Creating a brand involves many critical factors.  Each of these factors must be identified and perfectly executed in order to build an eCommerce store that is growing and successful. One such factor is identifying a niche in the market within an audience and tailoring your business to exactly what they want. This is difficult to achieve but with some perseverance it can be achieved.

One eCommerce store that saw a niche and filled it with aplomb is the apparel store Street Moda. This brand has set itself out as unique and innovative, but not because of its apparel but due to its recognition of its audiences wants and building a business that caters to this. 

The Story Behind Street Moda 

Street Moda's start out is a very idiosyncratic and inspiring story. Its founder, Matt Kubancik has been an entrepreneur since the unbelievable age of 10 and established Street Moda at 18. He saw a niche in the market as young people with similar tastes to himself were unable to afford the high-end brands they wanted and so the business was formed. The brand states explains their founders motivation by saying:

“Kubancik, who was 18 when he founded the company, grew up always wanting the latest and hottest designer gear but could not afford the retail cost. Humbly raised, Kubancik wanted others who experienced the same background to have access to the latest designer brands.”

With this niche identified, the store sells well-known and designer brands at a cost that its target market can actually afford stating: 

“The main thing that separates Street Moda from all other online companies is the massive inventory of authentic brand name footwear, apparel and accessories at prices that can't be beat on the street”.

This an astute and clever recognition of an underserved target market as they want what luxury brands are selling but at a more affordable cost. Street Moda now sell numerous brands within their store catering towards both young women and men.

Success as a brand 

It’s clear that Street Moda has struck gold with its eCommerce store idea as it has been awarded numerous times for its phenomenal success. The brand has been named one of the 50 fastest growing businesses within the area of Louisville. Additionally, it has been picked to be on the Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the US three years in a row. These enormous recognitions are telling of how much of an innovative idea the brand is and how well they have done to fill their niche.

It’s not only in the world of commerce that the brand has built up an impressive list of awards. Street Moda are also being rewarded for their charity and sponsorship. They sponsor numerous events such as Dress for Success and are involved with Down Syndrome charities within Louisville. The brand were awarded for this by receiving Down Syndrome Employer of Year Award 2012 making Street Moda not just a successful brand but also a thoughtful one.

Visual Marketing

To get the word out about Street Moda, the brand has a considerable focus on visual marketing. Through the use of numerous online platforms they promote its merchandise. The brand use Pinterest and Instagram to show off their products and connect with customers with each platform having thousands of followers.

On Pinterest Street Moda have created boards that inspire while also market. Boards such as “Streetwear and Celebrities”, “Summerlicious” and “Fresh Prince Swag” all display the tone and message of the brand while also displaying images of the brands clothing for customers to peruse.

The fashion website Polyvore is also a prominent site for the store to market on. This site allows stores and customers to make outfits and images and gain followers in doing so. This gives customers inspiration in regards to how to style the brands clothing while also giving customers the option to experiment with how they would wear the brands apparel. 

As well as images the brand also product videos on YouTube that are advertising their apparel in stylish, well produced ways.  They have videos that give an impression of the brands urban tone while also expertly displaying the products they have on offer. They also provide behind the scenes looks at what the brand and its employees are up to, giving some depth to the brand.

Videos and images also are used to display the good work that the brand is doing for charity. From capturing charity events to videos about causes they believe in, the brand use their visual marketing to promote causes as well as their merchandise. 

Discounts & Promotions

As Street Moda are all about affordably for their customers it is no surprise they are big fans of discounts and promotions.  They regularly boast that their merchandise is considerably more affordable than its counterparts with the brand claiming to have 40% off compared to other stores so reduction in price is a valuable part of their marketing.

The habitually aid their customers in getting further discounts by placing discount codes within social media and on their website. They encourage customers to join a mailing list and give their numbers so they can receive discount codes when they are purchasing, making them a brand dedicated to their message of high-end brands at low cost. 

The brand also promote a weekly giveaway that if entered winners receive merchandise. This is an engaging and effective way to get customers coming back every week to the website and seeing what the brand has to offer while also reinforcing their brand message of attainable urban style. 

Street Moda have established an interesting niche that has served its customers well. The brand noticed that there was a yearning for affordable, accessible urban fashion and built a store with amazing expertise. With the addition of interesting yet effective marketing, Street Moda is an intriguing eCommerce case study.