Bleach Pty Ltd, owner of Australian surf and skate, and apparel brands Insight, Ksubi and Something Else, has revealed details of a new strategy on trial with one of its labels.
The company has confirmed its label Insight is currently in the first stages of a change in production cycle, as it looks to boost its brand power and increase its presence globally.
The strategic move by the brand, will see it split its spring range into two separate collections going forward.
The first collection, Spring One, will drop in the southern hemisphere from July/August from now on, followed by Spring Two around August/September.
According to global chief marketing officer Skye McRae, the new strategy – officially introduced into the market this spring 2012 – will ensure that Insight remains “as close to market as possible”.
“We are constantly developing new and exciting product programs which hit the store floor as the trend is unfolding in the marketplace. In doing this, we have experienced a strong increase in sales, and best of all, a stronger sell-through rate,” McRae said.
“With the rise of the internet and our consumers being so trend savvy, we also felt that this strategy would allow us to be more relevant and provide our target market with better options for their ever growing, ever insatiable fashion needs.”
In addition, McRae said the new strategy will also allow Insight to add more differentiation into its ranges, and trial a smaller, more focused way of designing and selling to increase market relevancy.
“As this is the first year we have changed our seasonal drop strategy it is still rather early on to measure this however what we are seeing from this change is that retailers are more open to spending large budgets with brands who provide ranges which are closer to market and more relevant for their customers,” she said.
“The market is changing and therefore brands need to change their mindset and old ways too – we always want to ensure that we are at the forefront of this and not following what everyone else is doing.”
Although the split strategy will only apply to Insight at this stage, McRae would not rule out the possibility that it could eventually extend to Insight's sister brands.
“At this stage, we only see this strategy relevant to Insight, however, are always open minded when it comes to changing our business model to suit the needs and requirements of an ever changing, ever developing marketplace,” she said.
Commenting on future plans for the brand, McRae said this latest development for Insight is part of a larger push to increase global awareness, with plans to launch other initiatives shortly.
For more on what Insight has in store, pick up a copy of the Ragtrader October edition, out September 27.