Analysis of Abuze (current brand)
Background:
· Launched in 2001.
· Concept – fascination for graffiti and street art.
· Contemporary urban clothing.
· Discerning/good judgement global consumer.
· Owner and creative director, Aleks = part of infamous London
graffiti crew, ‘Vandals for Life’.
· They noticed gap in the market for relevant street wear.
· Abuze also collaborates with leading industry design partners
and music artists.
Consumers:
The consumers’ for Abuze London are very particular. They hold a
unique style and like to keep up with the latest trends. Mainly
specializing in street wear, this also attracts consumers who may
be interested in the underground music culture. The consumers like
to take care in their appearance and may dress slightly differently
to those who wear better-known brands such as Topman. By wearing
the brand, their qualities will be different and may portray
uniqueness and quality.
The consumers are a very particular audience and therefore will
only attract a certain amount of people to the store. The clothes
are also based on underground music culture and not everyone will
enjoy this kind of music, which therefore again limits their
audience.
Competitors:
· Sturban Clothing
· Supreme
· Dope Chef
· OBEY
(Higher Market)
· Superdry
· Polo Ralph Lauren
· Lacoste
· Nike
· Armani
By researching Abuze London online I have noticed that they are
performing at a consistent pace, however feel they could broaden
their target market much more and keep up with the following
competitors.
They currently have one store based in Chiswick, however most of
the popular products are sold online through Asos. This attracts a
huge amount of consumers.
In order to raise their profile even more I feel that they
should open more stores in the near future and attract more
consumers to their website.
Promotional activity: (Figure 1,2 and 3)
They currently have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page;
however, Instagram is the only source of promotional activity to be
updated on a regular basis. Instagram is becoming used mire often
by the public, which is a positive for Abuze.
Facebook and Twitter however are really poor and feel they could
start to post more often, keeping consumers engaged and in touch
with regular brand updates, news, events and new products and
trends arriving. Without regular social media posts, I find people
start to lose interest and may even result into taking their
business elsewhere.
Products:
On the Abuze London website (http://www.abuzelondon.com/), there
is a wide variety of stylish products for both men and women,
ranging from Limited Edition t-shirts to headwear and sweat pants.
These are available to purchase any time of the day. Asos is also
where a select few of the products are sold, mainly being t-shirts
which is what most people associate Abuze to produce. Most items
are also sold in-store too.
The products are custom made and the use of ‘innovative product
technologies’ enables the products to be produced to a high quality
standard. The team are also finding new and improved materials to
ensure their products are also made to the best of the quality.
There are a wide variety of products available to purchase
through their online store, however, many consumers tend to
purchase through Asos. Some may not be aware of the website and
others may find the website very dated and plain. After looking at
the website myself I found it to be very bland and nothing
attracted me to look through the website.
Market level:
The market level for Abuze is mainly the male gender aged
between 16-25, who has a particular style. Abuze is also known as a
‘Private Label’ because a retailer owns the brand, not a
manufacturer. They have an exclusive store in Chiswick. Their core
values are about creating a sense of “smart shopping” and as a
premium store brand, they differentiate from the likes of River
Island and Burton for their use of superior quality and sold at
lower prices. They are a middle class market brand.
Although their clothing is extremely unique and of a high
standard, it is targeted towards a very limited amount of men,
therefore sales won’t be as high compared to the likes of Ralph
Lauren or even Supreme, where the brands have more of a bigger
target market.
Pricing: (Figure 4 and 5)
The pricing of the T-shirts are £30 each, fixed price. However
on Asos, many of the t-shirts are reduced to £20 or less during an
Asos sale. Other products from the Abuze website range from £145
for a coat to £20 for a Snapback (headwear). There is also a
section for current deals that Abuze are offering which is great
way to bring customers to the brand. For example, three t-shirts
cost £60, saving you £30.
The pricing is suitable for the type of consumers it attracts
and reflects the nature of the brand by being unique, therefore
some of the items will be slightly more expensive than those
products sold on the high street.
The pricing for the brand however, could be raised slightly if
there were more consumers. I feel that the brand is unique and
gives something fresh to menswear fashion and therefore could
charge more if they were to attract more consumers of that
style.
Location:
Abuze started off with a pop up store in Boxpark, Shoreditch.
This was a great success and brought many to the brand, being new
and fresh. They also have a flagship store where appointments can
be made to go in and visit. The store opening times are from
Monday-Friday, 9:30am to 6pm. Access to Abuze through Asos is 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, making it very accessible. They also
have a store based in Melbourne.
The only downfall that Abuze have is that their stores and not
located in central areas, therefore may put consumers off visiting
the stores due to inconvenience. Relying on Asos could also cause
problems such a technology difficulties and the range of products
to purchase being slim to the ones in store. The store may also
benefit from opening during the weekends when people aren’t
working.
Service:
· Asos offers free delivery and returns.
· Suitable opening times during the week
· Suitable payment devices eg. Paypal
· Trusting returns policy
· Shipping and delivery available from website
· Deals on products are available
· Store isn’t open at weekends
· Events need to take place to promote brand
· Shipping takes up to 10 working days which may be too long for
some to wait
· Website isn’t very interactive
Branding:
Figure 1: Abuze Facebook Page
Figure 2: Abuze Twitter Page
Figure 3: Abuze Instagram page
Figure 4: Abuze T-shirt available from their online store
Figure 5: T-shirt available from Asos