M&S’s Polo
Some 30 years ago, BDALondon was working with M&S to help develop products that they could no longer make in their supply chain in the UK. At the time, 99% of goods sold in M&S were made in the UK, but they were under price stress from competitors sourcing from the East.
Quality and styles had been compromised to hit commercial price points. We landed in Hong Kong (still a British colony) with lots of product ideas around 1990.
One of the M&S buyers (or selectors, as they were called) for the leisurewear department (known as T28) was thrilled to have discovered the factory that made the polo shirt for Ralph Lauren, which was the gold standard at the time for quality, style, and fit.
M&S developed a very similar polo with the said factory and realized they could hit a retail selling price of circa £5*, compared to RL's £25*.
*These price points are what I remember, so don’t quote me, but it gives you an accurate relativity.
(Please, anyone in my network, help with more accurate price pointing.)
The assumption was this superior quality, fit, and style would offer the M&S customer such great value that sales would grow exponentially.
However, what wasn’t factored in was the old dark arts of marketing!
As you’ve probably guessed, there was no significant change in sales.
The same guys came into the same store and bought the same amount of polos that they’ve always needed.
From both brands.
The strength of the M&S brand was so strong that customer loyalty drove a perception that M&S quality was always superior to anyone else’s.
The strength of Ralph Lauren doesn’t need explaining.
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Design Supervisor at Alpha Fashion Group
2moAmazing guys! Well done 🌷looks great x