Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The business of variety and what we call 'classics'

The t-shirt (brand is RIG) I'm in right now, I bought two colors in the same design and fabric from Pantaloons some 4 or 5 years back. One of the two colors faded early and I discarded that. But this one that I have right now just has stayed good. And I wear this tee more often than any other tee in my wardrobe.

On my visit to Pantaloons post that purchase of t-shirts, I don't recall having seen the same t-shirt again. Considering how good it has turned out, I am surprised. I wouldn't mind buying more pieces of the design yet again.

In fact, one of my cousins also bought two colors in the same design. He happened to discard the same color that I did. The other color he still wears fairly often.

And I've see this tee worn by quite a few others as well on different occasions.

A pair of Red Tape shoes I bought again some 4 years back and still feels so good, I find that design on the shelves even now when I visit the shops which sell Red Tape shoes. And every time I've visited these shops during discount sale season, I've not found this particular design on sale.

At our shop, Mississippi Earrings, there are certain designs which thrill the visitors (and therefore sell) more often than most other designs. In spite of our efforts to introduce other newer more beautiful designs, they continue to sell.

Mind you, for these instances - tee, shoes, earrings - I've not mentioned the prices. These designs have worked irrespective of the prices.

Slightly tangential, but in our other business run under the name of K.K. Stones, where we sell natural stone for flooring and wall cladding, Kota Stone and Black Granite continue to sell more than any other stone or color.

In the business of fashion, it's easy to get overwhelmed by variety. For the seller, it's the urge to offer variety. For the consumer, it's the urge to seek and experiment with variety. And yet, what works are the kind of specific designs like I've mentioned above.

We call them classics. Timeless.

I can see that Red Tape's observing its classics, wonder if Pantaloons is doing the same. It's important to keep these alive.

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