Superdry Case Study: Journey from the UK to the World

Superdry isn’t about the glam and glitters or the haute couture. It's the Avant-grade ready-to-wear unisex fashion that makes it stand out. Vintage brit fashion fused with American and Japanese style graphics makes it trendy à la mode. Being a fashionista, you must know what the brand offers. Yet, are you aware of its rising popularity or how it surged in the last decade?

“These are all Superdry clothes: unisex, ubiquitous yet anonymous; sporty yet not technical; designed but not designer.” Quotes The Guardian when defining the unique features of Superdry.

The brand is making waves in the fashion world, especially after the 2015 collaboration with Idris Elba. Superdry is a world-renowned brand under SuperGroup plc. Its roots are in Cheltenham, UK and established the cult clothing trend. But, what is the Superdry branding strategy that defines Superdry’s story from the UK to the world?

Read forth as this case study explores the brand’s image, marketing strategy and what the future has in store for the brand.

What Does Superdry: 極度乾燥しなさい Mean?

So, if you know of the Superdry brand logo, you must know of the traditional Chinese and Kanji (Japanese fonts) atop the “Superdry”. Many wonder about the meaning and what it implies? Well, it simply means “make it Superdry”. What? You wonder. It exactly means that, but the catch is its implication.

The brand is established by people who don’t know a word of Japanese. The kanji and traditional Chinese font imply the Asian influence on the clothing designs minus the literal innuendoes. Also, adding the twenty-year rule - “fashion repeats itself every twenty years” - to the mix and voila, you have the idea behind the Superdry clothing.

However, in this Superdry Case Study, it is a noteworthy point that their strategy is highly effective. The brand Superdry currently holds a presence across a hundred and forty-eight countries through online and offline stores. With over five hundred stores worldwide and nearly a hundred-million-euro turnover each year, Superdry does fit the trend of cult clothing like a sleeve.

Did you know that the co-founder of Superday, James Holder, also founded the popular skate wear brand Bench?

Hence, the Superdry branding strategy to change the name from SuperGroups to Superdry justifies its brand image. The brand successfully piqued European consumers' interest in Japanese brands, especially street fashion. Now, with such extensive consumership worldwide, the brand has more ventures to explore and establish itself deeper in the clothing industry.

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But What Makes Superdry’s Brand Strategy Work?

Moreover, established in 2003, the brand is almost two decades old. So, it is common for any brand to reach such heights in twenty years, you wonder. Yes, and no. After a peak of venturing into America. With slow sales and lowering appeal, fatigue settled in the brand’s pace and needs a strategy reform.

Hence, Superdry’s latest strategy includes inspiring, engaging and leading the clothing industry. Taking the ready-to-wear fashion to the next level with socio-cultural influence. Intriguing the audience with quality products at a value for money. Lastly, in this Superdry case study, we conclude that the promise of sustainable products wraps their strategy seamlessly.

Also, the digital Superdry flagship and other local online retailers and distributors offer sales control to the retailers. Freestanding stores and independent retail stores run by brand partners make Superdry merchandise widely available. Thus, a combination of quality and availability makes the brand a household name appealing to new consumers.

Fun fact: Superdry started with just a five t-shirt collection. It was an insanely popular collection as British footballer David Beckham wore the collection.

Some people grew up with the brand and watched it grow. The brand is appealing to the masses, yet the covid-19 crisis slowed sales like many other businesses. But, the question is, if the brand is innovative or the branding strategy manages to keep it on the elite list? Let’s discuss it further in the section that follows.

Is It Superdry’s Branding Strategy or the Clothes That Entails the Brand’s Popularity Boom?

Lastly, the brand’s popularity is shown through its sales, and the UK-based brand reported an eight per cent rise in its sales revenue since last year. Superdry staked six hundred million euros in the 2022 fiscal year. So, we can conclude that the brand’s sales strategy works effectively.

Also, despite the pandemic pauses that disturbed every business, Superdry is recovering well. With sustainable goods promise and well-available stores - online and offline - the brand will continue to engage its target audience. But, merchandising might only be suitable for cult clothing fans than inducing a mass appeal.

Still, every business goes through strategy change over the decades as the times change consumer habits. The strategy changes per the industry and market trends. So in this Superdry Case Study, the bottom line is that strategy and innovation go hand in hand. The brand will thrive as long as it intrigues the cult clothing interests.

Trivia: The brand Superdry’s name origins from a food brand after the brainstorming creators’ session in a bar in Tokyo.

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