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Brooks Brothers is a brand that has lasted two hundred and two years and faltered long before the corona virus hit could end. The pandemic gave the brand its final push over the Chapter 11 line. The main reason for Brooks Brothers' death is a common reason the brand lost relevance. It lost contact with customers, their changing needs and tastes.

The Financial Times says: “When it comes to taste and style, Brooks Brothers went against the grain. His formal old school approach has been well received by mature and more traditional populations, but has become increasingly out of balance with a new generation of consumers. "

Bloomberg agreed, citing a retail analyst who said, "Brooks Brothers has long suffered from failure to adapt to changing trends." Although Brooks Brothers tried to attract younger customers and open cafes in certain stores, "nothing changed in that the focus was on formal attire."

Brooks Brothers' current owner, Claudio Del Vecchio, believes the famous brand is ready to look to the future with a new owner. Every new owner must follow a plan to revitalize the brand business. The new management must face the fact that customers today want branded companies to deliver experiences that optimize conflicting needs.

This means maximizing the origins of the formal with the contemporary casual to create a relaxed formality like "worthy comfort". Brooks Brothers has to make its core, its formality, relevant in a more casual world without losing its authority in classic men's fashion.

They tried casual clothing by entering casual clothing with the Golden Fleece wardrobe. Competitive brands, however, had a more casual street reputation, an avant-garde clothing line designed by Thom Browne, Black Fleece, that stalled after initial acceptance. By creating fashion lines that focused on casual, youthful clothing, Brooks Brothers gave up its core essence of dignified authority in formal clothing. Instead of ignoring their core, brands have to make their core relevant. Don't give up a strong legacy. build on.

Make paradoxical promises

Brands are complex, multidimensional ideas. Consumers don't want to compromise. You don't want to give up one aspect of the desired brand experience to get another desired aspect. By taking contradictory requirements into account, brand companies can develop product or service solutions that turn opposing wishes into motivating, paradoxical promises.

Paradox promises are brand experiences that respond to desired but conflicting needs by offering the benefits of a compromise. Promising and keeping paradoxical promises leads to high-quality sales growth. The strongest brands promise and deliver the best of both when they respond to conflicting customer needs. Successful brands don't admit. People want brands that optimize and don't compromise.

Robert Armstrong writes an opinion piece on men's fashion for the Financial Times and notes that "the decline of suits" is greatly exaggerated. Admittedly, this Op Ed comes from the country of James Bond. Mr. Armstrong's argument is that comfort is now a driving force in clothing. “We feel good when we're dressed properly. Suits are comfortable – they are designed that way. "

And in another FT-style article, Alexander Fury takes a similar view when weighing the benefits of sportswear: “Sometimes I feel most comfortable knowing that I can see the part, rather than stretching freely in all directions can. But maybe I'm an exception to the rule – and maybe it will be suits in the future. “Coco Chanel believed that" luxury has to be comfortable or is not a luxury. " In the case of Brooks Brothers, traditional formal dressing can be convenient and they have to do it that way.

Restoring Brooks Brothers' brand relevance

These comments underline the desire for timelessness and timeliness, both formal tailoring and comfort: worthy comfort. Worthy comfort is more than the design of clothing. So the clothes also fit into your own lifestyle. Brooks Brothers is one of the few clothing brands that can successfully optimize the best of formality and leisure.

They have a tremendous chance of survival and resuscitation by focusing on a paradoxical promise like worthy comfort. Worthy stands for worthy and impressive; it means that the clothing helps the wearer to project an image of self-confidence and as someone who deserves respect. Comfort conveys a feeling of well-being, lightness and freedom. Comfort gives warmth and humanity to dignity, while dignity gives comfort with respect, excitement and serious inspiration.

A separate brand that is casual but not at the core of Brooks Brothers will not meet the conflicting needs that prospects seem to want. Brooks Brothers must implement a paradoxical promise strategy that modernizes their core to survive in the post-pandemic work-from-home environment.

Contribution to Branding Strategy Insider by: Larry Light, CEO of Arcature

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