Brandy Melville
| Industry | Fashion |
|---|---|
| Founders | Silvio Marsan |
Number of locations | 133 |
Key people | |
| Products | Apparel |
| Website | Official website |
Brandy Melville markets fast fashion and accessories to teenage girls and young women. Though the company was established in Italy by Silvio Marsan, it gained international popularity after switching to a California-based style and American consumers.[1] The retailer controversially makes clothes of only one size, and its reclusive leadership has faced numerous accusations of persistent bigotry and discrimination.[2][3][4]
The company's products are sold in physical stores in Europe, the United States, Asia, Canada, and Australia, as well as on their website.[5]
History[edit]
Silvio Marsan and his son Stefan founded Brandy Melville in Italy in the early 1980s, and opened their first US store in 2009, in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, which borders the UCLA campus.[1] The brand name and logo was inspired by the fictional tale of two people – Brandy, an American girl, and Melville, an Englishman, who met and fell in love.[6] The business grew popular among young girls, in part due to their Malibu teen aesthetic.[1] The Brandy Melville Instagram page has over 3.1 million followers as of April 2024.[7] The stores feature a bleached wood theme and muted color palette.[8]
John Galt[edit]
Brandy Melville sells a sub-brand named John Galt (or J. Galt), named for the character in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged and referring to CEO Stefan Marsan's interest in Libertarianism.[9]
Market and target demographic[edit]
Brandy Melville has been described as trend-setting, relevant, cool, and fast fashion, and their most prominent buyers are young teen girls looking for trendy fashion from popular name brands. Girls consider the brand part of the "coquette" category. [10] Brandy Melville has a strong presence on social media platforms, especially Instagram, where they showcase their latest designs and connect with potential customers.[11] In 2014, according to Piper Jaffray's semiannual report on teen spending, Brandy Melville took the number one spot for up-trending brands that year.[12] The product research team consists of teenage employees, starting at age 14,[8] who attempt to keep the company's styles contemporary and on trend. Kjerstin Skorge, an employee at the company's Santa Monica store, said, "There are all kinds of things that we get asked, and we give our honest opinion". The company relies on the opinions and advice of their employees as they are a part of their target market.[13]
The company does not use traditional advertising and instead depends heavily on social media marketing and partnerships. Ariana Grande wears Brandy Melville, aiding in the promotion of the brand. Well-known stores such as PacSun and Nordstrom also sell the company's products.[14] There is very little evidence of company representatives speaking on record, rarely any promotional press, and there has been a rumor that the employees are not allowed to discuss the company's history or the identity of the CEO with anyone.[15]
Controversies[edit]
Brandy Melville has faced considerable backlash for its "one-size" policy, narrowly promoting a skinny aesthetic, and predominantly limiting hiring to girls who can fit into its clothes.[16]
According to a former store owner, CEO Stephan Marsan has said he doesn't want black people shopping at his stores or working in publicly visible areas as it would hurt the brand.[17] Marsan and other top executives routinely shared jokes about Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust in a group chat titled "Brandy Melville gags". Hitler was reportedly mentioned 24 times in 150 message screenshots reviewed by Insider, including one image that showed Marsan's head photoshopped onto Hitler's body—an image he allegedly created himself.[18]
The 2024 documentary film Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion detailed extensive allegations of bigotry and body shaming at the company; these included claims that white employees were more likely than others to be assigned roles in the front of the store, that Marsan collected full-body photos of his young female employees, a sexual assault that happened at a New York City apartment controlled by the company, and that hiring and firing decisions were explicitly made based on the appearance of employees, among others. The film also discussed the brand's fast fashion status.[19][20][21]
Operations and franchises[edit]
As of January 2021, Brandy Melville has 97 locations in various countries, with 40 locations in the US.[5]
Locations worldwide:
| Region | Number of locations |
|---|---|
| Asia (Japan, Indonesia, China (Shanghai, Beijing) and Hong Kong) | 7 |
| Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) | 2 |
| Austria (Vienna) | 1 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Canada (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec) | 3 |
| France (Paris + Lyon) | 3 |
| Germany (closing) | 5 |
| Italy | 20 |
| Netherlands | 2 |
| Norway (Oslo) | 1 |
| Portugal (Lisbon) | 2 |
| Spain | 6 |
| Sweden (Stockholm) | 1 |
| Switzerland | 15 |
| United Kingdom (London) | 8 |
| United States | 40 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Schneider, Katy (October 3, 2019). "The Secret Shame of Wearing Brandy Melville". New York Magazine- The Cut.
- ^ "Brandy Melville faces allegations of racism and body-shaming by former employees". TODAY.com. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ Taylor, Kate (2021). "Brandy Melville's CEO doesn't want Black people to wear the brand's clothing, according to an ex-store owner". businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Olding, Jamie Ross (7 September 2021). "No One Fat, No One Black, and Worse: The Brandy Melville Exposé's Most Batshit Bits". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ^ a b "Brandy Melville UK".
- ^ Scofield, Caitlin (November 9, 2009). "New clothing store Brandy Melville brings Italian style straight to Westwood". Daily Bruin.
- ^ "brandymelvilleusa". Instagram.
- ^ a b Rubin, Julia (September 24, 2014). "Smells Like Teen Spirit: Inside the Secretive World of Brandy Melville". Racked.
- ^ Taylor, Kate. "Brandy Melville's CEO loves libertarianism so much he named one of his brands John Galt and used copies of 'Atlas Shrugged' as store props". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
- ^ Petersen, Hayley (October 7, 2014). "Here's How Teens Really Spend Money, What They Like, And Where They Shop". Business Insider.
- ^ Feng, Yiqian (6 June 2022). "Brandy Melville: Love it or Hate it?". Medium. Retrieved Jun 6, 2022.
- ^ Petersen, Hayley (October 7, 2014). "Here's How Teens Really Spend Money, What They Like, And Where They Shop". Business Insider.
- ^ Rubin, Julia (2014-09-24). "Smells Like Teen Spirit: Inside the Secretive World of Brandy Melville". Racked. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ^ "Brandy Melville - The Secret Shame - Global Brands Magazine". 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ^ Vanslette, Sarah (2016). "Exclusive and Aspirational: Teen Retailer Brandy Melville Uses the Country Club Approach to Brand Promotion". Case Studies in Strategic Communication. 5.
- ^ "Brandy Melville faces allegations of racism and body-shaming by former employees". TODAY.com. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ Taylor, Kate (2021). "Brandy Melville's CEO doesn't want Black people to wear the brand's clothing, according to an ex-store owner". businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Olding, Jamie Ross (7 September 2021). "No One Fat, No One Black, and Worse: The Brandy Melville Exposé's Most Batshit Bits". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ^ Moorman, Taijuan (April 11, 2024). "'Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion' doc examines controversial retailer Brandy Melville". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
- ^ Issawi, Danya (2024-04-11). "The Most Messed-up Findings in the Brandy Melville Documentary". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Holtermann, Callie (2024-04-10). "'Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion': 5 Takeaways". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
