Supermarket giant Tesco are taking advantage of the growing online retail market and have just launched a new clothing website in an attempt to increase their profits yet again. 

Their website actually looks pretty decent – there’s a good mix of Tesco own labels including the up-and-coming Florence & Fred Couture, and they have also managed to sign up some strong brands like Mischa Barton, Licorish and Storm.

Tesco doesn’t hold back from bragging about he fact that it’s also recently managed to bag the prestigious title of London Fashion Week’s official sponsor. 

But will the fashionistas really abandon their beloved Topshop and ASOS to go surfing at Tesco instead? The retail analysts say yes – apparently ASOS is set to lose out big-time as Tesco takes over. 

I have to say I’m sceptical – yes I know that fashion fans are a fickle bunch, but those who worship at the altar of the usuals are unlikely to kick off their shoe-boots and go running for their supermarkets instead.

However, that said, I don’t doubt that a fair few will still be logging on to check for bargains – remember the sell-out Chloe style dress a few years back that had us all tearing round our local Tesco in a frenzy?  It’s good to know that if that ever happens again at least we can buy it at our desks.

Visit www.clothingattesco.com

Swapping Topshop for Tesco? by Nicola Paul

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By Antony Hawman

Week 2 at My-Wardrobe.com and the general feeling is – LOVE IT!

It’s so great to be part of the new marketing initiative and for my role in particular, it’s open to so many avenues that there is never a dull moment.

It’s been so exciting searching out brands that fit the My-Wardrobe.com ethos and creating exciting projects for them to partner with us on.

Currently I’m busy getting around to meeting press and brands to work out their objectives to see what synergy we have together, using many of our vehicles – the shopping site itself, MY-TV, Style Feed, Blog and the amazing Style Guide.

It was great timing with London Fashion Week, as I got to see so many faces and tell them about the new job at My Wardrobe. Killed so many birds with one stone.

So watch out everyone – a partner proposal will be winging its way to you very soon.

By Antony Hawman, Brand Partnerships Manager, My Wardrobe

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By Linda Roberts

Here at London College of Fashion we’ve seen an increase in the number of entrepreneurs who are planning to start, or have started their own label, and are keen to start selling online.

They see e-tail as an extremely cost effective route to market.

It allows newly established labels to reach a much larger audience more quickly, and it also enables them to demonstrate the vision or ethos of their brand which might otherwise get lost amongst other labels in a store. 

To cater for this growth in the market, we’ve created a unique one-day seminar which will offer delegates the opportunity to understand the benefits of e-tail and learn how to take their brands online.

There will be keynote speakers and online fashion experts, including Leon Bailey-Green and Claire Muir of Amethyst Group, who will offer an insight into what to expect when using the internet to sell or market fashion.

Visit www.fashion.arts.ac.uk for more information.

By Linda Roberts, Senior Business Manager at London College of Fashion

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As we’re less than 10% of the fashion retail market it’s going to take a while before online only retailers become household names.

You don’t need me to tell you the ones that are almost there, but Adili was a brand that certainly had the potential.

The ethical clothing retailer is now called Ascension; named after the brand it acquired earlier this year.

Apparently part of the reason was to avoid confusion with grocery store Aldi (gaining more attention in the recession).

Ascension reminds me of Accenture, the management consulting company.

It’s an unusual name for a clothing brand and will take some getting used to.

Online stores need easy to spell names – could this be a costly mistake for Adili/Ascension or is it better to have done it before gaining more brand awareness?

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Emap’s Commercial Brand Manager Antony Hawman will soon be taking up the role of Brand Partnerships Manager at online fashion retailer My-Wardrobe.com.

Antony was the creative head behind the very first Drapers Etail Awards earlier this year, and Retail Week’s 21st birthday party at Liberty.

He’s struck up a series of partnerships for Emap’s B2B publishing brands, including affiliating Drapers with the Fashion Business Club.

At My-Wardrobe.com, Antony, who featured alongside Lauretta Roberts in Online Fashion 100, will be responsible for creating tie-ups to develop increased brand awareness and drive traffic to the online designer retailer.

Antony is a great coup for My-Wardrobe.com and focusing its marketing strategy on partnerships is a canny decision as many brands which are complimentary will be seeking cost-effective ways to market themselves.

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Recently there has been an explosion in non-fashion brands using fashion for marketing.

Electricals led the way as mobile phones, laptops and even Sky HD boxes were given fashion designer makeovers.

Now, make way for food and drink brands to become more fashionable than ever.

With more and more fashion magazines and blogs readily available, there are pages to be filled, and sometimes with non-fashion but fashionable items.

Sip Water, a new natural flavoured water drink, is already getting attention from magazines such as Elle and Grazia.

It is sampled at top fashion events across the country, including the recent launch party for theOutnet.com.

All documented on the brand’s blog Gos-Sip (see what they did there?)

Speaking of Sip making an appearance at theOutnet launch, Genna Meredith, the company’s Brand & Marketing Manager said “We here at Sip are huge shopping fans so being at the launch of theoutnet.com was seriously exciting! The two brands fit together so well”.

Go Sip

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Going by the original five step brand lifecycle, published by Seth Godin, the five step online fashion brand lifecycle should look like this (using ASOS as an example)…

1. Buying clothes online? Really?
2. I want to try ASOS out
3. Are there any other websites like ASOS?
4. Bring on the newer version of ASOS
5. What’s ASOS?

But it will probably be more like...

1. Buying clothes online? Really?
2. I want to try ASOS out
3. Are there any other websites like ASOS?
4. Wow, I’ve got so many online stores, including ASOS, to buy from
5. Can I browse items from the online stores I like in one place?

and if there was a sixth step...
6. What’s a High Street store?*

* I know, unlikely.

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What’s really best for brands that want reach, Network Buys or Influencer Engagement? Click to read my article on NMK

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Last week I went to the On | Off catwalk show which is sponsored by online fashion store Oli.co.uk.

Me with Kate Lapthron

Celebrities on the front row included former model Jodie Kidd, actress Jamie Winstone, All Saint Melanie Blatt, DJ Jodie Harsh and Sugababe Heidi Range.

Enjoying the show: Melanie Blatt, Jamie Winstone and the Lennox sisters

I recently wrote about the importance of online retailers sponsoring events like this as the brand association with cutting edge fashion will, albeit indirectly, have an impact on conversion rates.

Jodie Kidd has a range at Oli.co.uk

The fashion store’s association with On | Off has seen it become talk of fashion blogs which is excellent for brand building and positioning.

What’s important is that Oli encourages blogs and online fashion magazines to link to their website, as this will help with their search engine visibility.

Last season’s show, attended by Peaches Geldof, attracted a write up and link on Glamcanyon.

Online features: Glamcanyon and Wonderland

More recently the On|Off show was featured on Wonderland Magazine but without a link to the store.

Oli could ask Wonderland to add a link to the post – it’s a process known in the online marketing community as ‘link reworking’.

Link reworking is asking for a link on a blog or article to a brand that is already mentioned in the piece but not linked to.

I hope next season the brand engages with more bloggers who have the ability to directly affect their search engine visibility.

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Online fashion store Oli.co.uk is the sponsor of the On|Off Presents catwalk show at London Fashion Week.

It’s a canny relationship for the relatively new name in online fashion and ensures they are seen as young, stylish and fashion forward.

Because online marketing is so measurable retailers tend to put their effort into driving traffic through areas such as search and email marketing, where they can easily calculate the acquisition cost.

All at the expense of building up trust which sees that traffic through to conversion.

Sponsorship is seen as a nice to have because it is PR, and PR is often difficult to quantify.

It’s important for retailers to remember that as well as getting people to the website and getting the product right, they need to have the trust of the consumer in order to convert them.

Sponsorship of high profile events is just one way to do it, and Oli does it well.

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Mischief PR worked its magic for an excellent online campaign for feelunique.com.

The online beauty store got talked about after offering to pay people 10p per wink (details here) for displaying feelunique.com on their eyelid.

News of the offer (which has now closed) even spread to The Huffington Post, which was last year named as one of the most powerful blogs by The Guardian.

My friend Philip Levine often uses his head as a canvas for creative messages.

Here are some rather impressive and impactful brand images he has created with his body painter Kat Sinclair.

Philip models Mercedes, Durex, Apple, Chanel and The Hospital Club.

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Leon, the Restaurant
Leon, the X Factor winner
Leon, the Film
Leon, the Car
Leon, the Japanese fashion magazine
Leon, the Online Marketing Consultant

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A couple of weeks ago at the launch night for RAW at London nightclub Jalouse (in support of Cancer Research UK), I saw an example of an established profession using the internet to generate revenue.

On arrival at the private members club, frequented by celebs including Sienna Miller, Ronan Keating and Leonardo DiCaprio, attendees were photographed red carpet style by Pictures Inc, and given the option to purchase the print outs on site; just like when you get off the Log Flume at Alton Towers.

But if you didn’t want to run the risk of losing your print out on the way home, you could always log on to the Pictures Inc website the next morning and purchase the photo online as an A4 print out or get it made into a key ring.

The internet means photographers can generate revenue after an event.

Paul Martin from Pictures Inc says the practice is a double edge sword, whilst many partygoers like to see their photo online, only a few go on to purchase.

I think Paul is correct, but quite possibly polite in his observation. I would go as far as saying it’s simply modern day narcissism in action.

The kind of narcissism that would lend itself to sending to friends, posting on Facebook, or embedding into a blog (who would do that?).

This ‘self gratifying viral’ behaviour can be used to the advantage of sponsors whose branding appears behind most photos (in this case The Fashion Crowd and Jalouse) – it’s like making a celebrity out of every individual. Perhaps this is the way to fund event photography, in addition to merchandise?

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According to consultancy firm Intangible Business the value of Bernard Matthews has dropped £20m in the past year.

Unsurprising news after the Jamie Oliver led Turkey Twizzler bashings and the uncontrollable Avian Flu disaster.

But when a brand is down, the only way is down even further or up, up and up.

Bernard Matthews has chosen the up path, with a new name in tow, adding Farms to the brand name to become Bernard Matthews Farms.

£3m spent on TV, press and outdoor advertising should get the new name out there.

But what happens when such a campaign is successful? What if the ads are so intriguing people want more info? What happens when you reach out to people willing to learn more about the brand?

They Google you.

A couple of headlines a googler (is that a new word?) would see…

“Bernard Matthews worker caught playing football with turkeys “

“The H5N1 bird flu outbreak at Bernard Matthews Holton Suffolk 2007”

Methinks Bernard Matthews, sorry Bernard Matthews Farms, could do with spending some of the £3m budget on online PR to encourage some good news articles to spread the web, and subsequently rank in Google.

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When I asked TechCrunch UK & Ireland’s Mike Butcher about start-up names, he made a very good point that most English language domain names have gone.

This has led to a flurry of dot coms with alternative – or misspelt – names.

Digg
Alternative for: Dig

Reevoo
Alternative for: Review

Vimeo
Alternative for: Video

Flickr
Alternative for: Flicker

Mixx
Alternative for: Mix

Can you think of any others?

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