"
About 200 billion clothes were produced in 2018
", "
60% of the clothes we buy are thrown in the trash in the first year
" ... William Hauvette has no shortage of figures to illustrate the current production madness of the textile industry as well as consumer bulimia.
To fight against these phenomena, he decided to launch a brand, Asphalte, by surfing on a new trend: pre-ordering.
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The concept is simple.
Instead of producing and then putting up for sale as is the norm, these brands wait for the object to be paid for before starting production.
Concretely, they regularly organize order campaigns, which can last between a few weeks and a month, on a specific item.
Buyers pay but do not immediately receive the product.
Because it is only at the end of this ordering phase that the company, which knows exactly the demand, starts production.
An ecological approach
The main argument put forward by the companies concerned is the eco-responsible dimension of the system.
By agreeing to wait, the consumer allows the brand to adjust the quantity manufactured as well as possible and avoids overproduction.
But it is also, according to the players, a powerful lever to encourage consumers to make a thoughtful purchase and that they will keep. “
This feeling of waiting avoids impulse buying
,” emphasizes Katia Sanchez, founder of the eponymous sweater brand. To further reduce the risk, this designer makes it a point of honor to allow the customer to reconsider his purchase free of charge: “
he can cancel during the entire order period and even a few days or even a few weeks after that. I am very accommodating on the subject
”. Finally, the brands are trying to eliminate the windfall effect: "
we do not have sales and we relaunch the same products every year.
», Replies William Hauvette.
Thus, an interested person is not going to be afraid to miss an opportunity.
If she likes the item but hesitates, she can always acquire it later and at the same price.
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Brands are also encouraged to make more sustainable products.
“
We run a series of tests on our materials to ensure the quality of our clothing
,” emphasizes the founder of Asphalt.
The message is to produce less, but better.
This applies to the number of collections developed.
All the players in the sector prefer to focus on a limited variety of items, rather than launching hundreds or even thousands of references every six months: “
in three years we have only developed 25 different items of clothing
”, illustrates William Hauvette.
Clear economic benefits
The arrival of pre-ordering in the ready-to-wear world is a recent trend: the men's clothing brand Forlife was founded in 2018, Asphalte in 2016 ... The practice is also starting to appear in other branches. .
Wopilo, a French brand specializing in bedding items founded in 2017, has launched a collection of pre-order bed linen.
Because beyond the ecological dimension, pre-ordering has enormous economic advantages.
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This system allows in particular a notable reduction in production costs for the brand: no stocks, no middleman ... The risk is also much less present: no or little overproduction and especially no obligation to sell on sale. that cuts the margins. "
Pre-ordering allows us to try out new products, or even to launch ranges in small series, which would be impossible to make profitable in a standard circuit
", explains Thomas Hervet, founder of Wopilo. All these advantages make it possible to sell products often 30% cheaper. Enough to make the quality much more accessible.
But above all, the ecological argument is a great marketing tool.
As a result, many stories in the form of success stories.
“
We had launched a first clothing brand that operated on a standard production model.
We haven't really had any success.
Then we launched Asphalte in parallel, which from the first year beat the sales of our first brand, which had been in existence for more than 6 years
, ”recalls William Hauvette.
Same story with Wopilo, which got started thanks to the pre-order and which has grown by 60% per year on average since.
A cost for the customer
The practice, however, is not new.
It has been used for a long time in the luxury industry: “
the haute couture houses make a version of the outfit in size 32 for the parade and afterwards it is possible to order it for yourself by changing the dimensions or other details.
», Points out Audrey Millet, researcher at the University of Oslo.
On the other hand in ready-to-wear she initially suffered from a negative image: "
for a long time using pre-order was a bad sign
", she adds "it
was adopted by new designers who had not the means or the success of making standard sales
”.
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It must be said that pre-ordering comes at a cost for the customer: waiting. “
You order a garment in April and you don't receive it until June. It requires a good dose of foresight and anticipation
, ”emphasizes Marie, who recently made several purchases through this channel. While she appreciates the ecological dimension of the system, she points to certain limits: “
the dress I ordered was too narrow but I didn't want to wait two more months and the summer to be over, so I didn't have it. not fired
, ”she points out. A risk anticipated by many brands, which often produce a little more than necessary to give dissatisfied customers the opportunity to request a change without having to wait too long.
Conversely, waiting can also be good for the customer: "
it
offers double satisfaction
", underlines Katia Sanchez, "
at the time of purchase and at the time of receipt
".
An opinion confirmed by Marie: "
you are impatiently waiting for it, the day you receive it you are very happy
", she laughs.
Beware of "
greenwashing
"
“
We are faced with a business model of brands that want to sell
,” clarifies Audrey Millet straight away.
A reality quickly visible with the use of cookies on the internet.
Right after visiting the sites of several pre-order brands, we are flooded with advertisements for their products on social networks.
A fact that is not denied by some players: "
We cannot reinvent everything
", we underline at Asphalte, "
we are only present online so to bring people back you have to advertise.
We invest a lot on Facebook, Instagram ...
"
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“
In reality, retailers often have a certain quantity of items produced before the pre-order campaign
,” warns Audrey Millet. She gives several avenues so as not to be fooled: "
if you see that the brand is increasing private sales, or doing sales, you have to ask yourself questions
," she begins, "
just as if the delays between the ordering and receiving are very short
”. In this case it is unlikely that the company really had the time to warn the manufacturer, to start production, to take delivery and to dispatch it between the customers. Finally, as a general rule "
the smaller the company, the more likely it is to find a truly own actor
», Concludes the researcher, for whom this system is incompatible with mass production.
But even if everything is far from perfect: "
it is positive that this approach is required.
This shows a real awareness on the part of consumers
”.