Rat and Boa is an online boutique fashion brand that’s influenced by the designer’s favorite music, films, destinations and decades. The First thing you notice about the brand is the love of the west coast and they have that care free bohemian style. Rat and Boa describes their style as Eclectic, Mischievous, Sexy, Experimental and mish mash. Rat and Boa was founded by Valentine Muntoni and Stephanie Cara Bennet who are based in the UK. The niche brand has been around for 3 years but has gained a lot of popularity with celebrities and their loyal customers which made them increase their stock due to them selling out fast.
The name Rat and Boa is from a quote by Stevie Nicks “We are about as compatible as a Rat and Boa constrictor”. They felt it represented two of their different personalities because Valentine will describe herself as the ratty one because of her punky grungy style whereas Steph is the boa because of her bohemian style.
I first discovered the brand through Instagram when a blogger posted a image promoting their clothing. The brand is very care free and love the vibe you get from the brand. Photography is their strongest selling point because they always telling a story.
The reason why Rat and Boa has become successful in a short period of time is their individual striking style and the way they do their campaigns. Lookbooks are a key essential to their brand because the images tell a story and makes you understand the idea behind the collection more. The collections are done depending on the adventure they recently had and they take inspiration from everywhere, everything and everyone. The images show of the west coast of America, the glamour of the 70’s, and the blistering heat of the Colorado desert and the surroundings of deserts.
Rat and boa is very clear with their Image and how they want to represent themselves. Their websites clear states who their clothes are for “Rat & Boa is for the bold, the spirited and the experimental; it provides statement items to express yourself, from the inside out. With a strong focus on styling and imagery, every picture tells their story. A testimony to their friendship, Rat & Boa is a meeting of minds, a lifestyle and a labour of love.”
The brand is ethical and cares about the impact fashion has on the environment. All the products and garments are mad in the UK and most of their pieces are handmade. The brand tries not to waste fabric and you do see that in their pieces like the crop tops.
Photography being their strongest point the brand is self efficient and they are conscious with how they spend their money. The two designers use each other as models and take their own images. Some of their images get people talking because there’s nudity involved and it seems like they are using sex to market and sell their garments.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Weaknesses
-Unique style of clothing and you can see the originality of their designs -Their photography is one of their strongest points you see their vision and it tells a story -Some of their garments are hand made -Every garment tells a story and they always releasing exclusive collections
-Lack of advertisement -The brand seems to rely a lot on bloggers to promote their garments -Prices of the garments are high for some of their simple garments -Only available online -Can’t find more information about them anywhere
Opportunities
Threats
-There’s an opportunity for the brand to expand because of their unique style -Collaborations are possible with other well known brand -No rival or similar brands that do the same thing -Create an ad to attract more customers
-Social media site shutting down meaning no access for potential buyers and existing customers -Products being too expensive meaning lack of sales -Their relationship with the consumers
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Social media is a big part of their marketing strategy especially Instagram. On Instagram they post pictures that are inspiring them in that present t moment. The look book they do is always representing the brand and they also collaborate with bloggers where they send them a few of their garments and they promote it to their followers. I think this is a good and cheap way of getting people to see you woke because the people that will be interested in their product are the ones that will look them up. In addition, I first heard about the through a blogger promoting the garments and l was really interested because I had never seen prints like that and liked the vibe the clothes where giving me. Rat and Boa does lose out a lot when it comes to their marketing strategy because they playing it safe with the way they advertise they clothing line. A lot of people have never heard or seen the brand in a magazine because they have only stuck t social media as their source of advertisement. Furthermore, their prices ranged from £35 for a top up to £200 but this is understandable as some of their pieces are hand made.
Through the SWOT analysis Rat and Boa strengths work well for them because they decided to target a specific market. Their garments are not everyone’s taste but that’s why them becoming the only brand that’s creating boho chic clothing only available online becomes a cool find for other potential customers During my research from the brand l wanted to have a better understanding on how a small company that hasn’t been here very long becomes popular in a short amount of time. Rat and Boa have clearly shown how you don’t need to invest in big advertisements to get your work recognized. With start up business it can take 2 to 5 years for the business to start generating income that that will stay in the bank but most of the brands that have managed to stay running is because of big loans they have taken out or other people investing in their business. Rat and Boa starting of as a small business because the garments they are creating are not available on the high street market. Because they are creating garments with a unique style they are taking risks doing so. There’s room to expand and start selling their garment on the high street but at the same time l feel like the garments will loose their uniqueness and become an ordinary thing.
OTHER COMPETITORS
One of the designers Valentina Muntoni has been using herself to market their clothing line. The designer is a model for the brand and created a blog (https://www.instagram.com/valentina_ muntoni/?hl=en ) that follows her life adventures. Showcasing her life adventures is a way to inspire to be free but at the sometime shows where she gets most of her inspirations. The designer’s carefree lifestyle reflects in her designs and always stays true to what the brand is representing. Furthermore, it shows social media is the only thing the brand is strong at taking advantage of social as it’s the easiest way to interact with consumers. In terms of a competitors it was hard to find a brand that does a similar style to Rat and Boa but there’s a online boutique called Gypsyoutfitters. The American brand does providing shipping worldwide and offers fashion advises to the customers. On the website the brand explains what they are all about which is “their love for all things free spirited. Not only do they do just clothes they have pieces of upcycled jewelry, home décor for a bohemian style. The choice of colors is different from Rat and Boa and l feel like the brand is more toned down. The website is professional and they have a selection of different sizes which is important as different people have different shapes.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Weakness
-More products from the site -Different sizes for everyone’s body shape -Clear vision with their customer and consumer base -They are also active on social media -Professional website -Strong Design Philosophy
-They are not strong with their designs -The lack of marketing as the brand is not well known -Too much going on their website and social media pages -The location of the company
Opportunities
Threats
-There’s opportunity for the brand to expand if they focus on few of their products on their site -Opportunity to collaborate with major high street brands -Reduce the costs -Taking advantage of new trends
- Their designs becoming the same as high street brands - Consumer and customers losing interest - Strong competition - Change in fashion trends -Some designs are repetitive
Comparing Gypsyoutfitters to Rat and Boa the styles are different. I feel like Rat and Boa designs are more personal and they are close to their customers where as Gypsyoutfitters is more toned down with their colors but they providing
more on their websites. This shows there’s a market for both brands on the high street market and online. Both brands can learn from each other because l feel they both have something the other one doesn’t have. They are both very specific on the customers they are targeting but Rat and Boa lacks in stock on their website where as gyspyoutfitters has too much going on their website.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion lm impressed with how Rat and Boa have taken the advantage of social media to push their business forward. It just shows how they are being creative by using the resources that are available to them and easy to access. Staying true tot heir style and creating individual pieces that have a meaning is the reason why the company is doing well but at the same time its also because they are involving other customer when promoting their pieces. Another thing I’m a fan off is their photography. I just felt like the images take you in and make you feel like you were apart of the experience. Their photographs are all over Instagram and Tumblr and that makes people want to know about the brand and what its about. Rat and Boa has room to expand and become bigger than they are right now if they do collaborations with other brands online and the High street. To increase their sales, they need to market their work by doing interviews or even sending some of their pieces to magazines so they can have featured. You can understand why they rely on just social media to market their work which is to save money but if the business is going to grow they need to be more active. What l can take from this to help with my global sourcing group is learning to be more creative and imaginative by using what’s around you. As l have the responsibility for doing the social media in my group I have learnt how it can benefit the company for the best but at the same time you need to have other options open. Having a small budget to start a business is hard but can be done if you have contacts that can help you withought spending money is a bonus and cuts down the costs. What l took from Gypsyoutfitters is the important not to narrow down to just one market. They are expanding the brand by introducing more products which will attract more customers. The brand started off focusing on just fashion but because they were doing specific products for a different audience it has given them that room to add more and take risks.