today’s online world of instant access to everything, it’s tough to find a company that’s able to stand out and distinguish itself amongst the vast array of retail brands increasingly focused on web-based sales. However, Montreal-based Frank and Oak has succeeded in this regard, grasping the attention of a tech-savvy, young demographic of 20-35 year old males that appreciate the company’s careful attention to detail and user-friendly website experience. It also doesn’t hurt that Frank and Oak’s trend-setting style has been noted by men’s fashion bibles such as GQ and Esquire.
“The world of retail is [definitely] shifting,” explained Hicham Ratnani, Frank and Oak co-founder and McGill alumnus. “Today our demographic is very active, very connected, and they’re going out for experiences. They’re [also] using mobile all the time [….] The client has very high expectations, whether it’s mobile or web, so we have to deliver on all these platforms.”
According to Ratnani, Frank and Oak, as well as much of the rest of the retail industry, is moving towards an “omni-channel” approach to sales. With this model, Frank and Oak uses as many channels as possible to reach out to its clientele, while at the same time seeking to provide an equal level of service regardless of which one the client chooses. Such platforms go beyond the store front and include online, social media, and mobile options.
“Omni means all, so what they’re doing is […] saying, ‘Okay, we want to use all of the various channels be it online retailing, be it offline, be it brick-and-mortar right at their store,’” said Ralph Cecere, a professor at McGill’s Faculty of Management. “For example, if they’re running a special, [Frank and Oak] wants to push a flannel shirt or something, if you look [it] up on your mobile device [and] I go actually into the store, we’ll get the same info, we’ll get the same price, we’ll get the same promotion, we’ll get the same exposure to the product. They’re trying to reach from all of these different channels.”
Frank and Oak was born online. Ratnani and co-founder Ethan Song constructed a simple yet intricate website with a captivating layout that displayed its own designed and manufactured clothing. Merchandise changes monthly based on crowdsourced design ideas. Customers are asked to sign up as members in order to shop, and to date over 1.5 million have done so.
According to Saurabh Mishra, a marketing professor at Desautels, being an online outlet provides Frank and Oak with a plethora of opportunities that a traditional store cannot compete with, particularly by offering customers a far larger array of product options than a physical outlet could have.
“There are quite a few perks actually [to selling online],” explained Mishra. “One of the big things is that you can offer a lot more variety [that] is not easily possible with brick-and-mortor stores, precisely because stores are limited in terms of how much merchandise they can keep, and proximity to the warehouse becomes an issue. That’s what customers really like—this customized approach.”
Websites don’t require the same investment, overhead costs, rent, or costs of operation that their physical counterparts demand. In addition, online retail provides a company with a significantly larger reach than a brick-and-mortar store in one location does. As a result, the vast majority of Frank and Oak’s sales have been outside of Montreal.
“There is a huge potential [for] online sales and a lot of shopping is done that way, and is [also] a way of reaching out to a greater audience,” Cecere said. “About 70 per cent of their sales [go] to the U.S., and a third of those is in California. So [they’re] Montreal-based and reach out as far out as California, and ship sales out there. Brick-and-mortar is not going to get [that] done.”