Analysis of Abuze (current brand)

Background:

· Launched in 2001.

· Concept – fascination for graffiti and street art.

· Contemporary urban clothing.

· Discerning/good judgement global consumer.

· Owner and creative director, Aleks = part of infamous London graffiti crew, ‘Vandals for Life’.

· They noticed gap in the market for relevant street wear.

· Abuze also collaborates with leading industry design partners and music artists.

Consumers:

The consumers’ for Abuze London are very particular. They hold a unique style and like to keep up with the latest trends. Mainly specializing in street wear, this also attracts consumers who may be interested in the underground music culture. The consumers like to take care in their appearance and may dress slightly differently to those who wear better-known brands such as Topman. By wearing the brand, their qualities will be different and may portray uniqueness and quality.

The consumers are a very particular audience and therefore will only attract a certain amount of people to the store. The clothes are also based on underground music culture and not everyone will enjoy this kind of music, which therefore again limits their audience.

Competitors:

· Sturban Clothing

· Supreme

· Dope Chef

· OBEY

(Higher Market)

· Superdry

· Polo Ralph Lauren

· Lacoste

· Nike

· Armani

By researching Abuze London online I have noticed that they are performing at a consistent pace, however feel they could broaden their target market much more and keep up with the following competitors.

They currently have one store based in Chiswick, however most of the popular products are sold online through Asos. This attracts a huge amount of consumers.

In order to raise their profile even more I feel that they should open more stores in the near future and attract more consumers to their website.

Promotional activity: (Figure 1,2 and 3)

They currently have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page; however, Instagram is the only source of promotional activity to be updated on a regular basis. Instagram is becoming used mire often by the public, which is a positive for Abuze.

Facebook and Twitter however are really poor and feel they could start to post more often, keeping consumers engaged and in touch with regular brand updates, news, events and new products and trends arriving. Without regular social media posts, I find people start to lose interest and may even result into taking their business elsewhere.

Products:

On the Abuze London website (http://www.abuzelondon.com/), there is a wide variety of stylish products for both men and women, ranging from Limited Edition t-shirts to headwear and sweat pants. These are available to purchase any time of the day. Asos is also where a select few of the products are sold, mainly being t-shirts which is what most people associate Abuze to produce. Most items are also sold in-store too.

The products are custom made and the use of ‘innovative product technologies’ enables the products to be produced to a high quality standard. The team are also finding new and improved materials to ensure their products are also made to the best of the quality.

There are a wide variety of products available to purchase through their online store, however, many consumers tend to purchase through Asos. Some may not be aware of the website and others may find the website very dated and plain. After looking at the website myself I found it to be very bland and nothing attracted me to look through the website.

Market level:

The market level for Abuze is mainly the male gender aged between 16-25, who has a particular style. Abuze is also known as a ‘Private Label’ because a retailer owns the brand, not a manufacturer. They have an exclusive store in Chiswick. Their core values are about creating a sense of “smart shopping” and as a premium store brand, they differentiate from the likes of River Island and Burton for their use of superior quality and sold at lower prices. They are a middle class market brand.

Although their clothing is extremely unique and of a high standard, it is targeted towards a very limited amount of men, therefore sales won’t be as high compared to the likes of Ralph Lauren or even Supreme, where the brands have more of a bigger target market.

Pricing: (Figure 4 and 5)

The pricing of the T-shirts are £30 each, fixed price. However on Asos, many of the t-shirts are reduced to £20 or less during an Asos sale. Other products from the Abuze website range from £145 for a coat to £20 for a Snapback (headwear). There is also a section for current deals that Abuze are offering which is great way to bring customers to the brand. For example, three t-shirts cost £60, saving you £30.

The pricing is suitable for the type of consumers it attracts and reflects the nature of the brand by being unique, therefore some of the items will be slightly more expensive than those products sold on the high street.

The pricing for the brand however, could be raised slightly if there were more consumers. I feel that the brand is unique and gives something fresh to menswear fashion and therefore could charge more if they were to attract more consumers of that style.

Location:

Abuze started off with a pop up store in Boxpark, Shoreditch. This was a great success and brought many to the brand, being new and fresh. They also have a flagship store where appointments can be made to go in and visit. The store opening times are from Monday-Friday, 9:30am to 6pm. Access to Abuze through Asos is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making it very accessible. They also have a store based in Melbourne.

The only downfall that Abuze have is that their stores and not located in central areas, therefore may put consumers off visiting the stores due to inconvenience. Relying on Asos could also cause problems such a technology difficulties and the range of products to purchase being slim to the ones in store. The store may also benefit from opening during the weekends when people aren’t working.

Service:

· Asos offers free delivery and returns.

· Suitable opening times during the week

· Suitable payment devices eg. Paypal

· Trusting returns policy

· Shipping and delivery available from website

· Deals on products are available

· Store isn’t open at weekends

· Events need to take place to promote brand

· Shipping takes up to 10 working days which may be too long for some to wait

· Website isn’t very interactive

Branding:

Figure 1: Abuze Facebook Page

Figure 2: Abuze Twitter Page

Figure 3: Abuze Instagram page

Figure 4: Abuze T-shirt available from their online store

Figure 5: T-shirt available from Asos