Mini Brand Crushes - Métier, Telfar and Attersee

Three brand crushes I'm excited to share along with the retail strategies and lessons from each.

Mini Brand Crush

Let’s do brand crushes mini style. I will dive into the world of impressive retail strategies and inspiring business stories. These are brands that I have a bit of a crush on - what has caught my eye – not always for what's in my closet (but sometimes yes, that too), but for their impressive business moves, innovation and smart designs.

Let’s join Retail Business School. I'll break down what makes these brands stand out, whether you're in the industry, dreaming of launching your own line one day, or just love peeking behind the retail curtain.

Métier: Retail Strategy - building a luxury brand

The luxury handbag line was launched in 2017 by Melissa Morris. Métier’s commitment to exquisite design and meticulous attention to detail shines through in every product, creating gorgeous leather goods that are both functional and timeless. What really sets Métier apart is their laser focus on meeting the needs of the modern, on-the-go customer without compromising on luxury or style. Before launching the brand, Morris took 3 years to design the products and partnered with an Italian factory to mimic what 20 years of wear and use would do to the products to ensure that they would be timeless, functional and be durable. Métier works closely with the tanneries to customize the leathers and suedes to get the feel and function the brand is after.

In terms of design, Morris has also shared that the inside of the bag is just as important as the outside. This really speaks to how functional the products are for someone who is looking to have an accessory that is going to be more than just a black hole for wallet, keys and other essentials to get lost. No skimping on the cost due to cheap lining. While Métier considers themselves to be a travel brand, they see travel as the everyday journey as well.

From a business perspective, Métier's strategies are as impressive as their products. They've embraced a "quiet luxury" approach in their design and marketing sensibility. They have eschewed flashy logos and over-the-top marketing in favor of allowing discerning customers to discover the brand organically. This strategy, combined with their emphasis on direct-to-consumer sales (85% of the business is DTC according to what the brand shared with Glossy. This is a significant percent of the business compared to other brands) and carefully chosen retail partnerships, has allowed them to maintain control over their brand image and customer experience. The brand favors high-end boutiques with limited locations over larger department stores (Selfridge’s being the exception.) In the Bay Area they are at Hero Shop in Marin, By George carries the brand in Austin, Elyse Walker and Capitol also carries the brand.

As for collabs and partnerships, they continue to focus on upscale brands in the luxury space that also help showcase their on-the-go mentality. Take Westman Atelier x Métier for the luxe cosmetic travel cases. Westman Atelier is known for having beauty products that travel well and are luxury in the beauty industry. (My favorite WA are petal and poppet in this blush, biscuit in this contour stick and this matte lipstick is incredible!) This helps both brands discover like products from the other. Also, a partnership with

Yolanda Edwards

from

Yolo Intel

is another luxury, travel, on-the-go brand.

By focusing on creating investment pieces that are meant to last and be collected rather than replaced, Métier has positioned itself for sustainable growth and customer loyalty in a competitive market. While the brand is luxury, they want to be inviting and not cold. The brand raised funding in 2019 and they plan to open 2-3 locations in the US as the business has been growing in the states. By having a few key retail boutique partners they can leverage this sales data to determine the best locations to open their first US locations.

Key styles: Market Bag (on this PDP¹ look at the video to see how well organized and designed the inside of the tote bag is. This makes it an ideal fit as a work tote or carry-on personal item for travel.) Cala comes in 3 sizes from mini to large tote and is in an east-west silhouette. Incognito goes from clutch (that can also be worn crossbody) and the largest size of this collection is an oversized tote. Plus everything in between.

Telfar: Retail Strategy - The art of pre-order

Telfar was founded in 2005 by Telfar Clemens, a Liberian-American fashion designer born in Queens, New York. The brand gained significant attention for its unisex designs and inclusive ethos, hero’ed in its slogan "Not for you, for everyone." Telfar's breakthrough came with the release of its iconic Shopping Bag in 2014, affectionately dubbed the "Bushwick Birkin." (check out this Cut article from January 2020. A great read on the brand by Devine Blacksher.) The brand's popularity skyrocketed in the late 2010s, with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Solange Knowles, Bella Hadid, and even in Washington D.C. with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez toting. Telfar's success represents a shift in the fashion industry towards more accessible luxury and diverse representation, earning Clemens the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize in 2017 and the CFDA's American Accessories Designer of the Year award in 2020 & 2021.

Image by Justin French - accompanies the above linked Cut article.

Facing challenges with inventory sellouts and issues with bots snatching up products, Telfar innovated its business model in 2020 with the introduction of the "Bag Security Program." This groundbreaking pre-order system allowed customers to purchase any bag they wanted within a 24-hour window, with guaranteed delivery within a specified timeframe. The idea was to bring inclusivity and accessibility to the business model and not just the designs and address the frustration of constant sellouts. The program was a huge success, allowing Telfar to better manage inventory and production while ensuring that genuine customers, rather than resellers, could obtain the products. This customer-centric, made-to-order model has since inspired other brands and represents a significant shift in how fashion brands can approach supply and demand in the digital age.

Telfar has successfully collaborated with Ugg - first in 2021 and they continue to work together now. It was also announced that the brand would partner with Gap but that unfortunately fell apart. I also recently shared that Telfar x Melissa launched jelly shoes and totes well timed with the trending jelly shoe moment we are having in summer 2024. Have you seen the Telfar x Eastpack collab? The ultimate collab is currently on display at the Paris Olympics. Telfar designed the 2024 Liberian Olympic Uniforms.

I’d love to hear what you think of the pre-order model. Is it easier to shop this way? Do you prefer knowing that you can 100% purchase what you want but wait a few months to receive? Or would you rather own immediately but risk getting your hands on the item at MSRP² or at all?

Attersee: Retail Strategy - Trunk Show history and innovation

Attersee, founded in 2021 by Isabel Wilkinson Schor, is a luxury womenswear brand and they are changing how the collection is shown to consumers. Prior to launching the brand Wilkinson Schor was an editor at T: the New York Times Style Magazine.