F&B plays a major role in fashion scene

Image courtesy of Jktgo

In an attempt to survive the retail apocalypse, Ralph Lauren opened 'Ralph’s coffee bars’ on top of its stores in 2014 to increase their foot traffic. The current trend seems to show that people are shopping lesser and are more drawn towards finding the next cosy spots to hang out in. Millennials are less interested in clothes shopping and more drawn into cozy spots. Ralph Lauren Ralph’s idea was to attract hopes the visitors who walkpotential customers to come into pass the stores by attracting them to the unique ‘Ralph’s coffee bar’, will be intrigued by the coffee shop and when theywhich come in for coffee, they will ultimately would give the customers a chance tohave a look aton the clothes on display once they have entered the store.

The fusion strategy works overseas because the stores are located on the side of the street .. People passing thePeople walking by stores  are more likelyget to look at the shop windows and even inside the storespeek what’s inside. Whereas the stores in Indonesia are located inside of a shopping mallIn Indonesia, stores are located inside a mall and weekdays may feel like forever for sales assistant because visitors foot traffic is only high during visit the mall for lunch and dinner period. Total opposite happens on the weekend is the redemption, many fashion brands retailers would have to push gear up the sales to cover up their weekdays’ expenses.

Long before Ralph Lauren’s F&B and fashion fusion, a beloved department store in Indonesia among Indonesian youth, The Goods Dept, opens ‘its café, The Goods Diner’, inside its stores. The Goods Dept has been riding on the wave since the beginning of their F&B launch. If customers are not keen on buying their products, at least people they may at least be coming in for a bite and drinks. Debenhams even has Starbucks and Pizza Express outlets located inside of the department store in Jakarta.  Inside its stores, people would then have to walk pass their beauty and cosmetics aisle to get to Starbucks. It could potentially increase their chances of sales.

Not just Indonesian brands but many foreign F&B businesses that have successfully built a fan base around the brand and have expanded to offer merchandising such as; t-shirts, mugs and key chains to bring in more revenue. Ladurée, eponymous patisserie brand from France, launched its own rose blush-on with 20 different colours a year ago in 2011, making them the first food business that ventured out to make-up. Their macaroon key chains are so popular amongst the teens that many resellers from all over the world flew in to Paris just to get their hands on the key chain. Since 2016, Cheetos is officially in the business of beauty by launching Cheetos bronzer. The colour of the bronzer is in Cheetos orange (perhaps a tribute to Donald Trump). As if the bronzer is not eccentric enough, the food company is also launching perfume, Cheetau Perfume, expertly crafted with hand-extracted cheese oil.

Indonesia’s F&B industry is recognised for its potential to bring in quick cash. The logic behind it is that; humans consume and spend more on food than for new fashion items. The fusion strategy is not new concept for Indonesians; they are known to mix things within a business to reduce risk. Many independent coffee shops in Indonesia have their café on the ground floor and boutique on the top floor. The boutiques find it risky to open a standalone store and doing this could potentially drive café visitors to visit the boutiques too. However, not every F&B and fashion fusion nails the concept. Some fusion are so contradictory to one another and it may seem obvious to immediately tell that both ventures join hands to avoid losses.

What fusion businesses need to do next is to invest in décor and interior designing to make both businesses compliment each other. Subtle details in the café such as small hanging rack in the corner and a small living room with a vending machine could potentially make all the difference. No matter how far off the businesses are, both have to complement each other and consistency is the key.