A Creative Analysis: Comparative Study of Brooks Brothers’ Past, Present, and Future Marketing
A Thesis Presented to the Department of Communication Arts College of Arts and Sciences and The Honors Program of University of West Florida
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation as an Honors Scholar
Sabrina Nicole Trice April 9, 2014
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Sabrina McLaughlin, for her guidance, comments, and encouragement in crafting my thesis paper and campaigns book. Her mentorship has taught me many valuable lessons, allowed me a real world experience, and advanced my interest in pursuing a career in marketing and/or advertising. Mrs. McLaughlin will continue to be a role model for me throughout my career, and her advice will always be with the highest regards.
A lifetime of thanks are due to my parents, Mrs. Pamela S. and Mr. George F. Trice, Jr. My parents have always asked for my best, and I will continue striving towards excellence for them. They have given me not only the financial support to complete my education, but their time and most preciously their love.
To my family and friends who have shown support during my college career, thank you. Without each encounter and experience shared with you my thesis would not have been as successful.
And, to Alexandria Hillman, UWF graphic design student, who helped bring my marketing concepts and ideas to fruition in the beautifully designed campaigns book, thank you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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ABSTRACT
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Brooks Brothers History
1
The Beginnings
1
The Turmoil
2
The Present
3
The Future
5
Brooks Brothers Analysis
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Business Model
7
Brand Positioning
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The Last 195 Years
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Fifty Years Into the Future
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Works Cited
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Works Consulted
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Appendix A: E-mail Questionnaire with Brooks Brothers
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Appendix B: Brooks Brothers: A Brief Marketing Analysis
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ABSTRACT This thesis will present a historical comparison of the Brooks Brothers company from 1818 to 2014 including the history of the company’s style, ownership, and marketing. Connections among ownership styles, business models, and customer needs will be made to determine the success and failure factors of Brooks Brothers over its 195 year history. A brief marketing analysis, included as Appendix B, is the basis for the proposed future strategies set in 2064 for Brooks Brothers. The information ascertained during research and the analysis reached provide the necessary information to produce a campaigns book for Brooks Brothers for the years 2064-2066. The campaigns book is a marketing plan document developed by the marketing team or creative agency for the purpose of pitching creative work to a client. The Brooks Brothers campaigns book consists of the research conducted on the target audiences, geography, seasonality, and purchase cycle for the company; determined creative requirements; goals, objectives, and strategies for the campaign; evaluation methods; creative pieces; and, budget. The conceptualized campaigns book would theoretically be used during a pitch presented to Brooks Brothers to sell my creative recommendations to strengthen Brooks Brothers’ competitive position. Normally, campaigns are pitched to be executed relatively recently; however, the approach taken has been to imagine the lifestyles and necessary points of differentiation for Brooks Brothers as if the year were 2064.
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Trice 1 Brooks Brothers History The Beginnings Brooks Brothers, originally H. & D. H. Brooks & Co., opened its doors on April 7, 1818 in New York City. Henry Sands Brooks’ hope was “To make and deal only in merchandise of the best quality, to sell it at a fair profit only, and to deal only with people who seek and are capable of appreciating such merchandise” (Cooke 16). Henry’s four sons were involved with the business: Edward Sands Brooks, Elisha Brooks, Daniel H. Brooks, and John Brooks. The eldoest son took charge upon Mr. Brooks’ passing and remained in control until 1850 when the younger brothers assumed leadership and changed the company name to what it remains as today, Brooks Brothers. (Cooke 20). Brooks Brothers has and always will be a family company. At the end of the nineteenth century, four of Henry Brooks’ grandsons entered the business; grandson Frederick Brooks was appointed vice-president in 1903. Non-relatives of Mr. Brooks have also been in leadership positions within the company. Most of whom, such as Francis Lloyd, worked their way up through the company and had been proud members of the Brooks Brothers team for over fifty years. In 1850 Brooks Brothers adopted the Golden Fleece logo. The symbol of the Lamb of God suspended by a ribbon has a long tradition as the sign of fine European woolen trade. Brooks Brothers wanted to identify the company with “quality and integrity as well as” (Cooke 10) “associate their shop with the European sartorial tradition” (“Brooks Brothers”). One hundred and ninety-five years later, the Brooks Brothers’ logo remains unchangingly the Lamb of God suspended on a ribbon.
Trice 2 The Turmoil The 1980s and 1990s were a dark time for Brooks Brothers. During the span of twenty years, “Brooks found itself . . . enmeshed in a turbulent world in which multiple changes of ownership and increasingly ruthless and mutable market forces would ultimately cause Brooks to question who it was and why it should exist” (Cooke 114). Brooks lost its identity. In 1981, new ownership, Allied Stores Corporation, changed Brooks’ business model from “makers and merchants” to “profitability and placement” (Cooke 116). Before Allied, Brooks had always been slow and precise when it opened new stores. Brooks was careful to set up stores temporarily to test the waters in a new area. If a store did well, then Brooks would develop its grander-style store permanently. However when Allied took control, the company opened stores in numerous locations and in any available retail space. Expansion accelerated. Brooks Brothers even became international with stores in Japan. Robert Campeau bought out the Allied Stores Corporation in the mid 1980s. For a few years, Campeau managed from a distance. Then in 1988, Marks & Spencer bought Brooks Brothers. While Marks & Spencer had a better grasp of retail merchandising, the parent company had no experience with high-end clothing and primarily dealt with women’s wear. A clash emerged. A high-turnover, low-margin parent corporation had acquired a low-turnover, high-margin company; and, Marks & Spencer was determined to conform Brooks Brothers to match its own business model. “Marks & Spencer’s first move was a massive 1989 program focused on market and customer diversification” (Cooke 122). The flagship store got a facelift. Sportswear grew to “40 percent of the store’s total offerings” (Cooke 122). Marks & Spencer was trying to make Brooks Brothers more relevant to the younger generation. This strategy
Trice 3 might have worked had the parent company decided not to completely ignore the established, loyal older-generation in favor of the new customer. As the new decade of the 1990s began, casual dress codes were implemented in the workplace. Brooks Brothers began offering more casual attire and emphasized its sportswear line even more. Competing in sportswear is tough because it is such a large market. Marks & Spencer made Brooks re-identify itself while trying to play catch-up in a well-established arena (Cooke 124). The 1990s also meant new store operations for Brooks Brothers. While historically Brooks had built “destination stores” for its customers since 1818, Brooks opened mall stores in the 1970s, and outlet stores and smaller stores within its regular-price chain in the early 1990s. Marks & Spencer also pushed aggressive expansion overseas operating with sixty-two stores in Japan by 1997 and opening the first Brooks Brothers store in Hong Kong in 1998. “By the mid-Nineties, the three pillars upon which Brooks had built it reputation-quality, variety and customer service-were all starting to suffer” (Cooke 131). Brooks Brothers, under a new CEO, began a brand repositioning targeted on trendier styles in sportswear and tailored clothing. Moving further away from its core identity, “the less [Brooks Brothers] looked and felt like itself” (Cooke 134). The Present After sinking lower than Brooks Brothers had in over 180 years, Brooks Brothers was bought by a company willing to invest the time needed to understand its core values and take the company back to the level of quality it deserved. Retail Brand Alliance Inc. (RBA) purchased Brooks Brothers in late 2001. RBA’s Chief Operating Officer Mark Shulman stated, “It’s going
Trice 4 to take us some time to sit down and evaluate the business with current management and listen to what their current strategy is” (Kehaulani Goo 2001). RBA’s chief executive and president is Claudio Del Vecchio. Del Vecchio “says he is committed to marketing Brooks Brothers as a global brand that will remain true to its sack-suit traditions in Italy” (Agins and Galloni 2003) and has opened up the Italian market for Brooks Brothers as of 2001. Del Vecchio, a Brooks Brothers customer, saw similarities between Brooks and his father’s company, Luxottica. But, Del Vecchio knew that the Brooks he had purchased was not the same as the Brooks he shopped as a young gentleman. He was determined to revitalize Brooks. “His first step in revitalizing the company emulated his approach to earlier acquisitions: He did a lot of listening . . . He listened to customers and turned to longtime Brooks employees” (Cooke 146). Del Vecchio learned that Brooks had lost its core identity and needed to regain itself; he began restructuring the company along the same path as when John C. Wood was in charge. The old Brooks culture began to resurface. Quality also became a strong focus of the company again. Del Vecchio strived for “a higher quality product, [and] also a return to the suppliers’ traditional role as partners in the creative and design process” (Cooke 148). As a result of Del Veccio’s commitment to quality and suppliers, new types of threads and fabrics of higher quality than previously imagined were created. Value was created from entry-level clothing lines to Brooks’s highest-end lines by partnering with the finest producers of fabrics and manufacturers from around the globe. Since Del Vecchio took ownership of the company, Brooks Brothers is slowly, but surely reverting to its core identity focused on quality, variety, and customer service: “Over the previous decade, Brooks’ range of offerings had flattened and homogenized. Under a new senior team, Brooks’ strategy would return to the coherent, three-tiered merchandising model under
Trice 5 which Brooks had operated for generations: an entry level, an abundant mid-range selection, and [a] top end” (Cooke 150). Brooks Brothers still has a long struggle in the next few decades to reestablish itself as a “maker and merchant” of quality to customers. Brooks will have to build on its “heritage, longstanding values and a coherent identity” (Cooke 159). Next, Brooks will have to recommit to quality merchandising. Brooks will have, most importantly, to build upon its “reliable values and standards” with a new perspective and concern for twenty-first century technology and business. Finally, Brooks will have to become focused on the customer who understands Brooks’ value. The Future Fifty years from today technology will be second nature for kindergartners to ninety-nine year-olds. Google Glass is currently making leaps towards achieving a mass market consumer product. Recently, Google Glass teamed up with Luxottica the parent company of Oakley, Versace, and Ray-Ban to provide users more stylish designs of its technology (Moon, n. pag.). Luxottica happens to be Leonardo Del Vecchio’s company. Leonardo is father to Claudio Del Vecchio who remains, currently, a non-executive director for Luxottica and CEO, Chairman, and President of Brooks Brothers Group, Inc. Naturally, Brooks Brothers will buy into Google Glass technology through personal and business connections. Brooks Brothers could use Google Glass technology as a marketing tactic. Imagine a Google Glass wearer looking at something across the room at a restaurant when a man walks into his or her vision. Suddenly, a screen appears on Google Glass that notifies the wearer that the suit the man is wearing is Brooks Brothers, specifically the Madison Fit Brown Plaid with Blue
Trice 6 and Gold Deco Suit. The wearer is impressed with the quality and style of the suit the man is wearing and wants more information. Following commands, Google Glass then brings the wearer to the exact Brooks Brothers’ webpage where he or she can purchase the suit. Eventually, Google Glass technology will become advanced enough that the wearer could ask Google Glass to virtually try on the suit and a hologram Madison Fit Brown Plaid with Blue and Gold Deco Suit will be projected over the wearer’s actual clothing. Thus, allowing the wearer to try on a Brooks suit without having to be in a Brooks’ store. Now, new technology might, and most likely will, cannibalize physical stores’ sales. As technology advances to this level, Brooks will have to adapt its business model and adjust based on customers’ purchasing behaviors being majorly click-and-mortar or brick-and-mortar. Another technology innovation that is getting off the ground in 2014 is 3D printing. Early adopters have begun using mini-3D printers at home with the technology to print predesigned objects, custom tablet-based designs, and duplicated scanned physical objects (Ulanoff, n. pag.). Brooks Brothers can integrate 3D printing into its web-store. Customers could go online to order a Brooks Brothers “Johnnie Walker Bow Tie,” “Swirling Tulips Silk Square,” or “Argyle Socks.” Eventually customers could order a “Fitzgerald Fit Navy with Blue and White Bead Stripe Suite” when costs for larger 3D printers become more reasonable for personal use. The technology will exist, also, to allow customers the online option to custom-build a tie, scarf, or suit; purchase the item; and use a 3D printer to make the attire right in his or her own house. Imagine a loyal, female Brooks customer getting ready for a workday. She puts on her “Sleeveless Shift Dress” in black and decides she wants a splash of color: purple. However, all of her scarfs are blue. She could go online to the Brooks store, choose or build a purple scarf,
Trice 7 and print the scarf at home while she finishes getting ready for work. Now she has the perfect outfit for the day thanks to Brooks Brothers. To be successful in 2064, Brooks will have to abide by its set of standards in which Brooks is an innovator. Brooks will have to maintain its achieved high-standard of merchandise and customer service quality while integrating with twenty-first century business trends towards avant-garde technology. There is no rule or prediction that states a company cannot maintain high-quality customer relations without interpersonal interaction. Leveraging new technology in order to provide better customer service and not distract from personal relationships will be the distinct competitive advantage for Brooks Brothers. Brooks Brothers Analysis Business Model A company survives over two centuries by establishing a sense of self, brand identity, and principles by which to live. Brooks Brothers embraced a set of standards within the first decade of success. By the end of the first century, Brooks Brothers had held itself to the highest of standards and guaranteed its customers the company would do so for another one hundred years. “First, the company articulated a philosophy of dress and defined its desired customer” (Cooke 33). Brooks Brothers was not only for the affluent, but also for those who aspired to the elite status. Brooks’ customers “value natural materials, simple design and comfortable fit over everything else” (Suplee 27). Brooks Brothers was conservative fashion, not stodgy, but slowly and carefully responsive to trends and fads in pop-culture. “Even when Brooks does take advantage of a trend, they do it in a way that vouches safe the look they had before” (Suplee 28). Brooks Brothers also learned that its success was credited to the company being “‘makers and
Trice 8 merchants’ of an exclusive line of clothing . . . Third, they were innovators . . . Fourth, the company understood that their success depended upon building and maintaining strong, lasting relationships . . . And finally, their success depended on loyal employees with a deep understanding of Brooks’ products and culture” (Cooke 34). Fundamentally, customers’ physiological need for clothing has not changed since 1818. Styles may change, but the necessity of clothing in general has not. Brooks Brothers’ business model, established in 1818, has completely met customers’ needs without having to be restructured. When Brooks was publicly owned, the business model changed to provide customers with stylish, fad-following attire, and Brooks’ identity and success disappeared. The Brooks business model, “maker and seller of clothing which offered great value for its money,” (Cooke 135) has been proven successful when brand positioning and marketing strategies align with the Brooks mission. Therefore, the business model will be effective in the future, even fifty years from now in 2064; however, the future success of Brooks will depend on aligning its marketing strategy with its business model. Brand Positioning According to Al Ries and Jack Trout, “To be successful today, you must touch base with reality. And the only reality that counts is what’s already in the prospect’s mind” (5). Brands that are first into the customers’ minds get “twice the long-term market share” of the second brand and four times as long as the third brand (Ries and Trout 43). Brooks Brothers was the first ready-to-wear clothing ‘maker and merchant’ in America and has positioned itself as a leader in the fashion retail industry. As a leader, enhancing the “product category in the prospect’s mind” by advertising value is more beneficial than reminding consumers that the
Trice 9 company is “number one” (Ries and Trout 46). “The essential ingredient,” according to Ries and Trout, “in keeping that [leadership] position is reinforcing the original concept” (47). Brooks Brothers set standards for itself early in its lifecycle: having a “philosophy of dress” that fit the affluent and affluent-aspiring customers’ lifestyles, being ‘makers and merchants’ of the highestquality apparel, being innovators, building lasting relationships, and depending on devoted employees. A large majority of Brooks’ advertising and public relations since 1818 have been focused on the quality of the fabrics used in its clothing and the valuable relationships the company has with its suppliers and buyers. As Brooks moves into the future, the company must be careful not to lose its strategic position. A threat to Brooks’ brand image is the present merging of identity between retail stores and discount outlet stores. Advertising promotions for outlet stores in 2014 too closely resemble the identity of Brooks’ full-price retail stores. Customers are easily confused into thinking that Brooks is becoming the next Jos. A. Bank or Men’s Warehouse when Brooks’ advertising is calling attention to “buy one get one free” sales instead of promoting the quality of the Brooks fabrics or craftsmanship and highlighting the prestigious price-points for a Brooks suit. Focus should be placed on the retail stores’ promotions, emphasizing quality clothing, relationships, and history of Brooks Brothers. The Last 195 Years A leader should “adopt every new product development as soon as it shows signs of promise” (Ries and Trout 47). Brooks Brothers has a tendency to be a cautiously slow adapter. The strategy to slowly adapt to clothing styles has been a competitive strength for Brooks Brothers. Brooks has not been a victim of fads’ spiking profits and quick declines because the
Trice 10 company does not vary from its core identity as a conservative innovator. Brooks will adapt subtly and “when Brooks does change, they do it knowing that they are speaking for the whole conservative tradition” (Suplee 27). However when adapting to technology innovations, Brooks has been too slow and is at a disadvantage. Brooks must not only implement current technology to improve cost-efficiency in operations, but the company must also be forward thinking in how to offensively use new technology to build competitive strategic advantages to defend against competitors. Fifty Years Into the Future After the turmoil of the 1980s and 1990s, Brooks lacked a “comprehensive long-term strategy” and could not “portray a coherent picture of what Brooks was and where it was going. Traditional customers became increasingly confused and disappointed, and new ones remained uninspired” (Cooke 140). Presently in 2014, Del Vecchio is working to correct the issues facing Brooks’ identity by re-establishing high standards of quality. For Brooks Brothers to be a success fifty years from now in 2064 Brooks should establish three goals: 1.
restore customers’ perceptions of Brooks’ dedication to quality and relationships,
2. improve reach of customer base through introduction of the brand to the younger generation, 3. and, maintain relationships with existing, loyal Brooks’ customers. Establishing a long-term competitive marketing strategy will allow Brooks to work towards clearly defined objectives, evaluate its success along the way, and make necessary adjustments based on evaluations and changing market conditions.
Trice 11 Works Cited Agins, T. & Galloni, A. “Brooks Brothers’ Italian Job.” The Wall Street Journal Online. The Wall Street Journal, 23 June 2003. Web. 14 January 2014. “Brooks Brothers Heritage & History.” Brooks Brothers. Brooks Brothers, Inc., n.d. Web. 12 January 2014. Cooke, John William. Generations of Style: It’s All About the Clothing. New York: Brooks Brothers, Inc, 2003. Print. Kehulani Goo, Sara. “Marks & Spencer Agrees to Sell Brooks Brothers.” The Washington Post 24 November 2001: E01. Web. 14 January 2014. Moon, Brad. “Will Google Glass Explode on the Luxottica ‘Cool’ Factor?” InvestorPlace. InvestorPlace Media, 31 March 2014. Web. 31 March 2014. Suplee, Curt. “Hung Up on Brooks Brothers.” The Washington Post Magazine 20 November 1977: 26-29. Web. 14 January 2014. Ries, Al, and Jack Trout. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print. Ulanoff, Lance. “MakerBot Accepting Pre-Orders for Its Mini 3D Printer.” Mashable. Mashable, Inc., 27 February 2014. Web. 31 March 2014.
Trice 12 Works Consulted Avery, Jim. Advertising Campaign Planning: Developing an Advertising-Based Marketing Plan. 4th ed. Chicago: The Copy Workshop, 2010. Print. Griffith, Meghan. “RE: Honors Thesis.” Message to author. 14 March 2014. E-mail. Hesse, Monica. “What Price, Formality?; Event Flummoxes Tux Newbies.” The Washington Post 17 January 2009; C01. Web. 11 March 2014. Pearson Custom Business Resources. Marketing Strategy: University of West Florida. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013. Print. Smith, Ray. “The Next Wave of Menswear Hertiage-Brand Reboots.” The Wall Street Journal 31 January 2014: n. pag. Web. 10 February 2014. Smith, Ray & Agins, Teri. “Brooks Brothers Tries Hip Line: Will It Suit?” The Wall Street Journal 17 July 2007: n. pag. Web. 24 March 2014. Ravindranath, Mohana. “Retailers hire a navigator for oceans of customer data.” The Washington Post 23 September 2013: A10. Web. 11 March 2014. Vaynerchuk, Gary. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. Print.
Trice 13 Appendix A E-mail Questionnaire with Brooks Brothers Correspondence received from Meghan Griffith, Brooks Brothers Archive Department on Friday, March 14, 2014. Q: What are Brooks Brothers best geographic markets and what media tactics are most successful in those areas? In North America, the Northeast is our strongest market, followed by the South. With regards to media tactics, our marketing efforts are predominantly focused on direct communication, such as mail, email, and social media. Q: What has been the media strategies and tactics implemented nationally over the past 5 years? The company has not implemented a new set of media tactics within the past 5 years expect for increasing the amount of digital marketing. Q: What generic marketing strategy does Brooks Brothers identify with most? (Market penetration, market development, etc.) Our main marketing strategy is focused on customer relationships. We want to build and extend one-on-one relationships with our customers. Q: Is there a seasonality for purchasing Brooks classics, such as the number one sack suit? Is there a life cycle for a Brooks suit (How long does a customer wear a single suit? When is a suit replaced?) There is a different seasonality for different items, some of which is based on classification, fabrications and what we drive through our promotional calendar. For example, fragrances tend to peak during the Christmas holiday season, cashmere is sold in the winter, and linen is sold in the summer. Also, historically, we have done ³wardrobe² sales in spring and fall, which tend to boost sales for our tailored clothing business. Q: Where is Brooks in the industry life cycle? As an almost 200-year old brand, it¹s hard to claim anything except maturity. Q: What is Brooks¹s strategic objective for the next decade? We are not a liberty to discuss. Q: What would be a good variable to use on a perceptual map for Brooks and competitors (including Jos A. Bank, Men¹s Warehouse, and J. Crew)? There are two possible ways that you can classify. The first is looking at Price (Y) vs. Quality/ Service (X) and the second is Price (Y) vs. Fashion (X). The fashion variable ranges from classic to contemporary. As far as competitors, Jos A. Bank and J. Crew are only a competitor for a portion of our customers and there is no data to suggest that Men¹s Warehouse is a competitor. We also compete with brands, such as Ralph Lauren, and department stores like Nordstrom.
Trice 14 Appendix A Continued E-mail Questionnaire with Brooks Brothers Q: What does Brooks consider its points of parity or key success factors and its points of differentiation or competitive advantages? Our mission statement, written in 1818 by our founder, established our principles, which still form the basis for our strategic differentiation to this day. We focus on Quality, Value, and Inclusive-Exclusivity. These have formed the basis for our focus on service and relationships.
Trice 15 Appendix B Brooks Brothers: A Brief Marketing Analysis
Trice 16 Appendix B Continued Brooks Brothers: A Brief Marketing Analysis
Trice 17 Appendix B Continued Brooks Brothers: A Brief Marketing Analysis