The Decline of Brooks Brothers. What Happened? 10 Marketing Tips
Founded in 1818, Brooks Brothers has dressed generations and generations of American men, being the oldest U.S. clothing brand in continuous operations as discussed over at runrex.com and guttulus.com. However, the menswear retailer has recently signed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, joining a growing list of retail companies that have been tipped over the edge by the coronavirus pandemic. And that is exactly what happened, they were tipped over the edge, which means that they were in trouble even before COVID-19. This article will look to highlight 10 reasons that led to their decline, with the hope we can learn marketing tips that will help us avoid their fate.
Casual workplaces are on the rise
As the gurus over at runrex.com will tell you, there has been a new trend sweeping American workplaces in recent years, and that is casual clothing at work. While there was a time when men had to wear a suit to work, that is changing as most workplaces are embracing a casual look, and as such, as discussed over at guttulus.com, men now wear suits less frequently, which means they buy new ones less frequently than before. This has contributed to a decline in sales as far as Brooks Brothers is concerned, leading to the company’s decline.
Cheaper alternatives
Even for those people who are inclined to buy suits, the fact is that there are cheaper alternatives out there, which is yet another reason behind the decline of Brooks Brothers. As covered over at runrex.com, new entrants to the market like the Dutch retailer Suitsupply entered the market about a decade or so ago, offering suits at a much cheaper price than those offered at Brooks Brothers, and as such a huge chunk of their customer base migrated to these cheaper alternatives, also leading to their decline.
Lack of variety
As is revealed in discussions on the same over at guttulus.com, Brooks Brothers is not all about suits, as tailored clothes only make up about 20% of their sales. The problem with the company’s casual clothes is that they are also oriented towards use at work. This means that people are unlikely to shop at a Brooks Brothers if they are looking for casual clothing to wear when not at work. This lack of variety and diversity is another factor that has led to their decline and eventual filing of bankruptcy.
Competition in the non-tailored clothing market
While Brooks Brothers has faced increased competition from cheaper brands in the tailored clothing market, the company’s name has helped it remain competitive at least. However, this has not been the case in the non-tailored market where the company has been faced with a much wider set of competitors and has not had the benefit of leaning onto the strength of its brand given that it is mostly known for suits. As per the subject matter experts over at runrex.com, this has been another reason that has led to their decline.
Underperforming stores
Another factor that can be attributed to its decline and eventual filing of bankruptcy is the company’s many underperforming stores. Not only are these stores not performing as well as the company would want them to, but the stores are also locked into long-term leases, as discussed over at guttulus.com. This has meant that the company has been hamstrung by rent and high costs of operations as far as these stores are concerned, which has also contributed to their decline.
They are highly reliant on outlets
Most of Brooks Brothers stores are located in outlet malls, which have been on the wane in recent times as more and more shoppers chase better deals online as discussed over at runrex.com. This is yet another reason behind their decline since as outlet malls have grown less and less popular, their stores have been faced with dwindling store foot traffic which has not been good for sales. Sales have been declining for years now due to their overreliance on mall outlets, which is another factor that has led to their decline.
Changing consumer tastes
Brooks Brothers’ suits had also begun to be viewed by most shoppers as being old-fashioned and past it, which is another thing that led to their decline. Changing consumer tastes meant that they were looking for modern suits, with a modern style, and Brooks Brothers just couldn’t provide that. As discussed over at guttulus.com, even the tweaks they made to their iconic designs were very questionable, which put off prospective new customers while alienating those customers that were once loyal to them.
Too many stores
The company also tried to offset the impact caused by its many underperforming stores by adding more stores, ironically, with the hope that these new stores will do well enough to cancel out the damage caused by their underperforming ones. However, as is discussed over at runrex.com, many of these new stores failed to meet sales goals, leaving them with too many stores, increasing the amount of rent they had to pay, as well as operations costs, which also led to their decline. Some of their new stores were also too close to existing ones, which ended up splitting their customer base, leading to a situation where their stores were cannibalizing each other.
Constant design changes
Brooks Brothers has also increasingly moved away from what made it so popular, choosing instead to chase trend after trend in a bid to remain relevant. As is covered over at guttulus.com, they have made change after change as far as their design goes, and these constant changes have damaged its most valuable asset: it’s status as a heritage brand. This has meant that their loyal customers, who valued their history, tradition, and American manufacturing have left. A lot of these changes have also backfired and the company has been unable to capture new customers as well.
A backlash against things associated with the 1%
There has also been a backlash against things associated with the 1%, particularly among young people, which is another thing that has hurt Brooks Brothers. For many young people, the Brooks Brothers style represents a very conservative view of the world and is something that just doesn’t speak to them or their values. It also represents exclusivity, which is something many young people have been rebelling against, as discussed over at runrex.com.
The above are some of the factors that can be attributed to the decline of Brooks Brothers, with more on this and other related topics to be found over at runrex.com and guttulus.com.