Boomerang Consumer

About the Boomerang Consumer: Modern consumption explained through the path of a boomerang….

Brooks Brothers, almost 200 years old, is the oldest clothier in the U.S. It has a long, illustrious history and whose growth as a company nearly parallels the establishment of modern trade, production processes, and large scale consumption. Brooks Brothers also has a unique story that highlights the evolving relationship between producers and consumers over centuries.

The merchant system of the 1700s and 1800s contained intimacies by which certain merchants knew the specific needs of their customers and could form more knowledgeable, customer-centric relationships. Much of this is owed to the fact the base of merchants and customers was much smaller than it is today and thus for many reasons, it was easier to track the needs of one's customers. As financial markets - and nations - expanded, this intimacy was constrained.

The emergence of new technologies has overcome many of these earlier constraints such as distance within and between markets as well as limited economic scale possibilties and has allowed this intimacy to return but with a more powerful force than ever before. 

Onward.

Brooks Brothers History

Brooks Brothers, known at the  time as H. & D.H. Brooks & Co., opens its doors in 1818, branding itself as “Makers and Merchants in One.”

1. Producers produce for the few: The concept of supply & demand grows in influence as empires in all parts of the world undergo formation and connectivity - often by force but at times in peace. Prior to the 1800s, in the U.S., and in much of the world, producing consumables, such as food and clothing, was largely an expensive endeavor typically enjoyed by a small, privileged class. Large scale populations were too spread out for economies of scale, as we know this concept today, to really work. Basic infrastructure was needed including better channels and modes of transportation and energy source development as well as more cohesive nation and border formation to facilitate ongoing trade.

Lastly, as the 1800s approached, a shift occurred in the Western production structure, from a predominantly agrarian society where one produced largely for one's self, to a society where farming and production of consumables, clothing included, would become more niche and concentrated among merchants. In addition, production would eventually become outsourced from the individual to an entity whose sole focus was production. The African Transatlantic Slave Trade facilitated this shift with humans used on a large scale to become entities of production. Over time, populations within Asia and the South Pacific would undertake this yolk. Capitalism, Slavery (in the many forms it will take over time), and Consumption owe their roots to this time period.

Brooks Brothers History

Brooks Brothers innovates the Ready Made suit in 1849.

"Pioneers of the California Gold Rush, unable to wait on the whims of a tailor, flock to Brooks Brothers to pick up ready-made clothing, an innovation of Brooks introduced to aid the fortune seekers in their quest." Brooks Brothers, http://www.brooksbrothers.com/about-us/about-us,default,pg.html

2. Infrastructure & distribution are set up: During the 1800s, consumables became more accessible but distribution channels were still in their nascent stages. Many growing empires, specifically in Europe, operated on a closed-loop economy whereby colonies produced goods and sent precious metals for the mother country using coveted sea passages often under siege by other European empires. Alternative forms of transport were often sought. By 1825, the Erie Canal opens, linking [the] Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes, enabling a new trade route. It wasn't until 1914 that the Panama Canal opened, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific.

"When canals were built in the early 1800s, a greater share of total economic activity moved to the canals and the total amount of activity went up as the costs of transportation and distribution went down." - Harrison Metal, "Canals and Online Education", http://www.harrisonmetal.com/

Bespoke items were ideal because they were customized. Regarding clothing, a tailor or seamstress would often know a client's dress specifications intimately and could modify items according to the customer's evolving needs. To a certain extent there was a relationship between the producer and the consumer. However, customized items were still too expensive for the general population to purchase in large quantities as what would be come typical in the late 20th century in many parts of the world. There was also "friction". While custom clothing was enjoyed, the wait for tailors and the overall process of customization was time consuming. Mass production began its ascent. 

Brooks Brothers History

In 1949, "Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise is used to resolve a civil suit brought by Brooks Brothers against Brooks Clothing, who opened a rival shop with replica designs. Fitzgerald’s text becomes the decisive factor in proving that when one says “Brooks,” it means Brooks Brothers."

3. Mass production takes hold: 

Everyone knows what a Coke tastes like.

During the 20th century, U.S. consumers' tastes, preferences, and palates gradually became similar through the consolidation among producers and standardization of consumables as well as improved distribution systems and innovations. With mass production came access to consumables by a large portion of the population on scale not experienced before.

"The absence in the United States of those vast accumulations of wealth which favor the expenditures of large sums on articles of mere luxury... impact to the productions of American industry a character distinct from that of other countries' industries. [Production is geared toward] articles suited to the wants of the whole people." - Alexis de Tocqueville

The advent of advertising and diversity of platforms such as radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards, and especially television, became critical to injecting social capital and meaning into consumables and to broadening the market of consumers outside of the immediate geographic centers of commerce where manufacturers were established.

Providing a customized experience, however, became challenging as consumers' needs, while standardized at the surface, were always complex and unique. Not until the late 20th century was it cost efficient to both reach out to a mass level of consumers AND service their individual needs. Until platforms and tools that could enable such personalization on a large scale in a very cost favorable way, distribution systems continued to favor mass production, mass messaging, and cultivation of a “mass palate” through consumables such as beverages.

Brooks Brothers History

"Brooks Brothers, national retailers analyze ‘big data’ from sales to adjust marketing...the menswear giant turned to a firm to help it analyze which marketing campaigns work, which products to promote and where to invest more.” Washington Post, September 2013, http://wapo.st/1cBs5k5

4. Producers and consumers meet again (almost): The emergence of the Internet and mobile devices in the late 20th century and early 21st century changed the economics of distribution and consumption. Today, producers of mass consumables - specifically retailers - attempt to leverage technology's broad reach to learn more about their customers.

In the past, what was missing from retailers' understanding of consumers was information on an individual's specific buying patterns as well as purchasing context. The advances made within data analytics of individual consumption habits also brings efficiency to the greater retailer supply chain. The impact of these technological advances as it relates to supply chain optimization is that labor markets - the majority now located in Asia and Latin America - are called upon to produce at greater speeds to meet rising demands. While it is true that retailers and consumers will grow closer over time, the relationship between consumers and producers - that is the labor used to make the goods consumed - will continue to grow more and more strained and distant.

Conclusion.

At stake in the process of production has always been the laborer - how the laborer is defined and how the consumer is defined against the laborer. As global production efforts make a full circle return again to the customer, we as members of a global society have seen the devastation wrought upon the laborer from African Slavery to the death of hundreds in the Savar clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh.

Could this change?

How does the equation change as more individuals - especially those who were considered/are considered "Other" - join the ranks of "Consumer"?

This is the Age of the Consumer.

"I am a European, a brown European. I was born here. I actually do not know what is supposed to be African about me. I feel honoured if someone sees cultural aspects in me that are African. But they cannot talk about my art as African Art. No way. [...] But their world would not be in order if they could not put me into a category." - Alero Boyo, as quoted by Yvette Mutumba in her article in Little Book of Big Visions, How to be an Artist and Revolutionize the World.

  All humans, regardless of geographic location, are taught from an early age about difference and categorization. This learning is not only about race and ethnicity but underpins the very basic orientation of space and the objects around us. We build on difference and categorization to form an understanding of our environments and, from this perspective, use binaries as supportive structures. The process of learning to differentiate objects and concepts, such as a square from a circle, a chair from a cup, the direction up versus down - is imparted as basic knowledge intended to build a sense of stability as we move through our lives. These basic tenets are what we can trust if all else shifts around us. Understanding how to conceptualize differences and categorizations is critical to functioning – at times, surviving – in environments built upon these concepts.

A shape sorter ball is a great example of a vehicle for communicating difference and categorization at an early age. It is toy typically given to Westernized children between the ages of 1 and 2 years. It is used to evaluate hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. The child’s ability to sort the shapes is evidence of a developmental milestone and is the first of many tests children encounter as they learn to communicate and build cognitive skills. It is through learning experiences such as this and many, many others that a person learns of difference and is rewarded – via validation of ability, coordination, and skill. While the shape sorter ball will fade into the bottom of a toy chest after a while, the child will carry on this “shape sorter” way of thinking.

Once one's identity - or the identities of a group of peoples - is categorized and shaped by dominant narratives, this identity is more easily consumable. Eventually, as we try to fit the multiplicity of human identities into the mental sorters we’ve had ingrained, the task of maintaining and supporting structures of difference and categorization becomes a challenge. As Boyo alludes via her quote above, how is it possible to be German and of color, to be of color and an artist, and finally, an artist of color and to not produce ‘African Art’? Specifically the style of "African Art" which fits dominant narratives reproduced over and over again. 

To delve into the poignant points that Boyo raises, we must understand how these categories were constructed and more importantly – why.

The focus of this blog series will be primarily on the “why”.