Difficulty on the road to change
2010 before the Smith Barney, the day was very moist. When the rapid development of America’s garment industry, the Smith Barney successfully seized the American garment manufacturing plant production capacity surplus this opportunity, the traditional garment enterprises the most important part of the manufacturing. Production outsourcing, itself is only responsible for the design and brand advertising and marketing with Feather Flags & Feather Banners | Cheap -20% FREE Ship, The burden of enterprises, so that enterprises can more flexible response to market changes. This is the secret of Smith Barney’s success: it is a kind of light assets like NIKE company. Of course, this is just one.
But since 2010, everything has changed. At the end of 2009, Smith Barney clothing stocks only 900 million yuan, steeply increased by the end of 2010 to 2.5 billion, to 2011 is climbed to 3 billion yuan. High inventory makes the “light company” in name only.
Poor performance of the market, although there are factors of the impact of the Internet, ZARA, UNIQLO and other international fast fashion branding with Feather Flag Advertising in the Chinese market from the wind and water from the US state bruised and battered. Smith Barney began a difficult “Internet +” trial and error of the road.
First, on-line purchase network.
In December 2010, Smith Barney’s online business platform to buy online. This action was quite avant-garde at the time, ahead of a number of domestic Internet companies. With this business platform, consumers can scan in the physical store consumption, but also to achieve online shopping and offline return and many other features. Do not underestimate these applications, which was quite trendy six years ago.
Unfortunately, the state purchase network in more than 6000 million after the drift, in October 2011 sadly ended. The reason is very realistic: profit is difficult to protect. On the one hand, Smith Barney in the allocation of resources, logistics and distribution operations and marketing can not adapt to the development needs of the purchase network; the other hand, such as the face of such as professional B2C clothing brand pressure, the state purchase network only parry, force.
Therefore, the state purchase network has not become a new performance highlights Smith Barney, but because the discount is much lower than the franchise, further intensified internal contradictions. Various channels on the style, price and discount activities difficult to coordinate, so that Smith Barney’s inventory to further increase.
Second, start O2O strategy – life experience shop.
After two years of brewing, in October 2013, Smith Barney officially announced the launch of O2O strategy. Smith Barney chairman Zhou Chengjian’s idea is to set up Smith Barney experience shop, the city features together, the introduction of “a city a culture, a store a story” concept, to create scene shopping. Independent operation of the two-year-old purchase network has also been recovered to the listed company’s body.
Consumers can log on Smith Barney’s e-commerce platform to view products, and through the phone appointment test. Experience the store also on behalf of the staff to complete the corresponding clothing with. Each store has a lounge, coffee bar and garden terrace and other leisure facilities, and provide free Wi-Fi, easy to rest, Internet access.
This ideal blueprint looks beautiful, but in practice, it really became ideal. Although Smith Barney spent a lot of thought in the experience shop, but still can not seize the hearts of consumers, two years in the past, these experience shop is still very few visitors. Obviously, take up a lot of space in the store’s coffee table and Internet environment (Internet desk, etc.), and clothing retail core is not take.
Third, the introduction of “Fan” APP.
Although the reality is very cruel, the pace of Smith Barney transformation has been very firm. At the end of April 2015, Smith Barney also announced the launch of the “APP” APP, to further implement its “Internet +” strategy.
“Fan” APP positioning as a mobile-based intelligent business tools and fashion experience platform. According to Smith Barney’s argument, “Fan” has signed with many foreign brands, consumers can “have Fan” to find the brand does not rigidly adhere to Smith Barney. In addition, the “Fan” allows users to match the clothes like stitching, make a fashion sense of the picture, and on the platform to share. If you wear a proposal to be paid, but also get the corresponding income share.
Because of the two weeks before the title variety show “wonderful work”, this APP in the young people’s popularity is relatively high, but for the brand has been aging Smith Barney, if you expect this APP polymerization of the brand and user participation mechanism for Smith Barney Bring customers sticky, and then drive the Smith Barney own product sales, it seems not realistic. From the actual performance of the market point of view, the results are flat.
Now can not say that Smith Barney transformation is wrong, but in some of the implementation of the strategy Smith Barney did not do bit:
1. Early on the electricity business difficulties. With the same in Wenzhou, Semir clothing in 2012 began to do business, the outcome is different from the Smith Barney: 2015 Semir clothing net profit rose 23.16% to 1.345 billion yuan, the net profit difference of nearly 1.8 billion. Smith Barney did not establish a first-mover advantage, that is, because of the wrong estimate of electricity providers.
Smith Barney in the development of its traditional stores in the process, the establishment of a strong logistics facilities, but the line logistics and electricity providers do not exactly match the requirements, and the Smith Barney from beginning to end did not effectively solve the problem of resource allocation and other aspects. Which may have the reasons for the lack of electricity business talent, it may be the beginning of the strategic attention is not enough.
The problem of inventory. Online is actually a good way to digest inventory. In the store inventory digestion when the biggest contradiction is the inventory and the conflict of new goods, if you put a stall at the door every day to do 3 fold sale, the impact of corporate Branding with Advertising Feather Banners | Cheap -20% FREE Ship is certainly great; but if on the line to do, not There will be this problem. Online discount rejection Weihuo, line light to do new goods, this should be a more harmonious symbiotic relationship. But from the Smith Barney multi-channel operation of the actual effect of view, a variety of channels on the style, price and even discount activities difficult to coordinate, franchise stores, online stores, online discount is not uniform, but increased the Smith Barney’s inventory. This is something that business decision makers have not thought of.
3. Consumption experience and consumption sticky is not linked. O2O is basically to solve the problem is the brand and the consumer between the “one-night stand” relationship, which should be the Smith Barney O2O strategy of the original intention – the most troublesome line is the consumer to you do not know who he is, he You do not know who he is, even if he bought something you do not know who he is. And transferred to the line and even mobile, the problem is a good solution, because the customer information at a glance. So Smith Barney established a life experience shop, but it seems that the center of gravity there is a shift, so that the wrong force, it focuses on “life experience” and “Internet environment”. As a not so high-end domestic clothing brand, Smith Barney in the supply chain, management model, style design has been catching up with international brands, but there are still significant gaps, then this icing on the cake shopping experience will shorten the gap? Will “80” after “90” become iron powder? not necessarily! But it is certain that this move has greatly increased the cost of Smith Barney’s investment.
4. Brand Advertising Feather Flag marketing name is not true. Smith Barney two times before and after the title “wonderful work” section, the cost of nearly 100 million yuan, a large sum of marketing investment and sales are not proportional to. This point from the current Smith Barney disclosure of earnings can be inferred one or two. Clothing manufacturers and columns of cooperation can only be said to reconstruct the marketing, this Internet-based gene and “90 after” thinking APP for Smith Barney can make money, remains to be tested. The most important thing is, “Fan” and Smith Barney’s clothing retail main business, we have not found too much correlation, the conversion rate is difficult to estimate.
5. Do not know what you want to do. From the state to buy the network, to O2O, and then to the “Fan”, Smith Barney’s thinking is ahead, is worthy of recognition, but it is not clear what they want to do. Is to do clothing brand, or do platform brand, or anything else. Smith Barney’s transformation seems to step by step, but in reality is forced to. The implementation of the O2O strategy is at best a tripping of the net, but fundamentally does not address the pain of the actual needs of consumers.
The transformation of the road is not overnight, courage is important, and strategy is king. But no matter what, in what way to do, the most important thing is to do the product, if your product is really no alternative or to meet the needs of consumers, those so-called form and packaging are not important. As the clothing industry, it should be like ZARA, as always find the trend of the trend of a sense of custom, it seems that the essence of the Road. The garment industry is a need to use the “artisan spirit” to calm down to build the industry.
Smith Barney’s Feather Flag advertising campaign is just beginning, now on the success or failure is still too early, as to whether it can get out of the current predicament, we will wait and see.