One problem looming on the horizon is that Ralph Lauren may not be happy with figures that do not compliment the Ralph Lauren look wearing a Ralph Lauren anything call it exclusivity.
There are two conflicting trends here — product personalization is a huge trend that I believe is only going to grow as technology improves and costs come down for one-off production. I think it was for 4th grade photos. I suspect in certain circles these will be a status symbol.
This is a no-brainer, and it has worked beautifully for Nike. Assuming made-to-order shirts work, imagine the possibilities for other Ralph Lauren products. Custom made jeans. Do I think the time is now? I have to believe there are some guard rails in place to avoid the wrong kind of distinction. Customization of branded product is different than designing your own screened t-shirt. While personalization initiatives are scattered across the CPG spectrum, personalization-at-scale remains the Holy Grail.
Through personalization initiatives, consumers are not only sharing their preferences directly with CPG companies, but they are also putting skin in the game by purchasing the product. In the effort to be unique and authentic, Ralph Lauren and other mass merchandising retailers should embrace the personalization operating model and capitalize on this emerging segment. A mass customization model is a win-win for both the consumers and for the DTC retail brands.
The customer controls the journey and decides the level of customizations they would like. This is somewhat reminiscent of the DTC movement, where Bonobos, Indochino, and others established a mass customization model.
By taking a page out of the DTC strategy playbook, Ralph Lauren could certainly drive a new business model, and resonate with a customer who wants to drive their own experiences. There is always a demand for logo wear in corporate settings and it looks like RL is testing whether it will work for regular consumers.
But an associate turned her away: sorry, they only had navy with a yellow pony logo that season. She left empty handed. Made-to-Order Polo makes it possible for customers to design a polo almost completely from scratch. Ralph Lauren sets customers up with six bases, 24 colors, 10 different shades of logos in either standard or super size , and the ability to embroider text on both cuffs. He promises there is much more on the horizon. Gucci enables customers to design bags.
Rather than knitting material into bolts of cloth and then cutting pieces for clothes out of that yardage, Ralph Lauren created new machines that can knit the raw thread based on the size needed for each piece. That means no excess scrap from the cutting process is created. The last year saw fashion brands including Rebecca Minkoff and Telfar embrace on-demand, made-to-order and pre-order as new business models.
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