Thursday, August 27, 2009
'Speedo Underbody' previewed on an Australian morning show
In a previous post I mentioned that Speedo is launching an underwear line for both men and women. A sampling of the product can be seen in this Australian morning show program.
Knowing a thing or two about branding I can tell you definitively that business diversification can dilute or even kill a brand if not done correctly.
Coca-cola gets away with it since who really knows that they own Vitamin Water, Dasani, A&W, DR Pepper, Canada Dry, Squirt and dozens upon dozens of other brands not branded with the Coca-Cola name.
From music to phones to airplanes and video games, The Virgin Group is a strong brand globally but it does command a number one position in any of the businesses it is in? The answer is no!
Nike does dominate the shoe business but failed in the swimsuit arena. They could grab the number one position now that Speedo has been spanked but can they? They do have TYR and blueseventy to compete with.
I think this is a bad idea for Speedo to get into the underwear business and they would have been better served buying an existing brand and building both the business and that new brand concurrently much like Coca Cola has.
Swimsuit companies are in disarray right now for the FINA rule changes have hit swimsuit companies hard. Suit manufacturers went to the expense of "toolin-up" for 2009, and now they are forced to "tool-down" for 2010. People are losing their jobs as a result.
Is diversification Speedo's solution to this mess?
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24 comments:
I think that they're going for it because it's easy. Speedo is one brand within a larger group already. The main clothing brand being Calvin Klein. I would imagine this is just a rebadge project like you see with car makers. Once this stuff comes out I would compare it with existing CK products and see how much of a difference you can find.
I don't think it is easy. Calvin Klein can sell underwear since all their ads are generously salted with sexuality. See the Eva Mendes billboard in my Alcatraz post.
The only place that the Speedo brand is not laughed at or is the butt of jokes is in the pool.
Speedo's got a very different profile Australia as compared to the US.
Speedo is originally an Australian company; they started in Bondi Beach, just outside of Sydney. There's a lot of Aussie pride in the Speedo name.
Plus, Speedo's connection to the Dolphins resonates with the Aussie public simply 'cos swimming in Oz has a profile than swimming in the US.
Bet you'll see them sell Calvin Klien ginch in Oz -and maybe the UK - rebranded as Speedo and I'll bet they'll do OK, especially in Australia. Doubt you'll see Speedo underwear in North America.
Let me rephrase slightly... it's easy financially and from a manufacturing perspective because another division already makes this stuff. The risk is very limited. If the speedo underwear line is a flop they can just take off the logo and stitch on the ck one... or clear them out in CK outlet stores. I don't necessarily think that they're going to be successful with this, I just think if it fails it won't hurt that bad.
Australia is as So Cal. It's a small market. If it can't get to the US or Europe, why bother?
didn't speedo try to launch a underwear line in 2004 called axcelarate : i have some ads of michael phelps wearing some the underwear.
Tony, your "Ugly American" is showing. I'm sure you don't mean to denigrate a market of 25 million people.
Plus, as Rob has noted, its a cheap and easy switch. A bit of new stitching and some packaging and Bob's your uncle: You're up and running.
Really, let's post them! :-D
Ted, I don't think Americans will take to Speedo underwear since it is the butt of jokes here. Even President Bush once joked about Speedo.
As for being an "Ugly American", Europeans love me, Sushi fears me!!!!!
It does your "ugly American" label little good to rely on Bushisms to describe American attitudes. And I'll point out the well known fact that the American attitude of "go big or go home" has been shown to be one of the major causes of its decline, with an abundance of examples such as the auto industry ignoring the small car market, big Steel's failure to develope export markets, shipping, etc). Microsoft only got its start when IBM, thinking the real money was in computer hardware, contracted an eighteen year old kid named Bill Gates to provide operating code for a minor line of personal computers. You can make a tidy profit from the not insubstantial and well-to-do population Australia represents. Sometimes Americans forget that the United States is the fourth most populous country in the world with California by itself constituting its ninth largest economy. Everything is small when viewed from that perspective.
My guess is the Underbody underwear line is an initiative of Speedo Australia intended specifically for the Australian market. I'd be surprised if much effort was made to introduce the underwear line in foreign markets since Speedo doesn't really have much brand recognition in the UK or US.
Speedo did have an underwear line as mentioned in the other comments. In the USofA Speedo is distributed by the mainly an underwear company. It's not much of a stretch as Nike and other fitness companies make underwear.
"It's not much of a stretch..." is that pun regarding the underwear itself?
Like I said, I don't think you'll see Speedo underwear in the US.
And isn't George Bush making fun of a product kind of a backwards endorsement..?
Scott, The United States is the Michael Jordon of Capitalism.
I know art and brands!
The "Go big" or "Go Home" is the right way to do it.
From 'Branding Strategy'
"... You see the same relationships on Interbrand's list of the 100 most-valuable global brands.
No.1 brands are worth far more than No.2 brands.
Coca-Cola is worth $66.7 billion. Pepsi-Cola, $13.2 billion.
Nokia is worth $35.9 billion. Motorola, $3.7 billion.
Nike is worth $12.7 billion. Adidas, $5.1 billion. ..."
Australia has 21-million people - Australia is going to go for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Fruit of a Loom, way before Speedo.
BTW, I am the "Ayatola of Crayola!"
I know art and branding.
Ted, You right, it is a reverse endorsement.
George Bush making fun of Speedo is like Mike Tyson; (Ear biting boxer), making fun of vegans.
one of the ad with mike
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6554/mp09aa3.jpg
Maly, that is so funny! He looks extremely silly!
I don't really get this whole conversation. If you're arguing that Speedo is never going to be a worldwide elite brand in underwear, I don't think anyone is going to disagree with you. What Speedo is doing is experimenting with a small underwear line in Australia that will probably be mildly profitable.
This sort of thing is relatively common. Jennifer Hawkins, Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem, even Ian Thorpe have designed or been the face of minor but reasonably successful underwear lines. With Lara Bingle, I imagine this release will do reasonably well.
You're right, I am boring my audience.
Hey Tony:
The only reason Speedo doesn't do well in other textile markets is they can't pay everyone off!!
And I know you won't comment about that Tony...!
Speedo also had underwear in the 90's at least in Europe. I still have one speedo sports bra... so this is not something totally new for them. Although i would assume that they were not succesful before since the underwear quickly dissapeared from the market.
It doesn't always have to be about being a global brand leader - if it can be profitable in some markets, then why not. Looks like an experimental dip, too. The likes of Coca Cola are massive but that doesn't mean there are no other drinks with decent profit margins in the market. Variety is the spice of life :P
Firstly, Speedo's Underbody line of underwear for men and women is an Australian initiative for the Aussie market. It cannot (and is not) a re-badge of Calvin Klein as Speedo is under licence to the Pentland Group in Australia. (In the USA, both Speedo and CK are under licence to Warnaco.) Therefore, in theory, you will see different products in different markets, all made by different manufacturers... all under licence from the brand.
As for doing well in the Aussie market, you must remember that we Aussies LOVE our undies. Some national brands include Bonds, Underdaks, Holeproof, Rio, Macpherson Men/Elle Macpherson, Mitch Dowd, IT Ian Thorpe, Davenport, Obviously, DT, AussieBum, Kylie. All are sucessful in their market. Speedo's Underbody is very much in the same styling as Davenport and Mitch Dowd.
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