Influx

We’ve all seen them. Those gamine chicettes rocking skinny jeans and a quilted Marc Jacobs bag while snapping up Victor & Rolf’s affordable collection at H&M. Or Hollywood’s cargo-clad moguls scoring $5.90 knit skullcaps before a chartered Mammoth “man-break.” Neither its target age demographic nor confined to the Swedish retailer’s economic segment, these nomadic shoppers defy classification in an insatiable quest for hipness.

What started with Range Rovers loading up in front of Target, then $65,000 emerald cut diamonds at Costco, became a global retail phenomenon. Now, value chain H&M trounces the high-low competition with the announcement of Collection of Style, a premium chain debuting on London’s Regent Street in March and parts of Europe later this year.

Consumers shop all channels, actively trading up or down in categories that matter most or least to them. By mixing and matching – pairing couture with commodity, they blur the lines of demographic segmentation. Increasingly, consumers define themselves within tribes, pods and communities based on taste and lifestyle rather than geographic or economic borders. And they reward brands that provide entertainment, excitement and access to the unexpected.

Hennes & Mauritz’s COS concept is a bold move which satisfies several deep consumer desires and supports its innovative brand strategies:

First, the COS initiative parlays the vertical retailer’s consistent double-digit sales increases into a new market. Then, leveraging its unrivaled speed to market in a premium channel promises ardent fashionistas even better interpretations of runway to realway apparel. Finally, adopting a trickle-up strategy compounds the company’s formidable hipness – perhaps its most powerful and transcendent brand asset.

From Lagerfeld to Madonna and Victor & Rolf, H&M’s premium fascia concept represents the smartest move of all!

By Debra Stevenson of Trend Agitator a Los Angeles-based trend and market insight developer.