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View Full Version : Creating a brand



Aaron Hats
07-11-2009, 03:03 PM
Since we started our business it's been our intention to one day create our own brand of hats. It looks like we're about to finally do it because of some quality problems with one of our current suppliers. These hats will have a lining in them and traditionally the hat company prints its logo on the liner. My question is about the logo. Should I use our current store logo or do you think I could get away with creating a new logo just for the hats? We will never wholesale these hats so they'll have the "Aaron Hats" name and will retail anywhere from $150 to $180.

Thanks,

Aaron

Patrysha
07-11-2009, 03:17 PM
What would be the benefit of developing a different logo for the brand hats?

I would think that using the store logo would be more effective than going for a different one...so just not seeing why you would want to develop another logo...

Aaron Hats
07-11-2009, 03:32 PM
I'm just not sure the rectangular logo would look good on the oval shaped lining. Also, because of the price of the hat I thought something a little more upscale looking would be better.

Aaron

Patrysha
07-11-2009, 03:44 PM
Ahhhh...see I was envisioning just the letters from your logo on there...kind of like Gucci, Anne Klein and so on...plenty upscale to me...but then I still shop at Walmart...lol

Aaron Hats
07-11-2009, 04:18 PM
Hey, that's not a bad idea. I'll be able to have some text printed on the sweatband of the hat so I don't need the url from the logo.

Harold Mansfield
07-11-2009, 06:24 PM
I think the letters are plenty fine, unless something comes across your desk that looks even more appealing.

huggytree
07-12-2009, 09:28 AM
i dont see a problem with your current logo.

if you are going to have multiple lines with different price points then id consider making a few different versions of the logo...

in the end its one of those things which really doesnt matter...people will look at the logo, but they wont think about it like your doing!

Spider
07-12-2009, 10:52 AM
I think you could make the rectangular frame of the logo elliptical, to fit the space upon which it will be printed. It would be a 'new' logo but the same. Or just drop the frame altogether.

I wouldn't use the URL, though, on the liner or sweatband. Who will look inside their hat to find your web address?! It just strikes me as cheap. I'll bet Gucchi doesn't have their URL printed on their merchandise, do they? You don't see a URL or phone number on automobile badges, but you do see them on number plate frames, and the lack of "classiness" is obvious.

vangogh
07-12-2009, 02:07 PM
Aaron I agree with everyone that could just use the A and not have the rest. It still carries your brand. I'd also think the URL could be a bit much, though you could always include it on a tag that gets removed after purchase.

huggytree
07-12-2009, 05:23 PM
isnt the URL helping advertise where to find you? why dump it?

Spider
07-13-2009, 09:03 AM
The only person who will ever see it is the hat owner. Quality hats aren't cheap - my last hat cost me $400 and took about 3 hours to purchase. I've bought others there, too. I know where to find the shop (even after three moves) ... with or without a url.

Aaron Hats
07-13-2009, 10:25 AM
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think I'm going to use just the "AH" from our current logo on the liner. I'm still debating what to put on the sweatband. Hat stores have been using the sweatband for their store name for decades so it's not out of place to put something there. Since more than 50% of our customers are from our web site I don't know that our url would be out of place. I still have some time to think about it.

Thanks,

Aaron

vangogh
07-13-2009, 10:32 AM
If it's common to put something there, then your URL would be fine. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't include your URL somewhere. My thought is to find the appropriate place for it.

Business Attorney
07-13-2009, 12:17 PM
When it comes to clothing, it seems that most retailers, even upscale retailers, create their brand separate from the store brand itself. I can see why Target might decide that "Merona" or "Xhilaration" might be better than "Target" or "Member's Mark" may be better than "Sam's Club" on a label. But even Marshall Field's (before Macy's dumped the name) gave its clothing lines their own brands in many cases.

I think that there is a perception that "house brands" should be less expensive than other brands. If that is how you want to position the hats, then I think using the store brand is fine, and perhaps even preferable. If you want to position the hats free of any perception tied to a house brand, you may want to consider developing a different brand for your hats

KristineS
07-13-2009, 05:29 PM
I'm not sure about the URL on the sweatband. I could see the name of the company, but you don't generally see URLs on clothing, unless it is advertising a specific event. You could do a nice tag or flyer or something that goes with every hat and has all your information.

I have to agree with Frederick on this one. If I'm paying a fairly substantial amount of money for a hat I will remember where I got it. Personally, I'd go for the higher end approach and just use the logo or the name. If the name is there someone can still search for you online and find you easily. To me having the name just seems a little higher end.

That's just me though.

billbenson
07-13-2009, 09:14 PM
Type Aaron Hats into google and he comes up 1. Because of that, he doesn't need it and it does look tacky. If he didn't have a good web presence for his logo name, then although tacky, I'd put it there somehow.

People do buy clothing, perfumes, etc on logo for status, quality, etc. My wife sure does anyway. Might be worth making a subnich of super high quality or desirable?

On Edit: in the purses my wife likes as well as other things that carry an exclusive label. Quality is a guarantee. You can get just as good quality in cheaper products, but you can't be sure of it. If you private label it, make sure it is always top quality IMO.