It’s fair to say, Covid-19 has rocked the planet and there is a huge amount of uncertainty circulating around existing business, many struggling to stay afloat as they manage their overheads and slowdown of sales.
With so much uncertainty, why would this be a great time to launch an activewear brand?
It’s important to think “Post Covid-19” and how the industry and consumer behavement may have changed “Pre Covid-19”. Consumers have been in lockdown for weeks/months with limited options on how and where to exercise. This alongside the slow down on consumer purchasing should result in an influx of exercise and consumer demand.
With many of the existing brands solely focussed on just that, “existing”, now could be the perfect time to capitalise on their inactivity with regard to design and development. Currently, they are focused on clearing seasonal stock while consumerism has dropped and have cancelled all future orders and developments.
Online advertising has also crashed with fewer brands investing in marketing so now could be the perfect time to get your head above the usual noise that fills the typical online marketing space.
If you are a budding entrepreneur who has dreams of starting their own brand and now have time on your hands due to Covid-19, the time couldn’t be better to lay the foundations and start the process.
Building a brand takes time and effort. It’s going to take a minimum of 8 months from the day you start to launch, and the landscape will be different by the time your brand actually launches. It’s important to remember that many of today’s largest companies launched during the financial collapse in 2008 (such as Uber) and focussed their offering on a gap in the market rather than on the current financial situation and postponed their launch.
It’s important to launch with a USP (Unique Selling Point) or answer a demand that you have identified. This could be a direct result of consumer demands post Covid-19 for antibacterial clothing or a most sustainable, eco-friendly sportswear line.
Covid-19 will surely affect the buying behaviour of today’s consumers. Some will rejoice in the fact they can go shopping again post lockdown and others will try to avoid crowds and shops and focus their buying more online. It’s therefore a great time to launch a brand with a great online offering but perhaps launch short term pop-up shops too.
Our factories in China are back to 100% capacity and some of the factories in EU are still sampling, although their bulk production is running on low capacity. With many established brands halting all new developments, it couldn’t be a better time to start the development of your own brand.
