Brand Consistency: “Akris Clothing Marketing as the Tortoise” a Marketing Case Study

Posted on | September 16, 2009 | 2 Comments

Images from style.com

Akris clothing has experienced success, which has been a tribute to their brand consistency. This marketing case study will show you how you can incorporate similar brand consistency into your own WAHM business marketing plan.

Akris clothing was founded in 1922 as a Swiss family-owned clothing design business. In 1944, the company saw significant growth, producing clothing of high quality and of casual style. The high cost, high quality cloth that is used by this brand demands a high retail price on the finished product.

Today, the Akris brand is still a family-owned business. Customers can find Akris clothing in the stores Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and independent Akris boutiques.

How did the Akris brand remain a family-business and become so successful?

Brand consistency. The family remained true to their brand by offering Akris clothing that was classic, timeless and of high quality.  In addition, the family refrained from branching out to other products such as handbags and perfumes, as other high-end retail designers have done.

Akris clothing attracts the majority of the market, by providing casual clothing that everyday customers can wear. “I try to make Akris sporty, modern and easy to wear. You can see it in the quilting, the materials, the dark shades that can be worn by everyone.” Albert Kriemler said in an interview with Cat Lincoln from StyleList.com posted on May 3, 2009.

Akris does very little advertising. Word-of-mouth and selling directly to store personnel through truck shows was the basis of most of their success.

“It’s pure luxury and it’s understated. The fit is consistent and the look is clean,” enthuses Peter Marx, president of Saks Jandel, which has had an in-store Akris boutique for about five years. “We love Akris. We love the family. We love the clothes.” (Source: Fashion Sense by Robin Givhan, The Washington Post)
Akris clothing is a great example to learn from on how to build and expand a family-owned, WAHM business.

How can you incorporate their example into your WAHM business?

• Stay true to your brand with brand consistency.
• Be different from other companies in your market.
• Find what your customers want and deliver it to them without straying from that focus.
• Do not be intimated into straying from your brand’s essense because others in your market are.
• Build and grow your business slowly, avoiding debt that may bankrupt your company.
• Word of mouth marketing is cheap, effective and can help you grow at a rate that you can maintain.
• Do not go in debt for advertising.

Additional Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akris

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