The increase in internet use is currently
driving a continuous revolution in the global market, characterized in
particular by the rise of the niche market. In a broader sense, niche brands
are new brands which are not yet fully established in the market. However, in a
narrower sense, these brands are more likely to be defined as new design brands
which were founded by experienced designers who have previously worked for big
luxury brands or independent designers and have distinctive personalities.
Currently, unlike luxury or standardized mass brands, niche brands, as an
emerging force, have released huge commercial value within the business world.
Despite various differences, these brands
have a common characteristic: individuality. They are often inspired by a
specific problem that the founder has experienced and attempted to solve in an
innovative way. Generally known for being good storytellers, these brands
attempt to make their founders and designers cultural icons, or look for a
special public group whose emotions and typical needs they can understand.
Modern consumers are more interested in receiving first-hand information about a brand rather than the price. They focus on the brand's press releases, reports in fashion magazines, and the designer's style or even a change of designers. In comparison to expensive luxury goods and ordinary mass-market brands, niche brands are able to maintain their high quality while remaining more accessible to the public, which makes them a natural target for consumers who wish to find their true selves.
The market paradox for the development of niche brands
The essence of niche brand business is
making money. Niche branding is perhaps nothing more than a business strategy.
As it exists in the market, any brand will inevitably be governed by the
market’s laws and the transition to mass appeal. However, the paradox is that
this type of brand is founded based on niche culture, meaning that there is no
foundation for large-scale development. When a niche brand emerges, becomes a
phenomenal hit and starts exploring mass development, it will lose its original
core value and ultimately its followers.
So, what should niche brands do to welcome more customers?
So far, the key to success is to maintain a
niche look. Firstly, creating social identity is crucial for a niche brand as
this represents a deeper level of integration into a cultural group. For example,
wearing Supreme is not simply a matter of wardrobe, but also a desire to become
closer to skateboarding culture, or house music which is embraced by young
British people. Therefore, once a subculture group recognizes a brand, it
becomes an icon which people use to identify with their peers. In this case, a niche
brand going viral will not lose its existing consumers. Conversely, it
demonstrates that a “small” culture becomes more widely accepted.
Furthermore, it is important to establish
“authority” in order to protect the customer base. Notably, companies can
identify those who are super-loyal among their clients as brand ambassadors or connoisseurs.
Generally showing greater commitment to the brand, these people convey a positive
brand message to potential customers around them.
Finally, if the brand itself is behind the
times, launching a new product line to become closer to the target is a new
strategy which can be adopted. Also, when a brand's image is already too
established to be rebuilt, it is possible for it to consider acquisition. For
example, Anta Sports' acquisition of FILA successfully refreshed its image in
the minds of consumers.
People are no longer satisfied with buying a luxurious item or following popular trends. On the contrary, they become passionate about a brand with personality which matches their tastes. It is consumers' increasingly higher requirements that have caused today's market to be flooded with dazzling brands. Only those which create their own style will survive.
Jianwei. Y
Clifton, J. (2016), Why are so many people
obsessed with Supreme?
https://www.vice.com/en/article/5gq393/supreme-and-the-psychology-of-brand-devotion
Huddleston, T. (2019), How Supreme went
from a small NYC skateboard shop to a $2.1 billion global phenomenon
Labbrand, Anta acquires Fila to build
its brand
http://www.labbrand.com/brandsource/anta-acquires-fila-build-its-brand
Rivard, J. (2016), What is a niche brand
& will it work for you?
http://industrieonline.com/niche-brand-will-work/
SpellBrand Brand Identity Agency, How
important is branding for niche markets?
https://www.spellbrand.com/important-branding-niche-markets
Steenkamp, J. (2017), Niche brands: The
hottest trend in the market, and how to get the most out of them
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/niche-brands-hottest-trend-market-how-get-most-out-them-steenkamp/
Hi Jianwei! Thank you for this article that allowed me to learn a lot about this topic!
ReplyDeleteIf I have well understood, successful niche brands succeed in taking full advantage of a special opportunity rallying people from the same public group. Yet, how do they manage to provide high-quality products while remaining more accessible than mass-market brands? What kind of strategy do they use?
Hello, Marianne! Thanks for your interesting comment. It is evident that niche brands have their own strategy in the market. In terms of pertinence, as opposed to mass brands, niche brands have a smaller target group. As a result, it shows the characteristics of being more elite, targeted, humane, and focused on user experience.
DeleteFrom the perspective of production, niche brands pay more attention to creation, so as to spread the designer’s ideas. Their design pursues the absolute uniqueness which is highly recognizable and difficult to copy. On the contrary, public brands are likely to fight for investment and packaging but not the quality. As for their niche counterparts, the output is quite limited, especially 100% handmade brands, which makes them more focused on product quality.
What’s more, popular brands rely on large-scale media to penetrate consumption and have sufficient economies of scale. By contrast, niche brands invest very little in advertising but emphasize the essence of items to highlight their value, quality, and creativity to persuade consumers to return to the most essential but most valuable elements.
One more thing I want to add here is that, at present, the pursuit of individuality has become mainstream not only in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, but also in emerging Asian countries. Various surveys and market studies show that the younger generation are already more immune to mass brands while passionate about product quality and individualistic design. This consumption atmosphere makes niche brands more appealing in the market.