American Sportswear GANT: Back to the roots

REBRANDING GANT is reinventing itself while still staying true to its roots. Christoph Oggenfuss* spoke with Caroline Roth, Head of Global Marketing & Communications, about the background and reasoning behind this significant step. In 1949, Bernard Gantmacher founded GANT in New Haven Connecticut and specialized in shirts that attracted special attention from professors and students at renowned Ivy League universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale on the US East Coast.

The shirt of choice at Ivy League universities.In the meantime, the company has become an important, globally active American sportswear brand with a very broad product range. After a good 65 years, it is obviously time for a change and a return to its roots. Since 2006, GANT has been in Swiss hands, namely with Maus Frères.Five questions for Caroline Roth, Head of Global Marketing

GANT's Caroline Roth, Head of Global Marketing & CommunicationsMK: In recent years, GANT has greatly expanded its product range so that there is something for everyone - clothes, home textiles, shoes, watches, glasses, etc. - has that been good for the brand?C.R.: We have always tried to offer a lifestyle range and have been very successful with it. However, we have now reached a point where we are focusing on our core business and, above all, on the shirt - our icon product. We started out as a shirt maker in 1949 and are striving to revive the excellence of that time. Once we have come closer to this goal, we will consider expanding our range. However, we are currently very selective in our range and communication in order to sharpen our brand profile.MK: GANT will now introduce three sub-brands - does this also mean a streamlining of the collections?C.R.: We start with the customer and have realized that there is an increasing need for "desk to dinner" offers in our collection. We will cover this with the new "GANT Diamond G" line. "GANT Rugger" remains our design laboratory with progressive American sportswear. With "GANT Originals", we cover the needs of active sports customers.MK: Where do you see the customer benefit from the creation of the three sub-brands?C.R.: With this important decision for us, we are ensuring that our customers can find something to suit their lifestyle. For example, there will be crease-resistant materials for the "GANT Diamond G" customers who travel a lot. The "GANT Originals" customer, on the other hand, expects more product benefits in sportswear, such as taped seams. "GANT Rugger provides options for the selective innovator among our customers to emphasize their personal branding.MK: The branding initiative that has been launched seems to be very inside-out driven - how do you see it?C.R.: Great, that means we have achieved what we set out to do. It's inside-out driven in that sense as we now talk about the "soul" of our brand, what we stand for and our incredible heritage. I think that's the most attractive part of our brand, that we are authentic and believe in people's achievements.(Image 3) Looking good in quality clothes is not enough.MK: And what role does digital play in the new era of GANT?C.R.: Digital is driving our organization forward, as we see with other companies. We decided to stop printing catalogs, which was part of the GANT DNA. We use social media channels in an innovative way and develop content calendars in a kind of online magazine where we invite our followers to contribute with their world. We are digitizing the in-store signage and renewing the e-commerce platform with a user-friendly mobile site. In the future, we will approach all our decision-making meetings from a digital perspective, be it channel strategy, sourcing solutions, HR or design. The world is moving in this direction and we have taken our seats on this high-speed train.