The Importance of a Product Strategy for Successful Apparel Brands

Why Apparel Brands Fail Without Product Strategy

The Myth of the Easy Apparel Launch

Apparel design is meaningless without Product Strategy.

I see many founders leaving one industry and branching into the apparel space (the same can apparently be said for the food industry, I get it, I went from fashion to granola myself).

Apparel is a low-barrier industry. Everyone has clothes, so everyone is somehow an expert. With AI, everyone can now "be a desinger," which makes it even easier than ever for people to bring an idea to life. (Digitally)

But often I see founders jumping in too fast, trying to solve a “gap in the market” that may not actually exist. And before they know it, they are sitting on stock that isn’t moving, for longer than anticipated, because they didn’t build their product strategy upfront.

In fact, according to a recent Inventory Planner survey, "44% of fashion retailers - many brand-new-report surplus goods accounting for nearly 20% of their total stock." Leaving a lot of brands and founders desperate to offload it.

This isn’t just a design or marketing issue. It’s a product strategy issue.

All you need is a cool logo, cool colors, a trending silhouette and the right influencer, and you’re golden, right?

That might have worked 5 years ago. But now, markets are fluctuating, customers are paying more attention, and that “gap” is met with five other brands doing the same thing, following the same trends, using the same colors.

What Strategy Does for Brands Starting Out

Build Your Brand Strategy First

First, before you (or your freelance designer) put pen to paper:You need a brand strategy. Beyond a nice logo, what makes your products a brand?What are you about? What are your brand values, what is your tone of voice, how do you sound, how do you make people feel? Why should they trust, connect with, and buy from you?This sets the stage and direction for everything you do as a brand.Any designer worth their salt will ask for these things upfront. If you’re not clear, how do you expect them to be?

Who Is Your Brand For?

Now that you have a cool brand, you need to have a clear target customer in mind.This will determine what type of product you need to focus on, what matters to them, price points, buying behavior, and what they’re purchasing if they’re not buying from you.It will also help determine the body shape and fit of your garments.

Develop an Apparel Product Strategy

Next, you need an Apparel Product Strategy.This is where you get down to the brass tacks of what you are building.What kind of products does your brand create? Sustainable? Circular? Recyclable? Durable?These elements cannot be an afterthought. Your approach to sustainability will determine not only what you make, but how you make it and the factories you partner with.

Build a Focused Range

Once this framework is in place, then you build your range.This is where most tend to go overboard too fast. Start small, start focused. How many pieces do you really need? How will they work together? Be worn together? Are they all needed, or just nice to have? This is also where you map out your range build—price points, colors, SKUs. What can you actually afford?

Budget With Reality in Mind

Lastly, you need to ensure you have your budget in order.Starting a brand from scratch is not cheap and not for the faint of heart.Product development costs money.The right support team costs money upfront, but the right support saves money in the long run.

Don’t Skip Go-to-Market Strategy

And the most important piece: a sales and go-to-market strategy.Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come. Plan your budgets accordingly.

Start Small, Build Smart

A capsule collection of 4–6 pieces is enough to launch smart and scale later.

Design thinking upfront solves a business problem.Start with less than you think you need.Start small. A micro collection is more than enough. Build traction and then grow.If you’re building an apparel brand and don’t want to repeat these mistakes, let’s talk. Connect with us here or head to our businesses to see how we work with founders.

(This post was inspired by a talk I watched from Anneli Hansson, who said: “Brand identity design is meaningless without brand strategy.” In apparel, the same holds true for product strategy.)