Interview with Benefit employee

When Benefit first launched in the UK, was it purely in department stores or did it too have an official store?

When they were first brought to the UK they were only selling two products in John Lewis, however they were placed on a shelf under the escalator so no one even knew Benefit existed until someone approached them about bringing Benefit into department stores, as at first most department stores said no to Benefit as it was unheard of, but then after a while they eventually agreed and that was when Benefit became very popular and took off to be very big.

So would you say that bringing Benefit into the department stores was the best form of promotion for them coming to the UK?

Yes, and when that took off and they did better than they expected that’s when they started opening up their own stores and boutiques in the UK.

What would you say are the pros and cons of a brand being launched originally only in department stores as opposed to straight away opening up their own store?

You just get more noticed, there’s a lot of danger in opening up a new store that no one has ever heard of as there’s the danger that no one will ever go there, no ones going to know the products, no ones going to try them, so I’d say that it’s best to start in department stores as you also have people working for their section trying to get you to try their products and it’s a lot easier to get a consumer engaged in a new brand in a department store than it is in a brand store.

And would you say there are any cons of starting in department stores, such as who says that consumers will come to your section? As your right next to your competitors surely consumers might get side tracked and leave your section for another?

No not really, I think it’s a wise move to start in a department store; it’s another form of advertisement also we’ve found with Benefit, our packaging and the colours we use for our ‘stand’ if you will, attracts a lot of attention, its witty its fun, its eye catching. From a distance you might not be able to distinguish Estee Lauder with Dior, however everyone can see Benefit from a mile off.  Also we do go out of our way to bring consumers to us, we will stand on the streets or around the department store asking people if they want to get a free make over or samples and try out our products and more often than not, we will have people come happily for a make-over especially if its free. It’s giving them a taster of who we are and then if they like us they will come back. It’s all about creating a loyalty with our consumers.

Have you ever heard of the American brand Ann Taylor?

I’m afraid no I haven’t, sorry

So if Ann Taylor were to come to you and ask for your advice on how to launch their brand in the UK market, how would you tell them to approach it?

For starters I’d definitely tell them to start and focus in on department stores before opening their own store as they’re not a heard of brand, such as Abercrombie or Victoria Secret which are American brands that have been heard of in the UK, though I am aware Abercrombie is now in the UK but before they launched here they were heard of so for them there was not so much of a risk in being a success. Therefore it’s a big gamble bringing in their own stores to the UK high street when it’s an unheard of brand. However I would also advise a lot of advertising before coming to the UK, through events and so forth, almost get their audience excited and questioning- who is this new brand coming to the UK. Such as what we have found quite successful is we do bookings like in the form of events, where sometimes parents might ask us to do a daughters birthday party where we glam up a group of girls before they go out, it’s all about understanding your consumer and how you can advertise your brand in a different ways to your competitors, thinking outside the box, not just magazines, Billboards, TV, Radio etc. How can you engage and involve your audience to remember your brand.

Thank you very much; you’ve been very helpful

Thank you, Good luck.

Aimee Robinson