Tough Times: A Look Into the Current State of Streetwear
Chris Gibbs – Union
What is your current strategy to keep busy and continue surviving given the current economic conditions?
We have streamlined our orders and lowered our overhead some.
How have sales worked out for you, how important and necessary of a retail tool is it? What sort of effect will these massive sales throughout retail affect the consumer when things pick-up again?
Sales are a great tool and we have used them well. This fall we offered many different promotions in order to get customers in the stores and they were quite successful. One has to be careful that we don’t get the customer too accustomed to sales, because if we do the customer might only shop when things are on sale. Although sales help and we like to offer them to our customers, if we were only able to sell our product at a discount. We would shortly go out of business.
Have you been more keen on certain types of advertisement or more willing to open up if you traditionally didn’t advertise?
The traditional advertising has never been a good outlet for us because we are not a traditional store. We have been more creative with our marketing as of late and it has definitely paid off.
What sort of lasting effect will the current situation have on your business/direction down the road?
I feel like it will make us better. When times were better, people would buy just about anything. Now that most people don’t have the same amount of discretionary income, they are more focused in their shopping which has forced us to become more focused in our buying.
What sort of positives can you draw from this economic downturn if anything?
Out industry has become a little stagnant and it kind of needed a shake up. Crisis by definition means a turning point. We are at a turning point in our
industry. The cream rises to the top and we’d like to think that at this turning point the cream will rise again. In a sense, we have gone back to what made us successful in the first place. Quality over quantity.
In the current economic landscape, what sort of styles do you feel are an easier sell, has buying become a little more commercial?
Quite the opposite. My buying has become less commercial. What has helped us survive these times has been our special product. Something you can’t get anywhere else. The brands and businesses that are struggling all have the same product.
How do you approach risk-taking in this environment?
For the most part we still take risks. We have to, that is our business, always on the cutting edge of fashion. We just don’t order the same numbers that we have been ordering in the past. That keeps us special.
With many people stressing that through hard-times emerges new creativity and opportunity, how true is this?
Extremely true. These times force people to rely on their creativity and not their bank account.
For small start-up brands, do you have any suggestions given both saturation and economic factors breathing down their neck?
For the most part, a lot of brands that are struggling now, came into this game when times were a little easier than usual. We are now getting back to normal. Nothing is easy. Do what you feel in your heart and play it out to the fullest. Some will be successful, and some not but at least you know, win or lose…your ideas are being properly represented. Make sure all facets of your business make sense (distribution, production and marketing). A lot of guys are making a product and marketing it to the wrong guy or selling at the wrong store. This might work for the short terms but in the long run it confuses the customer.
