CASE STUDY- London modest fashion brand Aab eyes aggressive expansion plan

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Aab positions itself as the stylish go-to for the modest, chic Muslim woman. Aab combines high fashion with simple lines and Islamic principles. The brand’s core client base is Muslim women in the UK, the rest of Europe and the U.S. However, as modest fashion becomes increasingly mainstream the label is enjoying an expanding client base from more geographic areas.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1.     Exports to customers across five continents

2.     In March 2015, Aab opened its first boutique store in London. More than 2,000 shoppers attended the opening event.

EXPANSION PLANS

Aab started in 2007 and sold through an online store but recently opened its flagship boutique in London in March this year. The company opened a second shop in the UK in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford and is eyeing Dubai and Malaysia as its next store locations.

“Our first boutique store in London represented a physical manifestation of the Aab brand,” explained Altaf Alim, Aab’s Commercial Director. “We felt that it was important for our customers to see, touch and feel the quality of our brand in an environment and experience we have carefully curated.”

 “We are planning for long-term growth with a strategy that will see us opening new boutique stores across the UK and in key international fashion hubs such as Dubai and Malaysia,” Alim continued.

OPPORTUNITIES BEING ADDRESSED

Muslim women, primarily in Western countries: UK Muslims spent over $300 million on clothing and footwear through e-commerce platforms in 2014, making it one of the top ten largest markets for Muslim fashion e-commerce.

More broadly, Turkey and Western Europe are geographic areas where Muslim clothing potential e-commerce spend is highest, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2014/2015, and DinarStandard analysis.

High fashion: Being based in London, Aab is in a great place to position itself as a high fashion brand that specializes in modest wear. With international fashion houses such as DKNY and Oscar de la Renta entering the modest fashion space, the sector is receiving global recognition. Aab is benefiting from this trend as its client base is expanding.

“Thanks to major fashion houses embracing this sector we see a seismic shift on who wears our clothes,” says Alim. “Aab’s clients now come from diverse backgrounds across five continents.”

Photo: Courtesy Aab

KEY STRATEGY COMPONENTS

Producing high fashion that is also functional

Contemporary designs: Aab’s designs appeal to modern Muslim women age 18-45 who appreciate quality, practicality and elegance.

“Our customers love the mix of high fashion design and functional modesty wear that we create,” explains Alim. “The growth and success of Aab has been based around creating design-led clothing ranges which reflect current trends, use the highest quality materials and tailoring, with modesty at the core.”

Pro-active brand-building

Digital marketing: Aab forges collaboration with modest fashion bloggers to promote the label among its target customers. The label has been featured in several prominent modest fashion blogs such as Hijab Style and Hijabtrendz.  Aab also invited fashion bloggers to attend its store launches, generating buzz about the event.

Relentless focus on customers

Customer service: Alim credits Aab’s quick growth to the company’s ability to innovate and respond to customer’s needs.

“Today’s consumers are very savvy, they want to shop when they want and how they want. We offer our shopper the choice of shopping on-line, in-store, over the phone and with a customer service channel to match.”

He added, “With the advent of the Internet and social media the barriers to entry for new market entrants are very low and therefore we see new players entering the market all the time. However, the differentiating factor aside from great designs is the ability to achieve scale so as to furnish demand, maintain a consistent product quality and offer an excellent customer service that is on par with well-established conventional brands.”

COMPANY OPPORTUNITIES

Expanding into Muslim-majority countries: Aab has a lot of potential to grow into Muslim majority countries, including Turkey, Nigeria and Malaysia. Aab’s online store ranks 65,489th in Turkey, according to internet ranking service Alexa, hinting on the interest towards the brand originating from the country.

Creating a global high-end modest brand: By positioning itself as a high-end everyday wear, Aab has a great opportunity to compete with major fashion houses like Max Mara, DKNY and Mango. This opportunity is contingent on the company’s ability to continue to innovate and adapt to trends, while at the same time maintaining high quality as well as keeping modesty principles at its core.

Photo: Courtesy Aab

COMPANY CHALLENGES

Production: “It’s difficult to produce high-end design in large quantities as most factories are set up in a way to cater for mass production only,” says Alim. To scale, the company needs to figure out an effective way to expand its production such that its high quality remains uncompromised with higher production output.

Financing: Aab has been expanding its operations using internal funding. Some injection of capital, be it in the form of debt or equity financing, may benefit the company and enable it to scale faster into more geographic areas.

Competition: High-end fashion brands such as DKNY, Oscar de la Renta, and Tommy Hilfiger, along with mass market stores Zara and Uniqlo and retailer Net-a-Porter are now testing the waters of the Muslim fashion market. With more money and resources, they are able to do more and reach a broader audience than smaller brands such as Aab.

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