In this interview I wanted to explore more about the consumer base of Sweaty Betty with assistant store managers Violetta and Patricia:
Who are your typical customers?
"It ranges for us as we are in Selfridge’s, So we have quite a different clientele to what I would say the usual Sweaty Betty consumer is. The usual Sweaty Betty customer, I would say, is probably between 30 and 40. A woman who loves to have fun but love to work out as well. In Selfridge’s it’s quite different, it’s a lot more varied; we have people who come in who don’t know what Sweaty Betty is, they just see it as clothes. So, yes, it’s very varied it can go from 25 up to like 60."
How would you describe Sweaty Betty as a brand?
"Sweaty Betty is like the woman she’s fun and functional. It’s a mixture of working out and working hard."
Can you describe it in three words?
"Technical , Fun, Easy."
How do you think Sweaty Betty is dealing with sustainability and fast fashion?
"Is changing a lot I’ve been here for a year and a half and I’ve seen a lot of change. We used to get things packaged in single use plastics, where as now when it comes in the delivery, it’s in one big plastic bag, which is recyclable. We have recyclable leggings. We have a pair of
leggings that are made out of 17 plastic bottles. They called it the recycle legging which was really soft, really comfy and really popular because you’re selling a sustainable product."
Do you think that Sweaty Betty’s digital content influences the customers to buy or not?
"Definitely, I have even noticed from the podcasts and Instagram, especially, people come in and they know what they want. They’re like “I want this” or “I’ve seen this” and they want what’s in the picture from an Instagram account or screenshot."
Has that turnover been a recent thing or a long-term strategy?
I think it gets more and more popular. People being like “oh I saw this online..” or “I saw it on this person” or “he’s been wearing their...”. It’s definitely on the up as the rise in social media is increasing.
If sweaty Betty was to change one thing about that brand to improve it what do you think they should do?
"I would say that they should target the younger audience a bit more, like the 18 to
25-year-olds. They don’t target them enough."
How could Sweaty Betty appealed to the 18 to 25 audience?
"Definitely in style; we could have a range for summer or festival looks. Because when we had the black cycling shorts, they were a bit shiny and everyone loved them, because they could wear them to festivals and be super trendy. We could have had them in different colours, with the same fabric as the logo was really small so they were really versatile. We could go with more colours anyway, I think that they’re not vivid, not bright enough for
the younger audience. We could have more crop things. We could follow the trends and the fashion a little bit more than for that age. During summertime, winter etc we could have different ranges to suit the trends of the season."
How does the message of empowering women translate into Sweaty Betty clothing?
"I would say it’s sizes. Our sizes are a bit bigger, so that helps a bit because the other day I had a woman come in and say she was a large or medium, and I looked her and I said no. She tried on the medium and it was massive; I said no, you are a small, and she said no I’m a UK 14. Wearing that smaller size it does make people feel good about themselves. And because they’re versatile, you can do everything in them. You can work out, then you can go for a coffee, go to the cinema, you can go anywhere. Because you don’t have to worry about any changes, you feel good in what you’re wearing. I think it’s a good fashion and workout mix."
Do you think the Sweaty Betty lifestyle and ethos impacts the customer to buy?
"People like buying into clothes, but they also like buying into brand. If you hear something negative about brand you’re like “ooh I’m not going to shop there”, but if you hear positive things from a blog or snatchat or influencer or even your neighbour; you do want to shop there. You do want to buy. People loved the recycle leggings, and all the crap jumpers that are super popular are made from recycled cotton, the Italian fleece. All the instructors get 30% discount, which is really jealous, so we are assisting their wardrobe as well as hiring them. It’s a nice way of marketing."
If Sweaty Betty was to improve it’s digital impact how would they go about doing that?
"I feel like Sweaty Betty is very hot on their digital platforms, like they are very active on Instagram. The posters as well, in Canary Warf station and Bond Street station. I remember getting pictures of people getting pictures of themselves with the posters, because we had a campaign which was if you took a photo of you and the poster you would get a discount in store."
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