About Bonobos is a clothing company focused on delivering great fit, high energy, and superb customer experience. Founder Brian Spaly, after becoming increasingly frustrated trying to find pants that fit him well, borrowed a sewing machine from a girlfriend and began work creating a solution. Encouraged by the positive reaction of friends to the pants, Spaly decided to pursue the project as a business opportunity. Andy Dunn, a classmate of Spaly's at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business joined Spaly as the company's CEO, and the company was relocated to Manhattan in New York City, where it is headquartered today. Dunn, who had previously worked with retailer Land’s End before enrolling in business school, knew that men defaulted to jeans when unhappy with other pant options. He also knew that they were looking for energy: a pop of color or an eccentric print to differentiate style. With this in mind, Spaly sewed some bright-colored pants similar to what they had bought in Colombia and started selling them out of the trunk of his car for $95 a pair. After six weeks, they had sold nearly $40,000 worth of product. This made it obvious that this partnership’s ideas could work as a business. Launched in 2007 on the Internet with its signature line of better-fitting men’s pants, Bonobos is now the largest apparel brand ever built on the web in the United States. In 2011 Bonobos extended offline, launching Bonobos Guideshops, an e-commerce showroom that delivers personalized, one-to-one service to those wanting to experience the brand in person. In 2012, Bonobos expanded its distribution partnering with Nordstrom, bringing Bonobos apparel into select doors nationwide and to Nordstrom.com. Across channels, Bonobos is focused on delivering a well-targeted brand promise: world-class fit, an innovative shopping experience and an energetic brand spirit. Bonobos was named “One of America’s Hottest Brands” by Advertising Age, “Best Men’s Pants” by New York Magazine, one of Inc. Magazine’s “20 Awesome Facebook Pages” and was awarded “Best Places to Work” by both Crain’s New York and Outside Magazine. Industry Founded Headquarters Key people Products Website
Men's apparel Palo Alto, California, U.S. 2007 New York, USA Brian Spaly - Founder/Creative Director, Andy Dunn - CEO/Founder Pants, shorts, swimwear, shirts, tops, suits, outerwear, accessories www.bonobos.com
Brian Spaly
Andy Dunn
Products Pants: Washed Chinos - 33 Non-Iron - 5 Dress Pants - 36 Limited Edition - 4 Golf Pants - 9 Premium Denim - 16 Travel Jeans - 20 Stretch Cotton - 8 Game Day Chinos - 2 Corduroy - 16 Shoes: Dress - 24 Boots - 34 Boat - 7 Casual - 25 Stormy Skies - 18
Shirts: Casual Button Downs - 45 Oxfords - 18 Wrinkle Free - 12 Dress Shirts - 7 Swim: 9.5” Board Shorts - 3 5” Swim Trunks - 2 Shorts: 9” Washed Chinos - 4 7” Gameday - 4 Novelty - 2 Sweaters: Cotton - 22 Wool - 11 Outerwear - 31
Golf: Golf Pants - 9 Golf Shorts - 2 Golf Shirts - 16 Golf Sweaters - 2
Suits & Blazers: Wool Suiting - 6 Cotton Suiting - 1 Blazers - 1 Black Tie - 1
Accessories: Belts - 66 Bags - 57 Socks - 30 Hats - 2 Wallets - 17 Sunglasses - 4 Underwear - 5 Umbrellas - 3 Ties & Pocket Squares - 32 Everything Else - 5
Tees, Knits & Polos: Sweatshirts - 7 Splendid Mills - 23 Tees & Knits - 19 Polos - 13
Lifestyle Looking at the style of clothing Bonobos produce, I assumed their main customer base would be men from the age of about 25 to 30+. I then went on to their Facebook fan page and found that they have fans in their late teens to mid twenties. The majority of their fans are around 30 to 55 but I guess because of their simple styles and vast range of colours, younger consumers are attracted to the brand for essential peices. Men who buy Bonobos tend to take a lot of pride in their appearence, wanting the best of the best.
Staff I came across an interview on Racked.com, with the founders and staff of Bonobos. This gave me insight to the Bonobos company ethos and each staff member’s individual style. Andy Dunn, Co-Founder and CEO: I like to wear color and to dress differently day-to-day. In general I'm skeptical of anything trendy. Three style icons I admire are JFK, Paul Smith, and Andre3000. Style advice: Every outfit should have one unexpected thing, one conversation starter, one beachhead for a casual compliment, one thing that says you care. When in doubt, wear a blazer. Surprise and delight with ties and bow-ties. If you don't think you can pull off a hat, you can't. Shoes are important. Socks all the time are not. Business casual is out. Clean white pocket squares are a default. These rules should be dismissed immediately if you have strong point of view about your own style.
Richard Mumby, Vice President of Marketing - Style advice: Guys should feel comfortable in their clothes, without looking sloppy. Well-fitting pants and shirts don't need to be constricting. You can look great without seeming like you're on the way to the gym.
Tim Mccarthy, Visual Designer - Style advice: If you're going to spend your hard earned money on clothes, do it right the first time. Only buy things that fit you, look good on you and won’t fall apart after a year. Quality over quantity is golden. You're not in control of a lot of things in life, but you can choose what you wear every morning. Derek Lasher, Ninja Chief to Staff - Style advice: Keep an eye out for items that will wear in over time--not wear out. As soon as you actually do wear anything out, treat that as justification to spoil yourself with the best version of its replacement you can afford. I try not to buy anything that I can't picture myself still wearing ten years down the road.
David Fudge, Head of Social Marketing - Style advice: I'm a big believer that it's all in the fit. My advice is to find a great tailor. Then take all those oversized, ill-fitting shirts and pants, and tell him/her that you want to look a lot less like George Costanza and a lot more like George Clooney...or you could just buy clothes that fit from Bonobos.
Advertising
Displays
Competitors Here I have listed three of Bonobos’s main competitors, each of these companies sell a lot of their products online and also offer a custom made clothing, this gives them an edge against Bonobos. Clifton Charles Clifton Charles is an e-commerce company focused on the men's apparel industry. Clifton Charles aims to use the company's algorithm and 3-D technology to guide men to the right fitting custom-made shirt. Founded Location Sector Industry Website
2008 New York Internet Apparel and accessorise / eCommerce www.cliftoncharles.com
Hudson Jeans This company creates custom made jeans. Their mission is to “lead and inspire a better today for a better tomorrow through the Hudson Way of Life” Founded Location Sector Industry Website
2002 Los Angeles Consumer Products & Services Clothing & Accessories www.hudsonjeans.com
J. Hilburn A men's online customer clothing company that offers exclusive shirt and trouser fabrics reserved for the likes of Purple Label, luxury performance knits, and a top-shelf accessories line that marries the best in handmade designs and European quality. Founded Location Sector Industry Website
2007 Dallas Consumer Products & Services Clothing & Accessories www.jhilburn.com
GENERAL BONOBOS MOOD BOARD
Mood Board Luxury lifestyle, Perfection, Wealth.
GENERAL BONOBOS THEME BOARD
WINDOW CONCEPT 1 This concept was based around the idea of
INSPIRATIONAL IMAGES
Unwrapping Perfection. Bubble wrap, boxes and cellophane. The arrival of the new store would be reflected in the window display. Showing mannequins coming out of boxes and ready to be unwrapped would show passers by that the store is brand new and gives the impression that the products have been looked after and are in good condition. I also adorned the boxes with quotes from famous poets, artisit and politicians - the kind of people the general “Bonobos man” would be interested in. These quotes include; “Real luxury is understanding quality, and having the time to enjoy it.” G. Bruce Boyer and ”A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” Oscar Wilde
IMAGE EDITING
Jade Storey
BA Visual Merchandising and Promotional Design Spatial Awareness PAVE Student Design Competition Entry - VM Category