THE KOOPLES
BRAND EQUITY
I. Brand’s general presentation
In 2008, Alexandre 35 years old,
Laurent 34 and Raphael 24 are launching a trendy and high quality brand… The Kooples! These three brothers are
the sons of Tony Elicha who has created the very well known brand Comptoir des cotonniers . Less than
3 years after the launch the brothers had established 7 stores in the United
Kingdom and are dressing several celebrities like Léa Drucker, Michel Denisot
or Pete Doherty. Their turnover reach the 100 millions of Euros.
The Kooples develops a range of clothes for men and women based
on the concept of « stylish street wear » mainly inspired from rock,
vintage and British clothes.
Black and green are standing out collections and decoration
of the shops.
The brand propose particularly androgynous and mixed
clothes, being able to go as much to the men as to the women, (same cuts, same colours,
same blazons etc.), they play on an aesthetic symbiosis within the couple. The
slogans of the brand " A cloakroom for two " or " Until the
fashion separates them " show this ambivalence.
“The name is taking part of the
concept”
The name was found during a
brainstorming between Alexandre, Laurent, and Raphaël. « We wanted that
the name would be easily recognizable, international and evokes the concept of
the brand. The Kooples is a
completely invented anglicism. If a couple had to create a music group, he
could be called "The Kooples":
a neologism », tells Alexandre.
To better understand the price
positioning of the brand on its market we have made a quick study to see what
are their average price on some clothes categories. And as we can see on the
previous scheme The Kooples has a
premium price and is placed at a second place after Zadig & Voltaire. This price is completely coherent with its
concept of a « stylish street
wear » clothe.
In 2008 the brand opened its doors (at the same time
thirteen shops in Paris and in province).
Nicolas Dreyfus, the sales manager, specifies: "
Our objective is to be quickly implanted in all France. We shall have 150
stores by five years. By two years, we should also try the international
". At the beginning of 2009, we count already 23 selling points on the
French territory. And at the same year, the Internet users discovered the new
Web site of the brand.
The Kooples joined, at the end of 2008, the very famous London’s
jewel brand for rockers and motorcyclists The
Great Frog, to bring out its first line of jewels. Anticipating its 2009
Spring-Summer’s collection, the brand asked to the famous English tailor Norton and Sons to work with them. In
2009, the brand asked Ramdane Touhami, from the house Cire Trudon, to create them a scent, sold in spring, in exclusivity
in their stores.
The Kooples became known, before the opening of its first shops,
with a big ad campaign staging various couples (heterosexuals and homosexuals),
wearing the clothes of the brand. On every photo is indicated the maturity of
the couple (for example: " Pierre and Astrid together for nine months
"). According to the creators, these couples are very real and were the
object of no casting.
Besides, the brand Comptoir des Cotonniers uses
the same marketing strategy: mothers and their daughters are posing in front of
the camera dressed with the clothes of the brand. To maintain their success,
the founders of The Kooples wanted to
develop their story every season. For example at the beginning of 2011, they
launched "The Kooples Records", an independent music label that will
produce only couples. The casting of folk, rock, pop or electro musicians takes
place at the moment. It precedes the production of a compilation, which is
planned for June-July, 2012.
