Fashion beyond fashion: brands team up with other sectors amidst sales deceleration

From music to salads. Fashion has always been about garments, but talking about numbers, companies are always looking new ways of conquering the consumer. But, what to do in a world where every time is harder to be surprised? How to fight sales deceleration in the sector? Brands are diversifying their offer to provide not only fashion, but an entire experience. 

It’s not new that the fashion industry wants to provide different experience to the customers, but it has been mainly though collaborations in luxury brands. Armani, for example with its megastore in Via Manzoni 31, in Milan, where it has a cafeteria, a decoration division and even a bookstore.

Another of the big luxury brands in opening its offer to other sectors has been Hermès, mixing its classic aesthetic with one of the brands that represents innovation the most, Apple. Together they have launched several versions of Apple Watch, priced between 1,100 and 1,500 euros.

Big luxury brands have collaborated with other sectors to launch limited editions  

Gucci couldn’t stay behind, the Italian luxury brand did in 2011 a collaboration with Fiat to launch a limited edition of the classic car of the company, the Fiat 500, an icon of Italian culture. Dolce&Gabanna also created an alliance with Martini to launch its special bottle Martini Gold. 

But now new business models have started to diversify the offer, it’s not only luxury making collaborations, but also giants of fast fashion like Inditex or H&M are raising their offer to brands from other sectors. 

From the alliance of Bershka with the live streaming music platform Tidal, to the new store concept of Primark in which clients can get a haircut or drink a coffee. Brands are looking to be different for its clients, to generate a 360 degrees’ experience, where they don’t only find garments in its stores but also an entire concept. 

Fast fashion and low cost are diversifying their offer to products from other sectors 

H&M, for example offers in its flagship in Barcelona the option of going shopping and at the same time, in the same place, to have salad in the restaurant Flax and Kale. Inditex is other of the giants to diversify its offer. First with Bershka and then with Zara Home, where it has widen its offer with small furniture and electro domestics. 

However, some of the brands have this business model from the beginning, for example, Urban Outfiters, that has always focused its offer in a variety of products so the client stays as long as possible in its stores. 

Brands are looking for a way of staying on float.  Even if this means to diversify its offer and generate a new one for the consumer, especially in times where new business models are entering the markets, like secondhand, subscription sales and rental.