Branding could be considered as telling a story, although when this is corrupted negative stigmas can arise (Tungate, 2012). In the case of Bershka there is no clear story to the consumer, part of the seven Inditex brands Bershka was set up in 1998 with the vision to reflect latest music and technological developments to connect young people together although this hasn’t continued in recent years (Inditex, 2022). Upon arrival to the Bershka website the display is cluttered, with still and moving images from a variety of campaigns there is no clear navigation. Research by Pernice (2017) suggests that the F- shaped pattern theory describes consumer behaviour when visiting a website whereby users read first in a horizontal movement, then moving down to read across in a second horizontal movement and finally users scan vertically down the left-hand side. Using this theory to analyse the Bershka e-commerce site, the layout needs reworking, with the small logo placed in the top left-hand corner there is no clear indication of who this website belongs too. The website is configured to a mobile device; therefore, the desktop view becomes confusing easily with a large, unappealing drop-down menu. Looking further than just Bershka’s website as a need to rebrand, but the brand alignment across campaigns and nature of the decisions made need to become consistent. A report from McKinsey (2019) shows that nine in ten Generation Z consumers believe that companies have a responsibility to address environmental issues and to implement sustainable practices, therefore Bershka’s vision to reflect the latest music and technology should be exchanged for an ethical vision to stay relevant.
Reference List
Inditex. (2022) Bershka. Available at: https://www.inditex.com (Accessed: 30 May 2022).
McKinsey. (2019) The Influence of ‘Woke’ Consumers on Fashion. London. McKinsey. (Accessed: 30 May 2022).
Pernice, K. (2017) F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web: Misunderstood, But still relevant (Even on Mobile). Available at: https://www.nngroup.com (Accessed: 30 May 2022).
Tungate, M 2012, Fashion Brands : Branding Style from Armani to Zara, Kogan Page, Limited, London. (Accessed: 30 May 2022).