With Chief Creative Office, Christopher Bailey, leaving Burberry this year and new CEO Marco Gobbetti unveiling his strategy to reshape the brand into a “super luxury company” with new lines at much higher prices, is the famous British fashion house alienating a significant percentage of their clientele? Core customers, and the stock market, have reacted … Read more

In fashion, how do you create brand positioning and differentiate yourself? Competition is tough, especially in the fashion sector. It’s a massive challenge to start a brand, produce at least the first three collections, and watch it take off. Your Brand Positioning, Brand Voice and creating a USP (unique selling proposition) in many cases are … Read more

Iconic brand Burberry may need its best-known piece, the check-lined trenchcoat, to stave off the rain in the years ahead. When the company’s new CEO Marco Gobbetti announced a risky strategy to “rationalise non-luxury wholesale and retail doors” (read: axe middle-market retailers) just one week after chief creative officer Christopher Bailey announced his departure, share … Read more

In the mid-1990s, well before the internet had tangled us all in its worldwide web, Michael Porter set the benchmarks for marketing strategy which still resonate today. To sum up some quite complex theory, he argued that brands either had to achieve cost leadership or they had to differentiate. In a nutshell, differentiation is what … Read more

In November, we launched a Fashion Marketing Consultancy Live Project, a collaboration between Grain and the Fashion Marketing team of the Fashion & Textiles Department, University of East London. The project, led by second-year UEL Fashion Marketing students, aims to help students understand what it’s like working in an agency environment and to further develop creative and … Read more

A £600m name that no-one will ever know. DAMAC, the Dubai-based property company, has been in the news lately as it has appointed Australia’s Lendlease to build the high rise property, now known as Aykon London One, on the site in Nine Elms Battersea London. The interiors of the 50-storey building have been designed by … Read more

If you are a hardcore high street fashion brand follower, you must have heard the news earlier this month that Banana Republic is about to close eight of its UK stores by the end of this financial year. A spokesperson told the London Evening Standard: “The company anticipates that the majority of the stores will … Read more

Autumn is on its way and we’ve been harvesting a few of our recent news updates to share with you. We have the launch of a new group of colleges, a new fashion brand, a brochure for an international school and lots more to share from Grain HQ.  In case you already have next year’s … Read more

We’re back at the Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) again this year with an invitation from University of East London for their final year fashion show. The collections presented throughout the show consisted of edgy and urban military reworked utility styled garments, with a clear influence from digital print. Antonia Nae’s collection stole my heart. It’s edgy … Read more

I was recently interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, one of the leading sources worldwide of news and analysis of all things relating to IP. The interview covered many of the specialist areas where the expertise of branding agencies are important in helping clients avoid the pitfalls they might experience if they try naming and branding … Read more

Spring has sprung and summer is well on its way. A lot has happened since February 29th, when we were in touch last, and we’re itching to tell you all about what we’ve been up to. This time we also have a free giveaway that’s just perfect to get you in the summer mindset! Win two tickets to … Read more

UEL recently hosted a Roundtable on Fashion Entrepreneurship as part of their Fashion & Textile Symposium 2016. I was honoured to be invited as a member of the roundtable and pleased to see a healthy attendance of about a hundred students and lecturers, including the Dean of the School of Arts & Digital Industries, Professor Simon Robertshaw. The … Read more

After attending the Westminster Media Forum seminar “The UK fashion industry – digital strategies, IP, international competitiveness and policy priorities,” I had the opportunity to contribute an article for the delegates and policymakers in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels. “Brand is the number one driver (or barrier) to purchase in the fashion industry.” – Richard Danks, Head … Read more

Two beloved fashion clients of ours had their exhibitions at the Pure trade show this year at Kensington Olympia. We thought it’d be a great chance to catch up with them and say hello. Turned out they were extremely busy answering lots of queries and we were also pleased to hear that everyone was very impressed … Read more

Happy February 29th – you don’t get to say that very often! And oooh it’s chilly outside. The great news is that spring is on its way and we have quite a few exciting updates from Grain HQ. This season includes news from Milan, two new gorgeous fashion brands, a redesigned website for Newland College, branding for a … Read more