And what will happen when the shoe is on the other foot?

 

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vwg73xndeo

This was reported on the BBC website today.

Bad news for models and photographers. And this will only happen, "if given permission by models". How much bargaining power do these model have? Close to zero I'd say.

And I wonder how H&M would react is models used a digital clones of H&M clothing in their portfolio photographs? Or if competitors used AI to create patterns for digital clones of H&M clothing?   

Be very careful what you wish for. 

Clutching at straws

Dairyland 2% Milk

These days every brand is trying to stand out. Whether it be the limited edition running shoes by Adidas, the celebrity-endorsed clothing collection at H&M, or the special holiday coffee, every brand try to make itself special.

But what is special about a milk carton? This is a special "Limited Edition Packaging". Who cares? Who is going to keep carton this when it's empty? Will this change the consumer's buying habits? I doubt it. I think that when it is empty it is going to straight into the recycling bin.

Sometime I just have to sigh, roll my eyes, and shrug my shoulders.

Diversity at H&M

Recruiting sign, H&M, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

Retailers are showing a greater willingness to hire diverse employees that ever before. Part of this is the demographic shift and the smaller number of "retail age" candidates available. But I think that it is also reflective of the increasingly diverse nature of the available workforce.

Featuring a young woman with a nose ring featured in a recruitment advertisement is not something we would have seen even five or ten years ago. I think it is great change.

H&M and other retailers adopting similarly diverse approaches to their workforce are to be commended.

Lined up and sold out

Lineup outside the H&M store, Pacific Centre, Vancouver BC (Photo taken November 5, 2015)

Staff in the H&M store getting ready for the onslaught, Pacific Centre, Vancouver BC (Photo taken November 5, 2015)

Balmain X H&M beaded dress (Photo from H&M.com)

Last year it was Alexander Wang, this year it is Balmain. Every year H&M teams up with a designer to produce a clothing collection that offers the designer's look, at more street-friendly prices.

And just like last year, customers were lined up on the street the night before for a chance to buy the clothing. Given the amount of this clothing that immediately ends up on eBay, I suspect that many of the people in line were purchasing to resell, rather than to wear.

But H&M gets lots of free press coverage and some customers get the clothes they lust after.

Hello sweet 70s! (I hope not.)

Jumpsuit, H&M
(Source: http://www.hm.com/ca/groovy-grace)

Today I received an email from H&M. The subject "Hello sweet 70s!" was bit of a surprise. Yes, I know that the 1970s are coming back. With all of the accompanying polyester hideousness and horrible silhouettes. I just never thought of the 1970s as "sweet".

I can't see me wearing any of those hideous styles again. My mother knitted horrible sweaters in nasty synthetic yarns on HUGE gauge needles. 1970s fashion was comprised of wide legs, polyester fabrics, and lots of contrasting top stitching. Yuck!

Perhaps I'm just getting too old to be a slave to the latest fashions. And if that is the case, then I'm probably happier as a result.

I just wonder how many pantsuits I'll see on the Streets of Vancouver this summer. What's the saying, 'There's a sucker born every minute"?

Advertise and sell out, or don't advertise and sell out anyway

Hoarding poster for Alexander Wang/H&M on Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC

I won't even know why H&M even thought that advertising this collection was necessary. There were lineups put side the H&M store on Granville Street in Vancouver starting the day before the collection launched. And overnight, in the pouring rain, the line grew until the doors opened on the morning of Thursday, November 6th.

Lots of items, completely sold out in the stores, were available on eBay for three to four times the regular retail price. This bustier, priced at $34.95 CDN in the stores, is available on eBay for up to $149.00 US.

Alexander Wang bustier for H&M
(Source: http://www.hm.com/ca/wangxhm#women/article-25)

But, in reality, the whole point of advertising this collection is not necessarily to sell the collection, that will happen anyway. The fashion fanatics will line up in the rain and buy everything in sight. The advertising campaign creates more excitement and buzz for the brand and the store. And anything that gets the public to visit the store is a good thing.

How fast is that fashion?

Sign on the wall of the second floor of H&M, Pacific Centre Mall, Vancouver, BC

H&M, like Zara, is in the business of "fast fashion". If you see something in the store today, and you like it, then you'd better buy it. The fast fashion retailers tend not to repeat any orders and once something sells out it is, as the sign above says, "gone forever".

For a retailer this is a risky, but potentially rewarding strategy. You are not stuck with racks of stuff that you need to mark down when the fashion changes, and you have the flexibility to take advantage of short-term opportunities. (According to one article I read, Zara can go from drawing board to retail store in two weeks. While Zara can do this due to its vertical integration in Europe, H&M takes a bit longer due to its reliance on Asian manufacturers.)

The challenge is when you are on a hot trend. How do you capitalize on the success you achieve with a popular product? Most of these retailer produce revised or updated versions to maximize their potential revenue, while avoiding filling the stores with the "same old stuff".

But the important lesson for the consumer is; here today, gone tomorrow.