Brandy Melville

Brandy Melville is a European clothing and fashion accessories brand, marketing their products to young women. The company was established in Italy by Silvio Marsan[1] but attracted most of its popularity in California. The brand name and logo was inspired by the fictional tale of two people – Brandy, an American girl, and Melville, an English man who met in Rome and fell in love.[2]

Brandy Melville
IndustryRetail
FoundersSilvio Marsan
Number of locations
97
ProductsApparel
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Silvio Marson and his son Stephan founded Brandy Melville in Italy the early 80s, and opened their first US store in Los Angeles in 2009, bordering the UCLA campus and Westwood Neighborhood.[3] The business quickly grew wildly popular among young girls, in part due to their Malibu teen aesthetic.[3] The Brandy Melville Instagram page currently has over 3.6 million followers.[4] The stores aesthetics match their brand advertising with a bleached wood theme and muted color palette,[5] to align with the simple, low commitment, and affordable clothes they offer.

The company's products are sold in physical stores across the world, including Europe, the United States, Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia as well as on the Brandy Melville website.[6]

Market and Target Demographic

Brandy Melville has been described as trend-setting, relevant, cool and fast fashion and their most prominent buyers are young teen girls looking for trendy fashion from popular name brands.[7] In 2014, according to Piper Jaffrays semiannual report on teen spending, Brandy Melville took the number one spot for up trending brands that year.[8] Brandy's product research team consists of teenage employees, starting at age 15,[5] who attempt to keep the company's styles contemporary and on trend.

The company does not use traditional advertising techniques and instead depends heavily on social media marketing and partnerships. There is very little evidence of Brandy Melville representatives speaking on record, rarely any promotional press, and there has been rumor that the employees are not allowed to discuss the company history or identity of CEO with anyone.[9]

Controversy

During its rise in popularity, Brandy Melville has faced considerate controversy for its "one-size-fits-most",[10] policy as customers began to express distaste for their non-inclusive clothing items. Their clothes are tailored to a 25 inch waist and a 32 inch bust, measurements that are not widely representative of the vast majority of female consumers.[11] In response, the company has begun releasing larger sizes, marketed as "oversized" fits, especially in outerwear such as sweaters, hoodies, and jackets.

Current operations and franchises

Brandy Melville currently has 97 locations across the world—with 36 of those locations being in the US.[6] (As of January 2021)

Locations Worldwide +
Region

+

 Number of locations

+

Asia (Hong Kong + Indonesia) 2
Australia (Sydney) 1
Canada (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec) [12] 3
Europe (excluding UK) 48
Austria 1
Belgium 1
France (Paris + Lyon) 3
Germany 5
Italy 12
Netherlands 2
Norway (Oslo) 1
Portugal (Lisbon) 2
Spain 6
Switzerland 15
United Kingdom (London) 4
United States 36

References
  1. "Ich bin ein Brandy-Girl". Tages-Anzeiger. January 4, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. Scofield, Caitlin (November 9, 2009). "New clothing store Brandy Melville brings Italian style straight to Westwood". Daily Bruin.
  3. Schneider, Katy (October 3, 2019). "The Secret Shame of Wearing Brandy Melville". New York Magazine- The Cut.
  4. "brandymelvilleusa". Instagram.
  5. Rubin, Julia (September 24, 2014). "Smells Like Teen Spirit: Inside the Secretive World of Brandy Melville". Racked.
  6. https://www.brandymelville.co.uk/locations
  7. Petersen, Hayley (October 7, 2014). "Here's How Teens Really Spend Money, What They Like, And Where They Shop". Business Insider.
  8. Petersen, Hayley (October 7, 2014). "Here's How Teens Really Spend Money, What They Like, And Where They Shop". Business Insider.
  9. Vanslette, Sarah (2016). "Exclusive and Aspirational: Teen Retailer Brandy Melville Uses the Country Club Approach to Brand Promotion". Case Studies in Strategic Communication. 5.
  10. Bhasin, Kim (December 6, 2017). "Teens Love Brandy Melville, A Fashion Brand That Sells Only One Tiny Size". HuffPost.
  11. Coldicott, Sophie (August 3, 2020). "How the cult of Brandy Melville took over the internet". Vice.
  12. http://www.brandymelville.ca/locations/
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