Street culture, an existence once seen as a subculture, has gradually evolved into a global language and birthed a niche market full of potential. According to data, the global streetwear market will be $187,582.9 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $265,141.8 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 3.52% during the forecast period.
Aelfric Eden is one of the brands that has taken root in this cultural soil and has grown rapidly in recent years. 2023, it ranked 52nd in China's cross-border e-commerce brand influence list; this year, it appeared in the Google x Kantar BrandZ China Globalized Brands 2024, a growing star list released by Google. Behind it is actually a Shenzhen apparel company in the whole operation.
In the highly competitive apparel field, most of the market has been occupied by well-known brands. Aelfric Eden has chosen a different path through insights into market and cultural trends, focusing on the niche track of street fashion.
According to public information, Aelfric Eden was founded in 2014 in Los Angeles, the brand's founder is an Asian-American, and his upbringing blended the essence of Eastern and Western cultures. As a result, the founder wanted to combine the passion for Asian streetwear with Western fashion styles to create a new sense of style, one that not only crosses cultural boundaries but is also appreciated and recognized by people from different cultural backgrounds.
Although Aelfric Eden claims on its official website that it was founded in the United States, it is understood that its brand actually belongs to China's Shenzhen Dihuo Technology Co. Founded in 2016 with Zhu Meihua as the corporate legal entity, Dihuo Technology has grown into an enterprise with multiple branches and nearly 200 employees around the world.
Aelfric Eden, as an independent brand operating under the focus of D&M Technology, mainly targets the European and American markets, with streetwear as its core product, while constantly expanding into shoes, bags, accessories, and other fields.
The brand's design philosophy is heavily influenced by skateboarding culture and graffiti art, elements that were once part of niche culture but which Aelfric Eden has brought to the mainstream fashion scene.
According to its audience demographic analysis, the brand's audience is centered on Generation Z and Millennials, who make up a whopping 70% of its audience. This demographic has a unique and vibrant attitude towards fashion.
They blend individuality, inclusivity, and authenticity, often rejecting traditional standards in favor of personal style as a means of self-expression.
While many brands are trying to capitalize on this trait to capture the purchasing behavior of young consumers, Aelfric Eden has managed to capture the hearts and closets of Gen Z and Millennials with its clear understanding of their preferences.
According to the Global Consumer Trends report, Gen Z and Millennials have become a major force driving changes in global consumer trends, particularly in fashion, technology, and entertainment.
According to Forbes, Gen Z's global purchasing power is estimated at $143 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. One study predicts that Gen Z will account for 40 percent of total global consumer spending by 2026.
Millennials, with their large population base and maturing economic status, have become the dominant consumers in many markets. In the U.S., for example, they have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest consumer group. And, both Gen Z and Millennials tend to shop online, preferring brands that are socially responsible, sustainable, and personalized.
Therefore, Aelfric Eden allows young consumers to express their unique style through its fashionable pieces that cater to their changing tastes, providing a platform for young people to express their individuality.
Entering its independent station, the homepage banner uses bold colors and attractive images to give a strong street style and highlight the brand's characteristics. With the back-to-school season approaching, the station highlights promotions and discounts, making it easy for users to identify current offers;
In addition, products are clearly categorized with clear categories such as T-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, and pants. There are thousands of products on the station, and hundreds of new products are launched every month, so there is a wide range of products;
They use high-tech technologies in the production process, such as screen printing, digital printing, computer embroidery, and other cutting-edge technologies, as well as silicone printing, silicone toothpick printing, suede printing, brushed printing, and other innovative printing methods, to ensure that the products have excellent color fastness and color effects. The choice of fabrics is based on heavyweight and knitted fabrics to ensure that every wearer experiences comfort and visual appeal.
In addition to quality, the product design incorporates a large number of street culture elements, adopting novel and fashionable styles, combining design techniques such as graffiti, text appliqué, visually striking colors, and cut-and-collage, to fully satisfy the needs of young consumers for personalization and cultural expression.
The price range of the brand's products is relatively affordable, with most of the products priced between US$39 and US$69, which makes Aelfric Eden's products highly appealing to young consumers who are looking for cost-effective products.
Aelfric Eden's products and pricing strategy reflect its deep understanding of the youth market, and by offering diverse, personalized, and reasonably priced products, Aelfric Eden has succeeded in attracting young consumers who pursue street culture and fashion expression.
Aelfric Eden builds its overseas strategy through independent websites and third-party platforms like Amazon and Walmart.
Overall, Aelfric Eden's data on the independent website seems to perform well, with more than a million visitors per month and an average of 7.27 pages viewed per user, proving that the website's content, products, and structural design can attract consumers to stay, which is already a good figure for a brand that focuses on a niche market.
Currently, direct traffic is the largest source of traffic, contributing 47.04%, followed by natural and paid search. It is known that at the end of last year, Aelfric Eden's main source of traffic was paid search, which proves that Aelfric Eden has made significant progress in its branding and marketing strategy.
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The growth in direct traffic can be attributed to effective content marketing strategies, including social media campaigns, blog posts, video content, etc., which attract users to visit the website directly.
As Gen Z and Millennials are more inclined to discover and purchase items through social media platforms, this has prompted brands to increase their marketing efforts on these platforms.
Aelfric Eden has a presence on social platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest and has already gained some market recognition and social influence.
In August 2020, they had reached 100,000 followers on Instagram; the following year, they launched a cute animal collection featuring dinosaurs, which received more than 115 million views on INS, showing the brand's ability to create pop-ups on social media; In 2022, they reached 1 million followers on Instagram, growing their social media presence significantly. Today, their Instagram following has reached 1.253 million users.
TikTok is another important channel for Aelfric Eden to create buzz, and in June 2023, the 'City of Love' collection was launched, creating a frenzy on TikTok as people clamored to buy the celebrity hoodies.
Aelfric Eden's official TikTok account now has 715,000 followers and 7.1 million likes, and the brand encourages users to use the hashtags “#Aelfriceden” and “#Aelfricedenhaul,” to show off their outfits and express their attitudes. The brand encourages users to use the hashtags “#Aelfriceden” and “#Aelfricedenhaul” to show what they wear and express their attitudes, and the volume of related works has exceeded 450,000.
By creating content that resonates with Gen Z culture, Aelfric Eden has succeeded in creating a deep connection with young consumers.
In fact, there are quite a few brands like Aelfric Eden that have continued to grow in niche markets, such as Bloomchic, which focuses on plus-size women's clothing, swimwear brand Cupsh, and Chubbies, which focuses on plus-size men's clothing.
Their success proves that even in a seemingly saturated market, a new horizon can be carved out through unique cultural fusions and innovative design concepts.
