Thomas Scott is no bang!

For starters, Thomas Scott is a men’s clothing brand. From what one can gather – based on their advertisements and their retail outlets – it is meant to serve in the office-wear and formal-wear category.

Who is Thomas? Is he a Scott? Well, then who is Peter? Is he from England? Yes, you’ve got the drift. There’s Peter England. So there’s Thomas Scott. A me-too brand. Though it’s difficult to understand what the reference to Scotland means any which way... Did the brand managers or marketing managers consciously even think of the hint of Scotland in the name? Is it just my figment of imagination? Whatever, the name’s pretty indicative. What it means is still unclear. A battle lost even before it started.

Having talked of names, there are other brands too which sound like personal names of some Englishmen- John Miller (private brand found at Pantaloons) and John Players (brand introduced by ITC and endorsed by Hrithik Roshan). These brands have struggled to garner any significant chunk of the market after all the money they’ve spent. I’ve heard people say, “I am wearing a Zodiac” but not “I’m wearing a John Players” and therefore, my conclusion.

There are other brand names – the successful ones - based on personal names. Allen Solly. Louise Philippe. Van Heusen. These names might not carry much power in themselves but they are catering to well-defined segments.

Allen Solly – Friday Dressing
Louise Philippe – Regal Crest (Reference to Kings)
Van Heusen – Power Dressing

What about Peter England? Reasonably priced office wear for young male executives.

So, what about Thomas Scott? The ads say “Attention is inevitable”! Yes, I did pay attention to the ad! Another message in the ad is “A retail group venture of Bang Overseas Ltd.”! Is it? Thanks for informing. So now?

What about John Miller? What about John Players? Does anybody know?

There are many other men’s garment brands which draw inspiration from European names.

Fritzberg. Heidelberg. Oxemberg. Indicative of Swedish-German origins.

Oxford. Cambridge. Reference to English Universities!

Alright. You want great sounding names. European names sound great. Europe is known for great fashion designers and great designs. But then, when you want to sell to masses, you have to stand for something. Unfortunately, you have personal names which sound great but they have neither any intrinsic reference to a definite segment nor have they been consciously attached to definite segments by the marketers.

Bang Overseas Ltd. has come out with an IPO. Going by its marketing strategy in India, it isn’t a great long term bet at the moment. Because marketing is business and business is all about focus. Thomas Scott hasn’t found its focal point yet.