“The reason brands are doing it is to appeal to today’s consumer. The target audience, price and brand values are entirely different, but low-end and high-end brands are collaborating to appeal to people who want the best of both. James Wallman, editor at LS:N Global – the trends network of The Future Laboratory, who calls the new movement ‘lo-hi,’ says that it is becoming fashionable to mix up premium brands and more basic ones.
Meanwhile, high street retailer Topshop announced its partnership with the premium but conservative US department store Nordstrom, something which Forbes magazine calls a ‘retail odd couple’, but which stands to increase Topshop’s presence in the States while upping Nordstrom’s fashion credentials. Joint managing director Roman Heini says it is attracting more A and B demographic customers and in Germany it is making the most of this by partnering with more upmarket store Rewe and trading under the same roof. The likes of Aldi, for example, is doing well in tough times, using the line ‘like brands only cheaper,’ in its marketing.
The combinations of hotdogs with champagne, football and fine wine and Topshop and premium US store Nordstrom might seem unusual – but in an austere economic environment, a new strategy has emerged: that of mixing the high-end and the everyday to reach a wider audience.
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