CASE STUDY
The Client
Flaws, established 2016 in Muscat, Oman, is an urban wear company tackling ‘character flaws’ in the Middle East through design. Its products, ranging from candy-colored hoodies emblazoned with its back-to-front S logo to uniseex jersey tops dotted with Arabic slogans, are helping younger people change their perception on ‘flaws’. A message on the official website reads “This concept is prevalent in our brand logo, which appears to be the right way around in the wearer's reflection, while reversed otherwise. Hence, we encourage them to let go of the antiquated perception of societal norms being the only "correct" notion of character, and to embrace and accept their own individuality and self-expression.”
Their Business
Brands like flaws design clothes, market them and sell them at prices that cover the cost of both design and marketing. Urban wear brands have many ways of getting their products to consumers. One option is for the brand to create its own end-user sales division and sell direct - most popularly through an e-commerce store or social media. An alternative to selling direct is using distributors. The more exposure a distributor has, the better for the designer who is now able to get products into the hands of more customers. Also, the core competency of many young brands is designing and marketing of their products. However, cash flow comes from the quantity of sales - driven by sales strategies. A core competency of many stockist retailers.
The Challenge
As a fast growing brand, it was important that Flaws used their momentum to become TOM among customers by being where the customers are. They were selling their products through e-commerce and social media channels but lacked the extensive opportunities that a brick and mortar store bought. A recent survey showed that 61% of consumers in thee region shopped in-store, compared to only 31% who turn to the internet. One of the largest drivers for in-store shopping was the ability for customers to receive the product immediately. Another major benefit for brands that operate brick-and-mortar stores is the way in which consumers spend their money while shopping. 40% of shoppers spend more than they had planned to while shopping in stores, while only 25% of shoppers do so when shopping online. In addition, the process of finding and selling to retail customers can get expensive. The costs of advertising and maintaining retail locations can become prohibitive for designers.
Our Approach
Our first step was to Identify the client’s objectives for finding stockist, after which we set out a collaborative model and strategic procedure for finding retail partners.
The objectives of retail partners had to align with the cultural, ethical and financial objectives of our client. This was important to maintain the identity and vision set out by the brand. To also ensure that the intellectual property of the brand was secure, we connected the business with legal partners who helped them understand the importance of protecting their assets through copywriting, trademarking and trade secrets. Viewed as one of the most pressing issues of economic and national security facing our country, intellectual property theft, particularly counterfeiting, has been characterized as a tremendous and ever-increasing global threat. A recent report by the Commission on the Theft of Intellectual Property showed that the annual cost to certain economies exceeded $225 billion in counterfeit goods and theft of trade secrets.
Once equipped with the right protection and partners, Flaws was able to negotiate. Here their protected IPs were a selling point, as it reflected their commitment to delivering unique value to the customer.
Our Impact
Flaws has been able to take advantage of stockist opportunities, and have done so whilst protecting their unique identity and brand. The business has experienced year on year revenue growth and have become one of the dominant brands in the region. Positioned to attract attention from partners who now look to do business with them.
