market to premium for work clothing and dashing around the city.

Fig. 6 : Ganni Consumer Profile (Author’s Own)

MARKETING MIX Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism (1996) (Fig. 7) is a visual conceptualisation of a brand’s characteristics, which consists of a six-sided prism consisting of elements that help understand how they relate to one another. This helps a brand to create a “…concise, clear, and appealing brand identity” (Kapferer, 1996). The brand Ganni (sender) and its consumer (recipient) are two ends of the prism, with the top elements illustrating how the brand wants to be perceived, while the bottom elements showing how the brand is actually perceived.

The range of externalization to internalization of these elements can be defined by the left and right side of the prism respectively (MerlinOne, 2021).

PRODUCT

sender (Ganni) physique

personality

colours soft shapes casual high-quality

self-confident playful free-spirited scandi 2.0

relationship feminine inclusive accessible influential

GANNI

reflection

culture

scandinavian tech-driven creative innovative

self-image

sustainable comfortable on-trend contemporary

laid-back fashionable trendy confident

recipient (consumer) Fig. 7 : Ganni’s Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism (Author’s Own)

Fashion marketing and promotion are key areas to discuss in this report as it would help understand Ganni’s strategy and position in the fashion mid-market. This could be studied using the brand’s marketing mix. Cope and Maloney’s Fashion Promotion book (2016) and Barnes, Fashion Marketing Journal (2013) both define the Marketing Mix as the 4P’s Product, Place, Price and Promotion.

The Danish brand has slowly risen to cult status with its fun and playful approach to the Scandinavian aesthetic, delivering contemporary pieces that spark individuality (Liberty, 2020). The brand offers a range of products, from classic muted tone pieces synonymous with Scandinavian street style, to loud and experimental patterns and hues which resonates with the brands strong image.

Key product categories (Fig. 8) include dresses, shirts, tops, denim, shoes, winter essentials and more recently, Fig. 8 : Ganni’s Product Range Illustration (Author’s Own) loungewear, lingerie and swimwear.

Ganni’s main message is responsibility and believes it has a moral obligation “to make better choices every day across the business to minimize our social and environmental impact.” (Edited, 2021).

Hence, the brand is gradually switching to 3 certified alternatives: organic cotton, recycled polyester, and lenzing™ ecovero™ viscose (Ganni, 2022), ensuring at least 50% of their collections are made using recycled or organic materials (Ganni Responsibility report, 2020). GANNI products have an oversized and functional fit which means the collection is portable and practical for everyone. GANNI’s line of accessories is an important element for the styling of a GANNI outfit. The accessories range from scrunchies and hair bands to socks, scarves and bags. Garments have added pleats for more room and comfort, and stretch fabrics for easier fits, with sizes ranging from size 0 to 24 (Ganni, 2022).

i gann

PRICE

In light of the pandemic, the brands’ collections were downsized by 50%, while its main collection was reworked into smaller, more frequent drops to maximize seasonal relevance, which led to a revenue uplift of 80 percent YoY on ganni.com (Business of Fashion, 2021 & Lectra 2021).

The Boston Matrix (Doyle, 2011) is a framework that can be utilised to analyse and categorise the product portfolio of a brand based on market growth and share. It is usually presented based on two dimensions, divided into 4 quadrants : star, cash cow, dog, and problem child (Figure. 9)

£ 11,,100 exit

MARKET GROWTH RATE

RELATIVE MARKET SHARE

Fig. 9 : Ganni’s Boston Matrix (Author’s Own)

(DRESSES & OUTWEAR) Rapid growth, core design

star

(ACCESSORIES) Frequently replenished, available all year round

cash cow

(DENIM & BOOTS) Not standard product, but has been selling well

dog

(SWIMWEAR & LINGERIE) Do not sell out, barely promoted

problem child

One of key reasons for the brands’ success is its pricing, with the brand standing by its original positioning compared to its direct competitiors. Placing itself as an ‘advanced contemporary’ brand, it fits in the “sweet spot” between luxury and mass-market in the fashion market with ready-to-wear pieces that manage to maintain the appeal of luxury, but also the feel of attainability and affordability.

Ganni’s Price Architecture (Figure. 10) shows UK entry price at £20 for a hair scrunchie and an exit price of £1,100 for a shearling jacket (Ganni, 2021). The brand has placed itself strategically in between high street Zara and fellow Scandi brand, Acne Studios (Edited, See Appendix 1). This means that the price is high enough to be aspirational, yet more affordable than luxury - this bracket is particularly appealing to younger consumers, as Millenials and GenZ are turning to “...affordable luxury items to fulfill their desire for luxury products or as an initial gateway into luxury products” (Mundel et al., 2017).

£majority 450 Fig. 10 : Ganni’s Price Architecture (Author’s Own)

£ 20 entry

Ganni has 37 flagship stores across Europe and the United States, and it’s available via 600 retailers worldwide (BoF 2021, Ganni 2022). It is one of the top 20 bestselling labels overall at Net-aPorter and in the top five at Browns (Harpers Bazaar 2018). The brand has also planned to open between 6-8 international flagships in the next year, with potential target markets including Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, as well as Dallas and Chicago (BoF 2021). Currently 70 per cent wholesale, Ganni aims to drive sales more equally across their own digital platform Ganni. com and their new venture Ganni Repeat; a rental service for Ganni products, and retail stores beyond Scandinavia. Ganni recently launched their brands’ website in South Korea and direct-to-consumer e-commerce in China with Tmall as a move towards the brands’ localisation and expansion in the Asian market (Fashion United 2021). Due to the covid-19 pandemic, Ganni decided to move a majority of its manufacturing from Asia to Europe, so that the brand could ”...react faster to broader market trends and reduce lead times...” due to the changing circumstances and change in the consumer behaviour (Business of Fashion 2021).

PLACE

Fig. 11 : Ganni’s Flagship Store in UK

PROMOTION

Ganni’s promotional marketing is focused on two main aspects - influencer marketing and social media marketing. #GanniGirls is the brand’s largest marketing tool, which is a hashtag used by real-life community of women who post their looks using this hashtags on all social media platforms. User Generated Content is one of the key reasons for the brand’s online success. The brands consumers, which mostly consists of local micro-influencers or “micro-endorsers” (Yuan and Lou, 2019), post pictures styling their Ganni outfit with the hashtag. Consumers today trust social media influencers more than celebrities or public figures, which implies that they are more likely to trust recommendations of their peers (Swant 2016, Yuan and Lou, 2019). Ganni has used this to their advantage to create an authentic and credible image amongst its followers. Although the brand heavily relies on micro influencers, it is also backed by bigger celebrities and fashion icons like Kendall Jenner, Rihanna, Alexa Chung, Beyonce, etc. It is part of a “generation of social-media-savvy brands that are betting on activating their powerful online communities to help smooth a path to international expansion” (Business of Fashion, 2021). The brand engages with its existing fanbase with location specific promotional events and product drops to ensure a strong brand traction with respect to sales and social media data.

Fig. 13 : Ganni’s hashtags on Instagram (Author’s Own), Source : Instagram

#GANNIGirls #GANNI Fig. 12 : Ganni’s Flagship Store in France

With 1M Instagram followers, Ganni currently features over 83k posts on the bespoke hashtag. Fig. 14 demonstrates the current statistics of the brand’s so44,636 cial media profiles across various platfollowers forms including Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and TikTok. It can be inferred that Instagram is their primary channel for online marketing, as they also have initiatives like Ganni.Lab and Ganni.

Guide on this platform, which reports on the brand’s sustainability initiatives and shares community boosting location specific content respectively. The brand had successfully used social media to its advantage during the pandemic, as Ganni’s Media Voice in the first quarter of 2020 ”…increased by 10% in comparison to 2019” (LaunchMetrics 2020), as a result of being featured in big fashion publications like Vogue and Refinery 29 for churning out viral pieces.

A pivotal campaign for the brand was the ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ that encouraged people from all walks of life to stay at home and practice self-care, while submitting a creative image that aligns with the campaign theme with the hashtag #GanniWFH (Fig. 15). This was a successful and suitable campaign for the climate of the market, as it led to a 53% performance growth at the start of the pandemic in 2020 (LaunchMetrics 2020).

1.2M

monthly views

@ganni @ganni.lab @ganni. guide

8.1 K

followers

<500

subscribers

Fig. 14 : Ganni’s Social Media Statistics (Author’s Own), Source : Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, Youtube

Fig. 15 : #GanniWFH ‘Home is Where the Heart is’ Campaign.

The brand has actively taken initiatives to evolve and grow organically through various campaigns and promotional activites to promote engagement, sustainability and inclusivity (Ganni 2021). The brand launched their rental platform called Ganni Repeat (Fig. 16), which included “…reworking existing fabrics from previous GANNI collections” and repurposed denim from the brand Levi’s (Ellen MacArthur 2021), in an effort to incentivise renting clothes and implement circular design. With returns made on clothing as a result of poor fit, Ganni collaborated with the tailoring and alteration app Sojo in an effort to increase life of the garment and reduce wastage of raw materials (FashionUnited, 2021). They also partnered with RePack (Fig. 17) for “…a reusable and returnable packaging alternative made from recycled materials” (Ganni 2021). As climate change, racial and gender discord and sustainablitiy remain a top issue at no.1 for Generation Z and no.3 for Millennials (Delloite 2021), Ganni has begun its efforts towards holding themselves responsible as a brand towards society’s most pressing issues. They launched the GANNI Postmodern pop-up, and “…pledged a donation of 20% of profits to the UN Women and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic”. (Ganni Responsibility Report, 2020). To make products more accessible to younger consumers, the brand also has a Student Rewards program in partnership with Student Beans. The brands founders Nicolaj and Ditte Reffstrup (Fig.18) run a podcast where they interact with creatives in the industry and discuss art, music, fashion, etc. This is a great move to increase connectivity with the audience as they ”…generate around four times better brand recall than scroll, pop-up and static ads” (Fox Agency, 2017)

Fig. 16 : Ganni Repeat.

Fig. 17 : Ganni Repack.

Fig. 18 : Ganni Founders Nicolaj & Ditte Reffstrup

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Fig. 19 : Ganni’s E-commmerce Website, Ganni.com

With omnichannel retail improving customer experience and brand loyalty through the rise of digitalisation (Tyrväinen, O., Karjaluoto, H. and Saarijärvi, H., 2020), Ganni has also ensured to improve instore buying experience by integrating a mobile POS with Newstore platform, which proved to be a success with the “…brand’s average customer capture rate growing at the point of sale by 900%” (NewStore, 2021). Ganni reflects its Scandi roots throughout its pop-up stores with colourful and contrasting interiors made of recycled materials. The brand also launched their e-commerce website in South Korea, Ganni.com (Fig. 19).

Ganni sits in the mid-market segment that “…typically struggles during economic downturns.”

(Business of Fashion, 2021). As stated in the State of Fashion 2021 Report by BoF team and McKinsey, Fifty-five percent of fashion executives expected the mid-market segment to perform poorly in comparison to value and luxury segments. As middle-class shoppers cut back on expenses during the pandemic and affluent shoppers gravitated towards luxury purchases, Ganni’s sweet spot pricing helped boost sales, with an annual average growth rate of over 50 per cent in the past 3 years (Bof, 2021).

Based on the contemporary womenswear fashion market, three competitors were identified – fellow Scandi brand Acne Studios, Isabel Marant, and Reformation (Fig. 20). These competitors were chosen based on their price indicators, product offerings, Assortment size and social mobility.

Fig. 20 : Ganni’s Competitors, from top to bottom Isabel Marant, Acne Studios, Reformation

An analysis report from Retviews suggests that the brand has the largest assortment share in the dresses category (19%), which is a staple piece in terms of Scandinavian fashion, in comparison to its competitors Acne (7%) and Isabel Marant (15%) (See Appendix 2). Appendix 3 shows that while premium brands Acne and Isable Marant similar entry price points, Ganni hasn’t increased its mid-range prices like the former brands with time, which has helped the brand stay accessible and affordable to a wider customer base. The brand has also focused on reducing production by downsizing collections with smaller and more relevant drops, showing how the brand has adapted to its consumers demands and being a more responsible brand, as the brand has the smallest assortment of 1678 items in its collection, in comparison to Acne Studios (2836) and Isabel Marant (2231) (Figure 21).

High Price

Fig. 21 : Total Assortment Size (Adapted from Retviews, 2021), Author’s Own.

Ganni (1678) Acne Studios (2836) Isabel Marant (2231)

Ganni has retained a tech-driven approach but still has prospects of growth in this field.

Though the brand outperforms its European competitors in media value (Tribe Dynamics 2019), its “…digital marketing machine is less than half that of LA-based Reformation, which grew up in a much bigger market” (Business of Fashion, 2021), who also have plans of international expansion this year (See Appendix 4). While the brands biggest market is Scandinavia (38%), Ganni needs to expand its market and revenue by huge numbers globally to compete with its competitors. Synthesising the aforementioned factors and data, a perceptual map (Posner, 2011) can be drawn to compare Ganni alongside its primary competitors and other brands in the market segment based on 2 criteria – price and fashionability (Fig. 22). This report will further analyse the key trends and current opportunities to penetrate into the Asian market by increasing its media value to strengthen its brand equity in this region, which accounts for only 3 percent of Ganni’s sales (Ganni, 2018). A “pull through” model can be applied in the proposed opportunity as Ganni has an advantage of promoting authenticity through direct communication with their consumer (Baker, 2014).

High Fashionability low Fashionability

Low Price Fig. 22 : Perceptual Map - Fashionability vs Price, Author’s Own.

A SWOT analysis of Ganni has been created to establish the brand’s key strengths, weakness, threats and opportunities (Fig. 23). This framework can be used to “match strengths to opportunities”, (Goworek and McGoldrick, 2015) to improve the brand strategy and retain customer loyalty, while overcoming weaknesses and minimising threats (Posner, 2011).

STRENGTH

OPPORTUNITY

Strong Danish heritage, promoting authentically to ensure

Developing or collaborating with an established brand for

brand equity.

a new experiential marketing campaign.

Utilises a consumer pull-through model, to build a strong

Advancements and technological innovations that pro-

connection with the consumer and amass a cult following

mote consumer engagement.

on social media.

New product offerings.

Expanding product ranges/collaborations considering the

Grow social media presence through virtual influencer

needs of their consumer.

marketing.

The ability to react to zeitgeist ( Rise of Virtual Fashion

Rising demand for sustainable products or products that

and gamification ).

reduce environmental impact of the fashion industry

Use of User-generated content to stay relevant and relatSweet spot pricing between luxury and value market

THREAT

segment.

Competitors such as Reformation and Acne Studios, who

able and reach diverse consumers.

have a stronger presence on social media platforms.

weakness

The digitalisation and gamification of fashion, specifically the metaverse and Mixed Reality enticing customers to

Lack of presences on other platforms other than Instagram. newer and innovative options of online shopping.

Suggested lack of transparency and concerns around sus-

Competitors like Reformation’s plans to also expand be-

tainability ( Ganni 2020 )

yond their home country, targeting Asia.

For a global brand, the brand seems to have a rather small

The increased awareness amongst consumers to make

following on social media outside Europe.

more conscious buying decisions.

Fig. 23 : SWOT Analysis of Ganni, Author’s Own.

NEW

MARKETS

SWOT ANALYSIS

MArket diversification Development Fig. 24 : Ansoff’s Matrix (Adapted from Ansoff 1957), Author’s Own.

MArket penetration

product Development

EXISTING PRODUCTS & SERVICES

NEW

Ansoff’s Matrix ( 1957 ) is another tool that can be utilised alongside the SWOT analysis to understand how the strategy can be implemented considering the product and market to grow the business. It can be concluded that the acceleration of digital adoption and lack of brand equity in Asia, alongside the lack of physical or online presence of Ganni in this region, means that there should be a diversification strategy that must be adopted (Baker, M J. (2014) (Fig. 24). Thus, the proposed opportunity in this report for Ganni would be to collaborate with Asia’s largest metaverse and gaming platform, Zepeto. This strategy could be considered the riskiest approach since it involves selling “avatar apparel” which is a new product to a new market; Nonetheless it has the potential of giving the highest returns as it is a new concept for other brands in the same market segment and remain innovative and competitive. Further analysis of the macro and micro trends surrounding this opportunity will be discussed, with a primary research conducted in order to study the target consumer and determine if the chosen proposition is viable. A case study of a previous collaboration of Zepeto with Ralph Lauren will also be referred to understand how the campaign helped in the capturing the global consumer’s attention and revitalising their sales.

MACRO & MICRO TRENDS

MIXED REALITY – THE FUTURE OF AR/VR Fig. 26 : The Dematerialised - Virtual Fashion in Real world.

Fig. 25 : Ganni X Ahluwalia 2021

Technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate, with the introduction of Metaverse and web 3.0 creating “…new industrial, social and cultural values” (CES 2022). Digital spaces like the metaverse are providing individuals a creative world to project their identities differently from reality and allowing them to interact with each other and virtual objects in newer ways (Fig. 26).

As brands move towards digitalisation due to the pandemic, the fashion industry needs to keep up with the zeitgeist and come up with innovative technologies and experiences to share their products (Shakir, 2022).

As stated in Consumer Insights report by WGSN in 2016, consumers are placing “increased value on the experience or meaning associated with a product, rather than on the materiality of the item itself”. Mixed Reality (XR) enables this cohort identified as “New Optimists” (WGSN 2021) to “test products at their convenience”, as they gravitate “towards peer feedback when purchasing”. This means that brands need to make the shopping experience sharable not just for the tech-savvy GenZ, but also Millennials and Gen X.

Zepeto’s sharing capabilities can confirm the shareability of the products on the platform, as well as to other social networking platforms like Instagram. With only 1% of retailers using Mixed Reality technology (Threekit, 2021), there is an opportunity for an innovative brand like Ganni to take the lead. This will not only ensure higher conversion rates, but also provide a unique shopping experience the consumers desire. Immersive technologies are helping businesses generate additional value, boosting global GDP by $1.5trn by 2030 (PwC, 2021).

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR & METAVERSE TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

Perceived Usefulness Behavioral Intention to Use

Actual System Use

Perceived Ease of Use

Early Majority (34%)

Late Majority (34%)

Early Adopters (13.5%)

Laggards (16%) Innovators (2.5%)

Fig. 27 : Technology Acceptance Model, Author’s own (Adapted from Davis 1986)

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Fig. 27) is a theoretical framework developed by Davis (1986) to “predict a users’ acceptance, adoption and use of a new technology” (Jaradat, 2014). The theory suggests that the success of adoption of a new technology is determined by two key factors : Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use (Figure x). An Instagram poll was conducted amongst 221 users to collect data from the target audience between the ages of 18-40 to understand and analyse the use of 3D avatar apps. The study indicated that 75% of the respondents used or were aware of 3D avatar apps like Zepeto and Bitmoji by Snapchat (See Appendix 5). When asked about how they came about using these applications, most of the respondents answered “Social Media” and “Friends”, which shows the potential of raising awareness of the campaign being a success if promoted on social media, which could be amplified by word of mouth. The participants were also asked about how they knew about the brand Ganni and 73 % of them responded Instagram (Appendix 6), followed by Pinterest (15.7%) which further proves that Instagram is Ganni’s strongest marketing tool.

TECH ENTHUSIAST

VISIONARIES

PRAGMATISTS

CONSERVATIVES

SKEPTICS

Fig. 28 : Roger’s Adoption Curve, Author’s Own (Adapted from E. Rogers 1995)

Innovation Adoption Curve – better known as Rogers Diffusion of Innovation (E. Rogers, 1995) is a model that classifies individuals into groups based on their willingness to adopt a new idea, product or innovation. When applied to the data gathered from the primary and secondary research, it can be concluded that Ganni could be positioned as “Early Adopters”, as they accept changes to all the segments of their business quicker than an average brand and adapt to the zeitgeist and new innovations with respect to the consumers’ needs.

Referencing the model (Fig. 28), Ganni consumers are positioned as “Early Adopters” or “Visionaries”, as these individuals have the highest degree of opinion leadership, are younger in age, and more socially forward (OnDigitalMarketing, 2021).

“The cost of launching a new product and the high rate of new product failure – as much as 95%” (Geer 2017) makes introducing new innovations into the market quite challenging.

Knowing how to cross these setbacks with the right marketing strategy would be crucial for Ganni to make their partnership with Zepeto a success and well accepted by consumers of both the brands.

The respondents who answered “NO” to buying virtual goods were asked to justify the reason for their disapproval and most of them stated that “budget constraints” and the “product not being a physical item” were the main factors why they wouldn’t invest in virtual goods (Appendix 7). This shows that brands that use immersive technologies should educate their consumers on how these technologies work with respect to “Digital investments, cryptocurrency volatility and interoperability” and make the experience more inclusive to enhance the consumer experience (Retail Brew 2021, Nanda 2021). Studies from PwC in 2021 show that “…70% of customers expected to show greater loyalty to brands that offer AR-enhanced shopping experiences” (Fig. 29), which shows that integration of immersive technology is detriment to the future of fashion (Future of Customer Experience, 2021).

Fig. 29 : Zepeto allows users to go through curated styles by other users and provides an option to buy those items with in-app currency called ‘Zems’. These virtual zepeto influencers have a mass-following of upto 500K+ followers

RISE OF GAMING IN ASIA & WOMEN

Fig. 30 : DressX allows clients to digitally dress in clothing.

As claimed in WGSN’s Future Innovations 2023 forecast, brands can gamify their digital shopping experience, with virtual goods market expected to reach US$89.7bn by 2025. The “Conductors” are leading new enterprises to invest in new virtual experiences, as “E-teractions” and “Shoppertainment” is on the rise in the Metaverse, marking a new era of commerce (WGSN 2022). Several Digital fashion houses have popped up in the past 3 years like The Fabricant, DressX and The Dematerialised (Fig. 30), who have released collections and collaborated with notable fashion brands in the recent years. In an interview with the co-founder of IoDF Leanne Elliot Young, she says that “In the traditional crypto space and in gaming, the fastest growing segment are those who identify as female.” With majority of users in the metaverse being male, it is surprising that the Metaverse platform Zepeto has a majority of 70% female users. The Asian gaming market has grown by 42% since the pandemic; China, Korea and Japan leading the market (Mobidictum 2021).

ZEPETO AS A PLATFORM

Fig. 31 : Zepeto X Dior Beauty.

The Asian market is led by a digitally adept GenZ, with the rise of virtual influencers to almost triple in numbers (Baklanov 2021). A gaming industry report by Jasni Zain in 2021 reveals that “82% of the Southeast Asia’s urban online population are gamers”, out of which “95% spent on in-game items or virtual goods”. This indicates that the expansion of Ganni in the metaverse through Zepeto will be promising, as the digital merchandise can be used to promote the physical products with a higher conversion rate (Fig. 31). Alongside this, Ganni has already started its localisation plans in Asia by launching “on Chinese social media platforms Weibo, WeChat and Little Red Book, and hosting events on Tmall; planning some Tmall launch events including live streams with KOLs (key opinion leaders), #GANNIGirls Love Forever festivals, exclusive products, gifts and more.” (Wightman-Stone, 2021). As women now make up 40-45% of the Asian gaming population and are growing their share in the market faster than men (NikoPartners 2021), Ganni can use this opportunity to target their potential consumers in this relatively new and booming market.

Zepeto is a social networking platform developed by Naver Z Corporation, targeted at young adults, mainly Millennials and Generation Z. It allows users to create custom avatars, wear and create digital clothing and interact with other users in virtual spaces. The platform hosts around 250 million registered users (Thepaypers.com, 2021) and 2 million active daily users, it is one of the fastest growing metaverse platforms in Asia, specifically amongst females (Dailey, 2021). The app generated “…13.13 million downloads from users worldwide, up by 32.5 percent from the 9.9 million downloads the app saw in the fourth quarter of 2020” ( L. Ceci , 2022).

Fig. 32 : Zepeto’s Instagram.

Fig. 33 : Zepeto’s Collaboration Promotions (Zara & Samsung), Source - Twitter

THE VISION Figures 34 & 35 have been created using pre-existing avatar apparels on Zepeto, styling a diverse range of avatar models in outfits that most resemble the brands aesthetic. This supports the brands message of diversity and inclusivity (Douglass, R., 2022.) and sustainability through virtual fashion (The Fabricant 2021), hence illustrating the vision of the proposed opportunity.

The primary research findings showed that 60.9% of the respondents were willing to buy products launched by their favourite brand on 3D avatar apps, which shows the probability of this partnership being profitable for both the brands (See Appendix 7).

Zepeto has partnered with various brands like Disney, Samsung, Hyundai, Baskin Robins, etc. and also launched collections of various luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Dior, Christian Louboutin, etc. to name a few (Fig. 33). Zepeto has also allowed various celebrities like Selena Gomez and K-pop groups like TxT to hold promotional events and sell merchandise on the fashion platform. Zepeto has sold over 1.6 billion virtual fashion items to date, which is usually paid using in-game virtual tokens called “zems”; the equivalent of 5000 zems being £80 (Oi M., 2021). Around 100 companies are currently using Zepeto to target Generation Z consumers, who account for more than 80 percent of the users (Gilchrist, K., 2021), which shows that this is a potentially viable strategy for Ganni to build a strong community presence in Asia. With most active users belonging to Korea, China and Japan, Ganni would gain the most from this partnership (ParisGoodFashion 2021). With over 70% of the users being females, it is rather unusual for a metaverse platform Zepeto to have a female dominant audience as rivals like Roblox have a male dominant user base. This means that Ganni would ideally cater to Zepeto’s female audience, who are also the brand’s target consumers.

Fig. 34 : Ganni outfit recreated on the Zepeto App using pre-existing avatar apparels.

CASE STUDY – RALPH LAUREN X ZEPETO

Fig. 35 : Ganni outfits recreated on the Zepeto App using pre-existing avatar apparels.

Fig. 36 : Ralph Lauren X Zepeto Promotional Campaign

With an average spending time of 4.8 hours spent on smartphones (State of Mobile 2022), an increased number of consumers use these devices to shop, game and socialise and has now become an integral part of the online experience (L. Alison, 2020). Following the coronavirus pandemic, brands had to digitalise every aspect of their business in order to survive the detrimental effect the pandemic had on the fashion industry; as identified in one of the major consumer shift of “Digital Sprint” in the State of Fashion Report (McKinsey 2021).

One Zepeto collaboration that stood that amongst the rest was with Ralph Lauren.

The amercian brand launched a 50-piece avatar apparel collection that could be purchased on the social networking app. The partnership also included a virtual space for users to interact with each other at New York locations like Ralph’s Coffee Shop, the Madison Avenue flagship store and Central Park. Celebrity K-pop group Tomorrow X Together hosted a live event at the Ralph Lauren virtual store in the Zepeto world during the launch (Fig 37). This tie-up exceeded the brand’s expectations, even in terms of customer acquisition, as the CEO of the brand Patrice Louvet stated that the brand has “..sold more than 100,000 items in just a few weeks…” and “…added 1.4 million new consumers to their DTC channels alone this quarter”, with their own e-commerce site sales increasing by 30 per cent (Vogue Business 2021).

This collaboration represents a new frontier in digital fashion which allows consumers interact with fashion brands in an inclusive, sustainable and innovative manner. The pandemic disruptions caused Ralph Lauren sales to fall by 29 percent to $4.4 billion, which increased by almost 82 percent following the collaboration over the same period last year (Howland, 2022).

The company’s shares also increased by 6 percent (Vogue Business 2021), while revenue in Asia increased by 20 percent, which shows the opportunity of metaverse partnerships have to drive digital sales and reach a younger audience, if executed successfully.

Fig. 37 : Ralph Lauren X Zepeto Promotional Campaign with K-pop Group Tomorrow X Together, Source : Twitter

HOW CAN SUCCESS BE EVALUATED?

The AIDA model is a framework that could be used to “…understand consumer behaviour and ensures a brands promotional activities are successful for their intended purpose” (Cope and Maloney, 2016). The acronym stands for - Attention, Interest, Desire and Action, which shows the linear path of consumers buying journey. The proposed collaboration could be applied to the AIDA model to show how the strategy could be a success (Fig. 39).

aTTENTION A new campaign of the collaboration with Zepeto, aligning with the zeitgeist and trending subject of metaverse and gaming is introduced to the Ganni audience on Instagram.

INTEREST The success of this strategy can be evaluated by the achievement of 2 objectives –Brand reputation boost and social media engagement in Asia. This could be analysed by the number of avatar apparel items sold and number of users engaging with the brand on Zepeto. The campaigns promotion would be initally carried out on instagram, as it is Ganni’s most powerful social media tool currently (Fig. 38).

Through the engagement the campaign receives on the Zepeto platform, Ganni can measure its reach and note important trends amongst the users in order to understand the Asian market better. This can help Ganni stay ahead in the market amongst its competitors, while also making sure that they are satisfying the consumers needs and attracting a newer consumer base that consider technology as an important aspect while shopping and interacting with the brand.

Consumers visit the Zepeto App and try out the avatar apparels and familiarise themselves with the concept of digital fashion and avatar personalisation.

DESIRE With the products being purchased online through the app’s currency, there is a minimal monetary investment from users on the app. This would create a desire amongst the users to try and create #GanniGirl looks on the app without actually purchasing the physical product.

ACTION As Ganni relies on User Generated content, Zepeto users would share their looks on the app with the hashtag #GanniGirls and boost brand image online. Users could also share their creative looks on Instagram with the hashtag #GanniGirlsOnZepeto, which would further boost the campaign to its existing consumer base on Instagram.

Fig. 38 : Ganni X Zepeto Promotional Campaign post on Instagram, Author’s Own Fig. 39 : AIDA Model, Author’s Own

SUMMARY Ganni has the potential to pioneer this new wave of fashion towards digitalisation and gain an advantage against its competitors. This collaboration would be beneficial for Zepeto as well, as the social media app collaborated with luxury brands like Gucci that is steadily moving with the gamification movement of fashion (Adegeest, D., 2021.). This campaign would allow the users to engage with a new contemporary brand, which would indirectly boost Ganni’s brand image amongst its huge userbase from Asia.

Though the investment in this project might be high-risk, the costs involved for the project could be subsidised (Steele, C., 2021), as the entire campaign would be carried out virtually on the metaverse platform, thus supporting Ganni’s investment into the opportunity of virtual fashion. With 59 percent of respondents from the primary research (See Appendix 8) stating that they would try or buy Ganni products virtually on their avatars, it can be concluded that this partnership would be well received by both Ganni consumers as well as users of the Zepeto app.

Fig. 40 : Ganni Resort 2021

“GANNI is a state of mind and more than anything, a form of self-expression.

Everyone is welcome.”

- Ditte & Nicolaj Reffstrup

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 : Cover Page - Ganni, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/copenhagen-spring-2021/ganni/slideshow/collection#1> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Figure 2 : Introduction - Ganni Fall 2021 - Ganni, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/copenhagen-fall-2021/ganni/slideshow/ collection#12> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Figure 3 : Introduction - Gucci X Zepeto - GUCCI, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.gucci.com/uk/en_gb/st/stories/inspirations-and-codes/article/ zepeto-x-gucci> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Figure 4 : Brand History - Source : Ganni, Hugo Lee, StyleCaster - Business Of Fashion, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://courses.businessoffashion.com/ courses/take/case-study-how-ganni-built-a-global-brand/pdfs/8818057-ganni-how-a-local-label-built-a-global-brand> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Figure 5 : Ganni Girl Consumer Illustration (Author’s Own)

Geer, D., 2017. Bridging the gap between innovators and early adopters. [online] TNW | Contributors. Available at: <https://thenextweb.com/news/bridging-gap-innovators-early-adopters> [Accessed 11 January 2022].

Figure 6 : Ganni Consumer Profile (Author’s Own)

WGSN. 2016. Top 5 Consumer & Retail Trends - Japan. [online] Available at: <https://www.wgsn.com/fashion/article/63634#page_2> [Accessed 5 January 2022].

Figure 7 : Ganni’s Kapferer’s Identity Prism (Author’s Own)

Future Consumer 2022 by WGSN-. 2021. Future Consumer 2022 by WGSN- — New optimists V2_3. [online] Available at: <https://createtomorrowwgsn. com/1927340/16/> [Accessed 3 January 2022].

Figure 8 : Ganni’s Product Range Illustration (Author’s Own) Figure 9 : Ganni’s Boston Matrix (Author’s Own), Products’ Image Source : Ganni.com

Threekit.com. 2021. 20 Augmented Reality Statistics You Should Know in 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.threekit.com/20-augmented-reality-statistics-you-should-know-in-2020#:~:text=Only%201%25%20of%20retailers%20are,and%20feel%20in%20their%20space.> [Accessed 4 January 2022].

Figure 10 : Ganni’s Price Architecture (Author’s Own)

Future Consumer 2023 White Paper. 2022. Future Consumer 2023 White Paper — Page 13. [online] Available at: <https://createtomorrowwgsn. com/2513751-wp-future-consumer-2023/13/> [Accessed 6 February 2022].

Figure 11 : Ganni Flagship Store in UK - Ganni, 2019. [image] Available at: <https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/in-pictures-ganni-lands-in-uk-with-london-flagship/2019081944802> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Burak, A., 2021. The gaming world’s largest growing market is Asia | Mobidictum. [online] Mobidictum. Available at: <https://mobidictum.biz/the-gaming-worldslargest-growing-market-is-asia/> [Accessed 7 February 2022].

Figure 12 : Ganni Flagship Store in France - Ganni, 2019. [image] Available at: <https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/ganni-to-open-first-french-flagships-inparis/2022012460823> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

FashionUnited. 2021. New generation of Asian influencers share the future of the metaverse. [online] Available at: <https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/ new-generation-of-asian-influencers-share-the-future-of-the-metaverse/2021111759363> [Accessed 9 January 2022].

Figure 13 : Ganni’s hashtags on Instagram (Author’s Own), Source : Instagram

Niko. 2021. Play like a girl: Key ways to engage one of Asia’s fastest growing gaming audiences. [online] Available at: <https://nikopartners.com/play-like-a-girlkey-ways-to-engage-one-of-asias-fastest-growing-gaming-audiences/> [Accessed 10 January 2022].

Figure 14 : Ganni’s Social Media Statistics (Author’s Own), Source : Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, Youtube

Yokoi, T., 2021. Female Gamers Are On The Rise. Can The Gaming Industry Catch Up?. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomokoyokoi/2021/03/04/female-gamers-are-on-the-rise-can-the-gaming-industry-catch-up/?sh=6ab3476af9fe> [Accessed 4 January 2022].

Zain, J., 2021. [online] Mdec.my. Available at: <https://mdec.my/wp-content/uploads/MYDCF-SEA-Game-Industry-Report-2021-Briefing.pdf> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 15 : #GanniWFH ‘Home is Where The Heart Is’ Campaign - Vogue, 2020. [image] Available at: <https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/gallery/ganni-workingfrom-home> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 16 : Ganni Repeat - Ganni, 2020. [image] Available at: <https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/levis-x-ganni-fashion-duo-joins-forces-to-launch-denim-collection-made-out-of-cottonized-hemp/> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 17 : Ganni Repack - Repack, 2020. [image] Available at: <https://www.repack.com/news/ganni-levis-repack-love-letter-rental-collection> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 18 : Ganni Founders Nicolaj & Ditte Reffstrup Ganni Talks Podcast - Ganni, n.d. [image] Available at: <https://www.ganni.com/en-gb/ganni-talks-podcast.html> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 19 : Ganni’s E-commerce website, Ganni.com Figure 20 : Ganni Competitors - Isabel Marant, 2018. [image] Available at: <https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/2/109083/Isabel-Marant-opens-HK-boutique> [Accessed 1 January 2022], Acne Studios, 2018. [image] Available at: <https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/jonny-johansson-acne-studios-master-class> [Accessed 1 January 2022], Reformation, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://oceandrive.com/reformation-aventura-mall-opening> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 21 : Total Assortment Size (Adapted from Retviews, 2021), Author’s Own - Lectra, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.lectra.com/en/library/ gannis-strategy> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 22 : Perceptual Map - Ganni and Competitors (Author’s Own) Figure 23 : SWOT Analysis of Ganni (Author’s Own) Figure 24 : Ansoff’s Matrix (Adapted from Ansoff 1957), Author’s Own.

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 25 : Macro & Micro Trends - Ganni, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.10magazine.com.au/articles/ahluwalia-x-ganni-aw21> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 26 :The Dematerialised, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.10magazine.com/womenswear/tribute-brand-contactless-digital-fashion/> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

APPENDIX APPENDIX 1 - EDITED, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://blog. edited.com/blog/how-ganni-built-a-cult-brand> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

APPENDIX 2 - Lectra, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www. lectra.com/en/library/gannis-strategy> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 27 : Technology Acceptance Model, Author’s own (Adapted from Davis 1986) Figure 28 : Roger’s Adoption Curve, Author’s Own (Adapted from E. Rogers 1995) Figure 29 : Zepeto User Interface, Source : Zepeto App Figure 30 : DressX - DressX, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://dressx.com/pages/about-dress-x-test-1> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 31 : Zepeto X Dior Beauty - Zepeto, 2021. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c_lsOBlUu4> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 32 : Zepeto’s Instagram.

Figure 33 : Zepeto’s Collaboration Promotions (Zara & Samsung), Source - Zara Twitter, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://twitter.com/ zara/status/1468279174565666822> [Accessed 1 January 2022], Zepeto, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://twitter.com/zepeto_official/status/1402853170515173378> [Accessed 1 January 2022], Zara, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/12/zara-lands-in-themetaverse-with-south-korean-label-ader-error/zara-x-ader-error-2-01-1536x864/> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 34 : Ganni outfits recreated on the Zepeto App using pre-existing avatar apparels, Author’s Own. Figure 35 : Ganni outfits recreated on the Zepeto App using pre-existing avatar apparels, Author’s Own. Figure 36 : Ralph Lauren X Zepeto, Source - Ralph Lauren, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://wwd.com/business-news/technology/ralph-lauren-metaverse-zepeto-digital-fashion-1234903502/> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 37 : Ralph Lauren X Zepeto Promotional Campaign with K-pop Group Tomorrow X Together, Source : Twitter Ralph Lauren, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://twitter.com/ralphlauren/status/1435105547620175877> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

Figure 38 : Ganni X Zepeto Promotional Campaign post on Instagram, Author’s Own Figure 39 : AIDA Model, Author’s Own Figure 40 : Ganni Resort 2021, Ganni, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/resort-2021/ganni/slideshow/collection#21> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

APPENDIX 3 - Lectra, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www. lectra.com/en/library/gannis-strategy> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

APPENDIX 4 - Lectra, 2021. [image] Available at: <https://www. lectra.com/en/library/gannis-strategy> [Accessed 1 January 2022].

APPENDIX 5 - INSTAGRAM POLL (AUTHOR’S OWN)

APPENDIX 7 - INSTAGRAM POLL (AUTHOR’S OWN)

APPENDIX 6 - INSTAGRAM POLL (AUTHOR’S OWN)

APPENDIX 8 - INSTAGRAM POLL (AUTHOR’S OWN)

APPENDIX 9 - INSTAGRAM POLL (AUTHOR’S OWN)

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