Is the “show-and-buy” model worthy of other sports brands to follow?

Show Now, Buy Now, that is, the show is a new fashion model in the era of high-speed information dissemination, the purpose is to allow consumers to buy the products on the show immediately after the catwalk. Since the first appearance, many brands have chosen to use this advanced approach to consumers, such as Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, etc. are all advocates of "show and buy".

Recently, another brand joined the “show and buy” camp, which is China’s Li Ning. After the first two days of New York Fashion Week, the theme of the "walk" theme, Li Ning quickly opened two Pop-up stores in New York, selling some of the 19 autumn and winter series on the show. Before entering today's topic of "show and buy", let's take a look at what happens in Pop-up...

Many fans made a special trip to New York to participate in Pop-up

The Pop-up was selected in two well-known Shoe stores in New York: Solestage and Atmos. They invited the old rap legend Rick Ross and the magic kid-rapper Fabolous to help out, signature and photo. The momentum is huge.

On the same day, New York also had a small snowstorm, and it was still unable to withstand the enthusiasm of the fans. There were many people outside the two stores. If you think that Li Ning should be Chinese, then I have to correct you. More than half of the people present are foreigners, and even have hard-core fans who come from Miami and New Jersey... I am also curious. At the door, I asked some lined foreigners why Li Ning could attract them.

Many foreigners pay attention to Li Ning. Because of the addition of Dwayne Wade in 2012, a fan told me: "As a superstar in the year of his fight, he did not choose to go to Nike, adidas, but went to Li Ning, is a Very different choices. When I was out of the Wade Way, I was still in high school. I felt very handsome when I saw it, but at that time I had no money to buy, and now I have a chance."

This time, Pop-up sold a lot of shoes, and I watched it all the way. The most popular one is FURIOUS RIDER ACE. A fan who lined up at the door said to me: "The shoes look very much in line with the 'old shoes' trend, but this sole is more comfortable than those brands, and the color is great."

Fans also expressed their opinions on Pop-up after such a show: "I think this way is quite good, otherwise I will not stand here now. Yesterday, the show was just finished today, I can buy it. I think It’s quite good.” Although fans are more interested in buying “it’s ready to buy”, we have more questions to consider.

The advantages and disadvantages of the show

First of all, we have to admit that “show and buy” can bring great benefits to the brand in a short time. As the first brand to join the camp, the luxury brand Rebecca Minkoff achieved sales growth of 211% in the first quarter after implementing the “show-and-buy” strategy, and the growth in the second quarter was as high as 264%; In the beginning of 2017, Burberry's revenue increased by 19%, and the biggest hero was “show and buy”.

We often say that “impulse” is one of the biggest drivers of consumption. The traditional catwalk mode usually waits for nearly half a year before you can buy a single item on the show. Some people often have lost their enthusiasm at the time. The “show-and-buy” operation can provide consumers with the opportunity to buy and seize the “impulse” to increase sales before the enthusiasm fades.

After Li Ning’s catwalk on the 12th, the information spreads on the Internet at a high speed. Users who see it will definitely want to start at the first time. If they are allowed to stand for 6 months and wait for sale in August, you guess how much you need to invest. To recall the user's memory and purchase enthusiasm?

Brands such as LV and Dior have not completely started the “snap-and-buy” sales model, but they often hold a Pop-up in advance during the transition period between the catwalk and the sale to stimulate consumers' shopping desires. Through such a small-scale early sale, consumers can be nervous about the sale of products, creating a "scarcity effect" that is more likely to stimulate consumer desire.

Compared with traditional fashion houses, sports brands may need the form of “show and buy”. Li Gang, general manager of Li Ning Fashion Line, said in an interview: “Sports brand operation fashion week is different from fashion brand, sports Brands are larger than the market, so consumers will have more demands. This form can be used to best meet the needs of consumers."

This time, Li Ning only released some of the more basic items in the catwalk in Pop-up, and did not release the most eye-catching design on the show for the first time. This is also the key point for Burberry to rely on “show-and-buy” revenues. Christopher Bailey, who was also a brand designer at the time, said that driving fashion revenues was increased by commercial styles rather than shows. Of course, not all common models are suitable for sale in the form of “show-and-buy”. Naturally, those designs that are related to the show are needed to attract fans to buy.

At the same time, the sales form based on quarterly shipments is likely to result in sales failures and inventory backlogs due to the inability to accurately predict consumption trends, which is what every brand does not want to see. And “show and buy” can better avoid this situation.

In these respects, “show-and-buy” can provide many advantages for the brand, but on the other hand, it also brings a lot of problems. Li Gang also admits that “the show is buy” is a case for Li Ning. "huge challenge".

First of all, if you want to connect with the catwalk, you need to invest a lot of time, energy and cost. The first to join the camp Rebecca Minkoff has also calculated this account: in order to enable the new series to meet consumers in the first time, the brand probably needs to prepare three months in advance, from redesigning, scheduling, to production line The adjustments, the communication of the marketers, completely subverted the previous operation. In this transformation process, the designers who are most challenged are the designers, the preparation time for each quarter is greatly shortened, and the control of the supply chain is also more tense.

Another big advantage of the traditional fashion sales model is that the designer can adjust the sales strategy according to the reaction of the masses and the media in the few months after the show, and have a focus on selling popular items, reducing the volume of unpopular items and achieving profitability. maximize. The “show and buy” loses the space for such adjustment. It even requires the designer to anticipate the consumer's reaction in advance. The product is produced by the forecast. There is a “beat” mentality in which the risk rate is greatly improved. However, this can also be said to be an advantage: with the data accumulated in the early stage of sales, the volume can be adjusted to better deal with the subsequent sale.

At the same time, there is no clear data to indicate that “show-and-buy” can really drive physical sales. Although brands such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren gave positive opinions, they were all ambiguous and did not disclose clear data. After a season of “show and buy”, Kate Spade expressed its success to the outside world, but returned to the ordinary cycle of sales in the next season. The reason for this is worth our consideration.

“Show and buy” is now divided into two extreme camps. On the other hand, there are no independent designers who are bound to the wholesaler network. Due to the limited production scale, the impact of the transition to “show and buy” will not affect them. On the other side is a large brand like Li Ning, with a stable capital chain and supply chain. “See-and-buy” is more important for brands than topicality, not real profit.

"This is a good attempt for us. We hope that through this experience, we will see how to do these things best in the future. If Li Ning is still participating in the catwalk in Fashion Week, I will use this show. The way to sell is to present to everyone.” Li Gang has a more positive view on “show and buy”, and from the early sale of these two days, the results are positive.

Although the “show-and-buy” approach has gradually become a hot topic in the fashion world, the use of such a model will have a better marketing effect among sports and lifestyle brands with different consumer groups and broader consumer groups. And faster market responsiveness. From the perspective of the consumer, it is naturally good to be able to purchase the desired item in the first time, and whether the brand decides to implement such a strategy needs to be carefully considered from different angles.